They grabbed their jacket and left through the back entrance without looking toward Savannah’s desk.
They’d tried.
It hadn’t been enough.
And that hurt worse than if they’d never reached out at all.
* * *
Jamie opened the door so fast it nearly rebounded off the wall.
“Oh, thank God,” she blurted. “You’re alive. Erin said not to panic, but obviously I panicked, and Erin is wrong.”
Erin appeared behind her, calm as a lake in winter. “I said they probably weren’t dying.”
“You said probably,” Jamie snapped. “Probably is useless to me.”
Tilly blinked. “I texted ‘emergency friend meeting.’ Not code blue.”
Jamie threw her hands up. “Same thing!”
Erin stepped aside. “Come in. We made tea.”
Jamie groaned. “I wanted pizza. Erin said tea was fine. Tea is not fine.”
Tilly stepped inside, quiet in a way that made both women track them instantly. Shoulders tense. Eyes tired. A soft shock still clinging to them like static.
They dropped their hoodie on the back of the couch and sat.
Jamie sat next to them immediately. Erin stayed leaning against the counter, alert.
Jamie folded her legs under her. “Okay. Talk. Start from the beginning. Use nouns. Use feelings.”
Tilly rubbed both hands over their face. “Savannah and I… hooked up.”
Jamie froze mid-blink. Erin’s eyebrows rose.
Jamie gasped like it physically left her body. “Hooked up hooked up?”
“Yes,” Tilly said, blunt and done with subtlety.
Jamie slapped Erin’s arm. “Did you hear that?”
“Yes,” Erin said flatly. “I can hear.”
Jamie leaned forward, eyes huge. “Was it good? Are you okay? Did someone cry? Did you cry? Did she cry? Did you cry during?”
“Jamie,” Erin warned.
“What?” Jamie hissed. “It’s important intel!”
Tilly sighed. “It was good. Really good.”
Jamie made a joyful little squeak.
Tilly kept going, honest and unfiltered. “She came to my hotel room. She told me she wanted me. She kissed me first. She said she was tired of pretending she didn’t. Everything that happened was because she asked. And I…” They wet their lips. “I went down on her. Only her. That’s how I wanted it.”
Jamie clapped a hand over her mouth. Erin’s expression softened.
