57.
November 20th, 2020
Igroaned and shifted in bed before covering my ears with my hands in order to cut off the sound of my ringing phone. When it didn’t work, I reached out, grabbed a spare pillow from next to me, and hid my face under it.
“Fuckingstop,” I mumbled, but when it didn’t, I sneered and turned to my left. I tried opening my eyes, but my tears from a few hours ago had dried down, in turn making it hard for me to blink.
I felt around my nightstand before locating my phone. With a huff, I hastily accepted the call and put the torture device to my ear. “Hello?”
Wow, I sounded like a beat-down truck’s horn.
“Zaira?”
His voice caused a symphonic shiver to run through my entire body. Any trace of sleep that I had fled away, leaving me wide awake and panting.
I sat up and pushed back against the headboard, and then swallowed as I listened to him breathing evenly on the other side.
It was dark in my room, with only a sliver of the moon’s light piercing in through the small window to my right.
“Were you sleeping?” he asked when I didn’t say anything.
I rubbed my eyes and glanced at my bedside clock. “Well, it’s three in the morning, so yeah, I was sleeping.”
“Wh–” He stopped. “Shit,” he whispered. “Shit-shit-shit.” Silence. “I’m so sorry, Zaira. I didn’t think about the time zone difference.”
Time zone?
“Where are you?” The question fell from my lips before I could stop it.
I fisted my free hand and bit my tongue as I fumed over my incompetence.
Stupid.
Naïve.
Fucking gullible.
That was me. All of it.
“I just landed in Manchester,” Gallan said.
Why did my heart long to watch his face as he said those words? Why did my mouth beg for me to ask him how he was doing? Why did my stomach tighten in anticipation of hearing his laughter? And why, oh why, did my heart ache at the pain and sadness I heard in his voice?
“Oh…” I breathed the word like a damn fool.
“Yeah.” Pause. “You know, there’s this song that’s been stuck in my head for the past couple of days,” he said. “I can’t stop humming it. Want me to sing it to you?”
I opened my mouth to say no, but when he began singing, I stiffened. His voice – that familiar rumble paired with husk – made my eyes sting with the memories of our past.
Yeah, I know I'm gonna say things that should never leave my mouth
When your world's flyin' off the handle, I'll try keep you on the ground
It won't always be roses, even though you deserve 'em
I wanna make sure you know that what we got is worth it
I don't wanna fight, I don't wanna let you go
