Theo:Laying in bed. Missing you.
My heart skips a beat.
Sophie:I miss you, too.
Sophie:Can I call you?
Be bold, I tell myself. Then I second-guess everything, like I always do. I find myself wishing I could unsend the message, but then my phone lights up.
I answer on the first ring.
“Hi, Trouble,” his voice comes out low and gravelly. The sound of it has my stomach twisting in a delicious way.
“Hi, Theo.”
For a second, it’s just quiet.
“Today went by fast,” he says.
“It always does when I’m around you,” I say, and then instantly regret how that sounds out loud. What was I saying about not being a cliché?
But he laughs. That deep, warm laugh that gets under my skin in the best way.
“You know,” he says, “sometimes it scares me how easy this feels. Even though it’s not supposed to be.”
I go quiet. Not because I don’t know what to say, but because I feel it too. His emotions are so in tune with mine, it’s almost frightening.
"I get it, I really do," I say, a little softer. "It's so natural that it's frightening. But I'll keep choosing it. I'll keep choosing you."
He doesn’t say anything right away. Then…
“You’re not at all what I expected when we first met,” he says. “You’re so much more.”
My breath catches in my throat.
“More?” I ask, barely above a whisper.
“Yeah. More than just smart or funny or... you know. You’re real. And you’re brave, even when you don’t feel like it. I don’t think I realized how much color my life was missing until you showed up.”
I blink up at the ceiling, trying not to cry. I can be such agirlsometimes.
“You better not be watchingGame of Throneswithout me,” I say, because if I don’t change the subject, I’m going to lose it. I can’t be this far away from him when he says such sweet things.
He laughs again, softer now. “Never. Though... I’ve thought about it.”
We talk about everything and nothing after that. Catching up on the rest of each other’s days, sharing jokes that likely only make sense to the two of us.
And before I know it, it’s late. Like,stupidlate. And I’m yawning, unable to hold my eyes open any longer.
“Sleep, Soph,” he murmurs. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Mmm.” I fall asleep with his voice still in my ear and this feeling in my chest that maybe, just maybe, this all will work out.
29
SOPHIE
It’s Friday morning and I’ve arrived at school early. Again. Just like every single day this week. It’s our new routine. When I walk into the classroom, Theo smiles. That dimple appears in his cheek, and my stomach does a little flip.
