Marcus's hands trembled as he pressed the call button again.
It rang once, twice, three times, then went to voicemail. Ryan's recorded voice, casual and warm, told him to leave a message, the contrast between that warmth and the cold text message sitting on his screen made Marcus's chest ache.
*Let's stop talking for a while.*
He tried again. And again. Each time the phone rang out, each time Ryan didn't pick up.
Marcus sat in his office chair, his work forgotten on the desk in front of him, his mind raced through possibilities, trying to understand what had changed. They hadn't argued, things had been good between them, really good.
So what happened?
The question circled in Marcus's head without answers, he couldn't just sit here wondering, couldn't just accept a breakup text with no explanation when everything had seemed fine just hours ago.
He needed to see Ryan, needed to look him in the eye and understand what was going on.
