Timeless Tides | ENGLOT

Chapter 4: Out of Reach

Calista's POV:

My phone rang as I scrolled through social media, trying to distract myself from my thoughts. I almost missed the call, but when I saw that it was Ember, my heart skipped a beat.

I took a deep breath and answered the phone. "Hey, Ember. How are you doing?"

"Calista, hey, it's so good to hear your voice," Ember said over the phone.

"It's good to hear from you too. How's college going so far?"

"It's so different from anything I've ever experienced," Ember admitted. "But I think I'm starting to like it. There are so many opportunities here, and I'm meeting people from all over the world."

"That's great to hear," I said, genuinely happy for her.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, and I started to wonder if Ember had called for a specific reason. "Is everything okay?" I asked tentatively.

"I... I just miss you, Cal," Ember said, her voice softening. "It's been weird not seeing your face."

"I... I miss you too," I stuttered. "We can facetime sometimes?"

"Good," Ember said, sounding genuinely happy. "Because I can't imagine going through college without you. And I promise to keep in touch, okay?"

"Okay," I said.

"Cool"

I smiled faintly to myself. It's been awhile. "Cool"

"Great." I hear Ember chuckle softly on the other end.

"Great." I ended, a wistful twinkle in my eye.

...

A few weeks later, As I saw Ember's name pop up on my phone, I immediately picked up, taking a deep breath before swiping to answer the call.

"Hey, Cal," Ember's voice came through. "How's everything back home?"

"Good," I tried to sound casual, but my voice sounded strained to my own ears. "What about you? How's college?"

"It's great," Ember started. "I've made so many new friends and my classes are really interesting. And, uh, I met someone," her voice lowered slightly, as if she wasn't sure if she wanted me to hear.

"That's great, Ember!" I tried to sound enthusiastic, but my heart was aching. I knew what this meant. "Tell me about her."

"Her name's Niahm," Ember's voice brightened up again, as she gushed about all the things she liked about her. "She's so smart and funny and kind. We've been studying together a lot and we just click. It's been nice." She said.

Her words filled me with waves of pain. Ember's happiness was my happiness, of course. But to hear her talk about someone new with such excitement was difficult. To hear her feeling something she couldn't feel with me was worse.

I hummed in response, not trusting my voice not to waved.

"But we're not dating or anything," Ember added quickly.

I knew that wasn't true. I could hear it in the way she talked about Niahm - with a sense of awe and admiration I had never heard before. It made me feel sick to think that she could be so enamored by someone else while I was still in love with her.

"That's great, Ember," I forced a smile, trying to sound happy for her. "I'm glad you've found someone who makes you happy."

There was a moment of silence between us, the weight of our unspoken feelings heavy in the air. I wondered if Ember could hear my heart breaking over the phone.