Eros415: I’ll demonstrate when you’ve done your assignment.
BiteSizedGabi: Fine.
I send him a pouting cat emoji and stretch out while I let my mind wander. It’s only a few minutes later that something occurs to me.
Why was he in bed in the middle of the afternoon?
The restof the week passes slowly. After I ignored their demand to meet, Nate’s friends have been turning up everywhere. It could be a coincidence, but it doesn’t feel like it. I think they’re trying to send me a message.
Everywhere I go, people whisper and stare. I can’t even escape it in class, where Bethany and her friends make a point by paying me extra attention. Part of me hopes that if I ignore them, they’ll eventually leave me alone, but I’m not so sure.
On Tuesday, I video call Eros, and he makes me read him my favorite spicy scene from this week’s book. On Wednesday, I find another gift waiting for me in my cubby—a pink Swarovski teddy bear necklace. I saved it to my Pinterest board a while ago, so I guess he found that too.
By Thursday, I’m counting down the minutes until Friday, but I can’t shake the anxious feeling in my chest.
What if he bails after I tell him the brutally honest truth?
The thought of never hearing from him again triggers definitely-not-as-casual-as-it-should-be feelings. I’ve become so used to talking to him every day, the idea of going without makes me feel lonely.
But it shouldn’t.
Shoving those worries aside, I distract myself by video calling him. It takes him a minute to answer, and when he does, I can see that he’s walking somewhere. Tonight, he’s wearing the balaclava.
“Do you carry that mask with you all the time?” I ask.
“Never know when I might need it.” A hint of humor slips through the altered voice.
“Are you busy?”
“No.”
“Want to watch a movie?”
He glances at the screen, and I rush out an explanation before he turns me down. “There’s an app we can use to watch it together.”
“What movie?” he asks.
“I was thinking…the original Scream? Halloween is coming up, and I usually do a horror movie marathon.”
“Send me the invite,” he says.
“Are you sure? You don’t have to if you have things to do?—”
“Gabriela, I wouldn’t have told you yes if I didn’t want to. Now stop being apologetic and send me the invite.”
“Okay.” I offer him a small smile. “Talk to you in a minute?”
He nods, and I disconnect the call. A few minutes later, we’re all set up and ready to go. I pull the big, fluffy comforter around Beppe and me and hide under the covers as the movie starts.
To my surprise, Eros actually seems into it, offering his strange commentary like, “that’s not how people bleed out” or “those are theater wounds.” I tell him I’m not sure I want to know how he knows that, and he laughs.
It’s weirdly comfortable, but also empty.
“What’s the matter?” he asks.
I didn’t realize I’d sighed so loudly.
“Nothing. I was just thinking it would be so much better if you were here.”
