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God.
In the span of a single instant my whole world came crashing to a stop. I kept staring down, blinking at my phone’s screen, as my heart leapt into my throat.
It… It can’t…
The text message was from an unknown number. That in itself wasn’t unusual; I’d gotten lots of texts from unknown numbers lately, especially with all the subcontractors and new contacts we were keeping in constant touch with.
But this text was different. This text wasn’t an electrician, or a plumber, or an HVAC specialist looking to send over his final bill.
This text was two simple words, one after the other. Eight little letters, arranged in such a way they made my blood run cold.
HEY ANGEL.
Twenty-Six
JENNA
It’s not him.
The words were a mantra I’d repeated for the rest of the day and well into the evening. Over and over I’d said them, until I was fully convinced they were true.
He doesn’t have your number, Jenna. He doesn’t even know where you are.
Those things were both true. It didn’t rule out my worst-case scenario, though. Especially when you considered the word ‘angel’.
Lots of men call their wives and girlfriends Angel,I told myself.It’s a common pet name, like baby or honey or—
Okay. Maybe.
It’s also possible your phone number once belonged to someone named Angel.
That was a little more far-fetched, but I supposed itcouldbe true.
It was a wrong number text, Jenna. A mix-up. That’s all it was.
A wrong number. Sure. Okay.
I guess every little bit helps.
The rest of the day had passed uneventfully, and I hadn’t received another random text message. In fact, I’d deleted the text already. It was gone now, done, finished. Forever history.
Forever?
Hopefully, yeah.
Pulling up to the guys’ house, I killed the engine and sat there in silence for a moment. If this was what I thought it was, so be it. I’d deal with it as best I could. But if it wasn’t…
Well if it wasn’t, I was about to ruin a pretty great evening worrying over nothing.
In that moment I decided to push all thoughts of the errant text from my mind, instead concentrating on the fun at hand. Together, working late into the evening, we’d finished setting up the restaurant. Everything was exactly where it needed to be, in its final resting place.
All that remained was tonight’s celebration.
I exited the car into a frozen, howling wind that bit at my exposed wrists and ankles. I rushed up the walkway, threw open the door, and flung myself inside before some icicle-toothed snow monster could eat me.
Immediately I was enveloped in a blanket of warm, cozy heat.
Thank fuck.
