章 81: I'm glad you're here

I made myself a cup of tea and settled down on the couch, staring blankly at the wall. The apartment felt cold and empty without Raven there. Clutching my tea mug, I felt the weight of the silence in the apartment. It was moments like these when Raven's absence felt the most profound.

I tried to distract myself by watching TV, but my mind kept drifting back to the argument we had the night before. I replayed the conversation in my head, wondering if I could have handled things differently, if I could have avoided pushing Raven away.

Where was Raven? Why wasn't she answering her phone? The longer she was gone, the more my worry grew.

I checked my phone again, but there were still no messages or missed calls from her. Panic surged through me, and I felt a lump form in my throat. What if something had happened to her? What if she was hurt or in trouble? Or, as Mary suggested, was she with Alexander?

"System" I said, calling up the system screen.