Coder Girl 2 /Dreamwastaken/

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My fingers began to cramp as I tried to explain as much as I could over text, essentially working to convince her to talk to me. And eventually, she gave in and agreed to answer my call.

And when she finally picked up, it hit me that her hesitation wasn't about not wanting to hear me out, but because she was crying.

She had her phone set up in front of the mirror, seemingly while she was doing her skincare routine.

But despite that, my focus was drawn to the redness on the tip of her nose and her eyes, the puffiness around them, and the pout on her lips. She had clearly been crying, and I felt like the biggest jerk knowing it was because of me.

"Lizzy, baby, I'm so sorry."

I didn't even know where to start. She looked like she was about to poke an eye out from how aggressively she was applying those creams, and her small sniffles were shattering me.

"Where were you?" She asked, her voice only making me feel worse about myself, "Who were those girls?"

"I was outside, I'm sorry-"

"How is it that every time I call or text you, you're never available, and it's random people answering your phone?" I could feel her frustration intensifying, "And you know what's even more messed up? I could still deal with it if those random people were George or Nick. But two drunk girls? How am I supposed to fucking make sense of that?"

I parted my mouth to say it wasn't what it looked like, but she continued.

"And before you try to tell me it's not what it looked like, I saw how wasted all of you were and how those girls were licking and sucking your friends' necks."

"Liz, I wasn't there."

"I hope to god you weren't," her voice was getting tense in a way that made me feel like she was about to cry again, "but where were you?"

"I was having breakfast, I had zero involvement in what was happening there, I promise," even though I was being completely honest, I still feared that my explanation might not sound convincing enough, "I'm really sorry you had to go through all of that. I forgot to take my phone with me, I'm so sorry, baby, I know it's entirely my fault."

One thing about Lizzy is that she never cries in front of me. Even when we're watching something sad, she just gets up and walks away, takes a moment to compose herself privately, and then returns.

And this time was no different. She lowered her phone, angling it towards the ceiling. Meanwhile, I could hear her sniffling growing louder, accompanied by the rustling sound of tissues as she wiped away her tears.

"Lizzy, please," I couldn't feel any worse about myself, "you trust me, right? You know I wouldn't lie to you, look at me."

I watched her prop her phone back up, tissues in hand, eyes red and glistening. Relief washed over me as she nodded, her cute little nose all red as she brought the tissue close to wipe it again.

I'd give anything to hold her.

And when she spoke, the weight on my chest intensified.

"You didn't... right? You wouldn't. It was just them with the girls, not you."

My heart was breaking.

"Don't even try to think about that," with my words, she was slowly regaining her composure, "you're everything I need, and everything I want. You're my everything. Okay?"

She nodded again, this time a barely noticeable smile replacing the pout.

"That's my girl. I love you so much, I'm sorry you went through all of that," I felt like I could finally breathe again.

"I love you too," she even said it back. I couldn't ask for a better scenario.

She might not even realize how much it meant to me that she genuinely trusted me enough to calm down after just hearing me say that I wasn't involved in what was happening in the room. I didn't even give her explanations about who those girls were and why they were "licking and sucking" my friends' necks. All she needed was a confirmation that I wasn't involved.

It made me want to tell her everything, make her feel safe about trusting me.

"And yesterday I didn't call you because I had my wisdom tooth taken out and didn't want you to be concerned. I thought I'd let you know after your exam, but I guess there's no point in waiting any longer."

The way her expression briefly changed, her eyebrows shooting up in concern, almost made me double think my decision.

"What? How? Are you okay!?" She grabbed her phone, bringing it closer to her face, "Does it hurt? Are you in pain?"

And this is why I was hiding it from her.

"I'm great, I'm good, don't worry," I felt bad about smiling, but the way she switched up so fast made me feel so loved and cared about in a weird way, "my face was all swollen and funny, that's why I didn't call you earlier."

"Oh my god, how are you now? Did they put stitches? Can you eat normally?" I was losing count of her questions and didn't know which one to answer first.

"I'm doing great, the stitches are getting removed right before our flight back, and I ate my breakfast just fine today," I hope I got all of the questions, "you have nothing to be worried about, I promise."

She exhaled and put her phone back in place. We stayed like that for a bit, giving each other a chance to catch our breath and take a break from all the questioning.

"Everything's okay, yeah? All good?" I had to make sure. If she had any other concerns or questions, I was ready to address all of it.

"Yeah," she dabbed her face with cotton pads, cleaning up the tear stains, "but don't disappear like that anymore."

"I'm so sorry for all of this. And before your exam too."

"It's okay, just bad timing, I guess," she sighed, going back to the creams and serums, "and don't worry about my exam, I think I got it."

"I know you're still gonna nail it," a smile appeared on my face and it grew even wider when she returned it.

"How can I not after the promise you made."

And she's back.