“Do you need help with the bags?” he asks.
“No, thank you, but that’s kind of you.” I smile back, and we haul our bags out onto the curb as the taxi pulls away.
We totally needed help, but we’re not the type to ask for it.
“And here I thought chivalry was dead,” Yana mutters, brushing hair off her face.
Zara and I laugh, still a little giddy from the win and the trip.
They walk ahead of me, keys jingling, and I hear the lock click. But then they freeze.
“Uh, hello?” I grumble, shifting the heavy bag, digging into my shoulders. “Not sure if you noticed, but I’m carrying a mountain here—” I stop mid-sentence when they both move aside, slowly, like they’re unveiling a secret.
The apartment isn’ttheapartment anymore.
It’s a sea of pastel sticky notes, plastered on every surface.
My heart lurches as I step inside, peeling one from the wall.
One side has my name written, the other a sentence.
You don’t have to be perfect all the time for me to be proud of you.
I take another one.
When you say you’re ‘fine,’ I know you’re not. You don’t have to hide that from me.
My chest aches. My throat tightens, and I want to laugh and cry at the same time.
“Omg,” I whisper.
Behind me, Yana reads one out loud, her voice softening. “That is actually the sweetest thing ever, Tilly-Bean.”
The apartment is filled with notes with Luca’s handwriting.
Some notes have pictures, some have my favorite book quotes. Some are just his messages.
“I feel like I’m missing a piece here,” Zara says, tilting her head.
“I’ll explain,” Yana says. “Tilly, I think you’ve got a phone call to make.”
I walk to my room and close the door behind me as I shakily call Luca.
It does take three tries to press the call icon, but once I hit it, I set the phone down and start pacing my room.
He picks up right away.
“The handwriting gave you away,” I manage to whisper, tears slipping down my face.
“Hey T.” Luca’s voice comes through the line, and I can hear the smile in it. “How was your flight?”
“Fine,” I breathe.
“I heard you won.”
“We did.”
“I knew you would.” His voice softens.
