Every day I say I’ll try.
And every day I pull up our messages.
My phone vibrates, and my eyes snap to it. The screen lights up with a name I haven’t seen scroll across it in a year.
Kaden.
My heart leaps as I shoot forward and rip it to my ear. My hands shake as I slide the green button and answer. “Hello?”
“Who is this?” A male voice I don’t recognize asks, laced with sleep as if they’ve just risen for the day.
My heart drops into my stomach, settling heavily as I sit back in my chair. “Is Kaden there?”
“Who?”
“Kaden Wilder,” I say, picking at my lip.
“Never heard of him,” the man groans, and I hear the sounds of sheets rustling. “Listen, lady, I got this number yesterday after changing my cell phone plan.”
“Oh…“ My bottom lip wobbles as tears sting the bridge of my nose. “That’s—” I clear my throat, battling past the emotions gripping me. “That’s my bad. This was my brother’s number before he went missing.”
The man sighs heavily. “I’m a fucking asshole. I’m sorry about your brother.”
I blink past my blurry vision. “It’s okay. I’ll leave you alone. Sorry, again.”
He hangs up, and my arm falls to the table. My phone clatters across the surface as I stare straight ahead at the bookshelves in front of me.
He changed his number.
The same number he had since we were kids.
Wetness tracks down my face, and I weakly swipe at it, smearing my tears across my cheek.
I have no choice but to let go now.
This is it.
There is no closure.
Someone scrapes a chair across the ground near me before shoving their backpack onto the table and plopping down. They catch my attention, and it seems I’ve caught theirs as we both turn to look at each other.
Dylan.
He’s filled out a little more since I last saw him. After The Hunt, he dropped his Botany 101 class, and I’ve caught glimpses of him across campus. We haven’t spoken since then…
His eyes widen. “Oh, shit. Are you okay?”
I sniffle, wiping my cheeks quickly as I give him a watery smile. “Our first time speaking in a year, and I’m blubbering like a baby.”
He turns to fully face me before just snatching up his things and taking the seat next to me. “Do you want to talk about what’s got youblubberingin the library on a Saturday night?”
I swallow, frowning down at my hands. “Have you ever been through a really bad breakup before?”
He blows out a breath. “Plenty. You’re talking to the breakup champion of North campus. Two-time dumpee.”
A laugh escapes me. It’s wet and broken, but still a laugh.
“That’s the sound we like to hear,” he points at me with a wide, charming grin.
