Henry glanced over, then did a quick double-take at the flowers. His expression shifted, something unreadable flickering across his face.
“She’s not in today,” he said.
Tilly felt it like a sudden drop. “What do you mean?”
“She called in sick,” Henry replied carefully. “First time I’ve ever seen her do that.”
The words landed heavier than they should have.
“Oh,” Tilly said.
Henry hesitated. “You okay?”
Tilly nodded automatically. “Yeah. I just… okay.”
Henry watched them for another beat, then nodded once and walked off without pressing.
Tilly stood there, flowers still in hand, the newsroom noise rushing back in around them like they’d been underwater and just surfaced.
Savannah wasn’t here.
The thought echoed, stupid and obvious and suddenly overwhelming.
They hadn’t considered this version of the morning. Hadn’t imagined the apology having nowhere to land. The flowers wilted slightly in their grip as they tightened their fingers without realizing it.
They leaned against the gear locker and stared at the floor.
This was what they had been afraid of. Not the argument. Not Savannah being angry.
Missing her completely.
They pulled their phone out, thumb hovering over her name.
They stopped.
Space, Savannah had said. Or maybe Tilly had said it. The words blurred together now, stripped of intent and context. What was space, anyway, when you didn’t know if the other person was still in the room?
Tilly exhaled slowly and looked down at the flowers.
“I’m sorry,” they murmured under their breath, to no one.
They set the bouquet carefully on the empty desk, resting it beside Savannah’s keyboard like a placeholder. Like proof they had shown up, even if she hadn’t.
It wasn’t enough.
They knew that.
But it was all they had right now.
Tilly straightened, slung their camera bag over their shoulder, and headed toward the assignment desk, carrying the weight of an apology that would have to wait.
And hoping they hadn’t waited too long.
Tilly tried to work.
They really did.
They set up gear. Checked batteries. Ran through the day’s assignment without missing a step. On the outside, they looked fine. Focused. Professional. Exactly the version of themself they’d perfected over years of not letting personal things leak into the job.
