Fifty-Six

ZORA'S POV

The caller ID showed that Derek was the one calling. I stared at the phone in surprise. After Freya had told him this afternoon that Elliot had been in the house, I was expecting him to have renewed his decision not to talk to me again.

Though it had hurt me a lot, I had stopped calling Derek a few days after he left New York. I figured that he needed lots of time and space to heal and that it was selfish for me to expect him to take me as a friend just a few days after I broke up with him.

I wished with all my heart that he was calling to at least try to mend our relationship. Though with what had happened today, I guessed my wish was an unrealistic one.

In my preoccupation, I let the phone ring twice. I picked up before the phone could stop ringing and perhaps give Derek the mistaken impression that I did want to take his calls.

"Hello?" I said in a voice that was not quite steady. I cleared my throat. "Are you- How are you?"

"I was gone for only a week, Zora," he his