Emmett woke up alone. It was like being slapped in the face by a cold wet salmon who then escaped back into the river, never to be caught. Emmett woke up, and the space around which he was curled was cold, empty and devoid of the presence of Jian. Only his scent remained, clinging and lingering on Emmett’s skin and sheets. Like a thief in the night, the boy had come and gone.
He was on the sofa, with a cup of hot chocolate and a book, half-dressed and lying back against the folded blankets that