Love's Redemption (Chris and Maddie)

Hello 457

Chapter 457

My chest tightened. "Alright, what time tomorrow?" I asked.

"Not sure yet. Just keep your phone close," Hayden paused, then, more casually, "Have you eaten?"

"Yeah, I ate with Jace," I replied, totally innocent, no hidden meaning behind it.

There wasn't any reason for him to think otherwise. After all, he's the one who had Jace looking after me. Sure enough, Hayden didn't make a big deal of it. He just moved on. "What did Jace say about Steve?" "He said he's working on getting me in to see him, but nothing beyond that," I replied, keeping it simple. "Jace knows Steve's teammates pretty well. He might be able to get some leads from them," Hayden added. I didn't say anything, and he didn't push it. Silence settled between us. It felt strange-this had never happened during our calls before.

I broke it, glancing out the window. "It's raining here. Like, really hard."

"I can hear it," Hayden said, and that's when I realized I'd had my phone facing up the whole time. He wasn't even looking at the rain or me, just the hotel ceiling.

"Hold on, let me show you." I tilted the phone toward the window.

Hayden said softly,

stayed quiet for a second before I teased, "Well, you made me mad, so as your

before he

really

the line, listening to the rain with me. We didn't talk after that. Almost an hour passed, and my body started feeling stiff from sitting too long. I stretched out on the bed to relax. When I picked up my phone, I noticed the call was still

end the

see you, hearing your voice is enough," Hayden said, hitting me

to get all soft. "Well, I'm hanging up now. No more

you tired?" Hayden asked,

tired, just... exhausted," I said as

video call, but almost immediately, my phone buzzed

saw the message: [Kiki,

1/2

+25 BONUS

Chapter 457

replying. Instead, I locked my phone and shut