“Are your parents going to be annoyed you left your family thing to talk to me?”
“No. I told you I will talk to you anytime you want to talk to me. I’m glad you called.”
“What if…” I let my sentence drop off.
“What ifwhat?”
“What if it gets to be too much? I can’t just call you every time I feel sad or something happens to trigger me.”
“Yes, you can.”
“You’ll get sick of me.”
“Never.”
“I know it’s probably not healthy. But right now, you’re the only thing that makes me feel like it’s going to be okay. That I’m going to get through this.”
“Because you are. I’m not going anywhere. You want me to come over? I’ve always wondered what your bed would feel like.”
“And face the firing squad? No, I’ll be okay.”
“I’d face an army for you.”
“You must really like me.” I smile.
“Just a tad.” Ares holds up his thumb and pointer finger, keeping a little space between them to emphasise his point.
“Probably a good thing I spent all night hearing about all my good qualities. I’m quite the catch if you ask my dad.”
“He’s right about that. You are a catch. And I’ve caught you. This isn’t a catch-and-release type of thing. I’m keeping you, P.”
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For being there when I needed you. For helping me. For today. I don’t know if I could do any of this without you.”
“You could, but you don’t need to. You are stronger than you give yourself credit for.”
“I think you have a biased opinion.”
“No, I have an honest opinion. You’ve been fighting this alone for so long, Zara. You’re not alone anymore.”
There’s a knock at the door, and I hear the key go into it before it opens.
“Someone’s here. I have to go,” I tell Ares.
“Call me back if you need to,” he replies.
“Go hang out with your family. I’m okay now.”
“Call me back if you need to, P,” he repeats, and then the screen goes black.
My mum comes and sits on the bed. “Was that Ares?” she asks.
I nod.
“Why does he call youP?”
