CHAPTER 174

HAZEL

As my phone vibrated and lit up with an unsaved number, I stared at it, debating whether to answer or let it ring out. Part of me wanted to ignore it, let the call slide into voicemail, and deal with it later—if at all. Life had thrown enough chaos my way, and I wasn’t about to waste time on a stranger who hadn’t earned the right to a place in my contacts.

“You should probably take that,” De