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“No, but that’s not necessarily unusual. Crossbody does what he wants, but he’s always here when I need him to be, so…” Holt shrugged. “I’m sure he’ll be in tomorrow. Or on Monday.”

“It’s nice that you’re concerned, Vince.” Taylor offered me a hesitant smile. “The therapy with Corey must be going well, huh? Are you starting to get along?”

I scrubbed a hand over my face. “Yeah, we… we’re fine now. We’re good. I’ve just never known him to not come in for a couple days at a time like this. He’s always here.”

It felt weirdly empty without him. No constant pounding of his feet on the treadmill in the background, which I was only now realising I’d found kind of comforting. No sight of him and his big wings sweeping arrogantly into the room. No sound of his low, smooth voice.

“He’ll be in on Monday at the latest,” Holt assured me with a confidence I didn’t feel myself. “Like I said, he’s probably just decompressing. The last month has been pretty full-on for you both, huh? The matches together, the therapy sessions, the new talent starting…”

“Yeah,” I said absently, trying not to get too worried that he hadn’t even contacted Holt to say he wouldn’t be coming in.

And even if that was all true, he still would’ve told the boss, right?

When Taylor and Holt continued on into the main room, I didn’t follow. I hadn’t performed my best tonight, because I’d been distracted, so I wasn’t particularly in the mood to hear Holt’s ‘good job’ speech when I hadn’t done a good job. Instead, I went into my dressing room and tried to call Crossbody again. There was no answer.

Shoving a hand through my hair, I fired off another text.

Sorry if I’m bugging you, but just want to make sure you’re ok because you haven’t come in.

I saw the text get delivered, and I stared down at my phone screen, hoping to see the three dots appear to tell me he was typing back. They never did.

If he’d still been coming to work but ignoring me, I would’ve just figured he was ghosting me, but this—the sudden, total silence—wasn’t right. I knew it wasn’t.

Something was wrong.

My stomach jittery, I went back into the hallway and waited for Holt and Taylor to reappear.

“It feels weird,” I blurted the moment they stepped through the doors. “Crossbody doesn’t do this, right? He’s always here.”

“That doesn’t mean he has to be, though,” Holt said patiently. “Seriously, Vince, don’t worry. I think you’re a little stressed too, and you’ve performed twice this weekend, so you must be tired. Just go home and get some sleep.”

“Maybe I could go check on him,” I hurried out, heat creeping up my neck when Holt’s brows rose.

“I mean… sure. I can’t stop you. But I don’t think you need to worry.”

“I need his address,” I said stiffly, the flush reaching my cheeks as Holt and Taylor exchanged a quick look.

“I can’t give out my employees’ addresses, Vince.”

“It’s not just some random employee,” I grated. “It’s Crossbody. We’ve worked together for five years.”

“And you’ve been very open about your dislike of him for all five of those years,” Holt countered, brow arching again.

I spluttered in disbelief. “Come on, Holt, what the fuck do you think I’m going to do? I just want to make sure he’s okay.”

Holt tugged on Taylor’s hand to get them moving again, making my pulse leap with panic.

“I’m not giving you Crossbody’s address, Vince,” he said. “That’s a massive confidentiality breach. If you’re so worried, I’ll call him in the morning. First thing. Alright? Go home.”

“But he’s not answering the phone,” I said, a hint of desperation tingeing my voice.

Holt glanced back. “It’s late, that’s why. Can you stop? You’re making me all nervous. He’s fine, Vince. It’s been, what, two days? We all work too much anyway. Let the man enjoy his weekend.”

My face prickled with heat, hands clenching into fists.

“You’re being an asshole and a shitty boss,” I heard myself snap. “Just give me his fucking address.”

Holt gasped in offence and whirled around. “What the fuck, Vince? That was so mean.”