If I Love You Was A Promise

Overanalyzing (Syrah's POV)

After a few days at the complex, I was finally settling in. Although I've been advised to unpack my things due to the fact I'll be living here for the next twelve months, I'm still hesitant to accept the fact I won't be returning home anytime soon. Maybe if I leave my things unpacked, I can leave this hell earlier than scheduled.

The little apartment they had sent me to live in is smaller than I had anticipated, but overall, it's not that bad and honestly, it's kind of cozy. It had warm lighting like the sun before it sets, and extra necessities like pillows and blankets. 

Before they left me here, they picked me up in a not-so-subtle limo, after announcing to my mother that I would be leaving for a year with no exceptions. On the oddly unsettling drive over here they handed me a card with my date of birth, eye color, hair color, and my registration number.

I look up at the clock they left above the desk where they left a really nice expensive looking computer and realize it's time to email the other person who must feel just as trapped as I do right now. It may take a while for them to respond, but with the message they had written before, I understand that they must have a busy schedule and this new pen pal situation may not be as convenient for them as it is for me. I unlock the computer and type the first message of the day. "Hey, it's 8963 starting up the conversation for today. Hopefully I won't be doing this every day until this is over, so just type back when you see this."

 An hour passes by, and I begin to worry due to the fact we only had a few hours left before today's deadline. As I was about to give up and go to sleep, I receive a message from 8327 saying "Hey, sorry about the wait again. Two days in a row that I took too long to respond, and I almost cost us. Practice has really been a pain these past few days, but I swear tomorrow I'll message you first." I reply with a vague response, "Counting on it."

After the rest of the required messages are sent, I immediately sign off and try to go to sleep but my thoughts won't allow me to get a moment of silence. "What if he responds too late one day?" "It may cost me my life." "They're being too careless with this, it's as if it doesn't matter to them." After a bit more overthinking, I snap myself back into reality and realize that even with their busy schedule, they haven't actually missed a deadline yet, but instead just waited until the last second, which may not actually be their fault. "I need to calm down and go to sleep, there hasn't been an actual problem yet, so I don't see a reason to spiral.