The last vestiges of sleep vanished in an instant.
Zoe Pierce's finger rested on her Intelligent Brain, the pad of it tapping again and again.
'Nathan Lockwood, where is he messaging me from right now?'
She knew that with his personality, he would definitely find a safe place to message her, but she still found it hard to imagine how he was avoiding all the mechanical eyes in the sky.
'And now…'
'What do I say back?'
'I can't bring myself to type out something like "I miss you"...'
'But should I just not reply?'
Her finger hovered over the text box. She blinked, then lowered her gaze and typed: Yeah, got it.
She didn't know what to say, but she didn't want to leave him without a reply.
Zoe Pierce buried her face in her pillow. Her fingers rested on its soft edge, toying with the fabric.
A moment later, another message from Nathan Lockwood arrived.
This one was even shorter than the last, but it was enough to throw her thoughts into disarray and banish sleep completely.
