Epilogue Five: Two Years Later

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Two Years Later: Summer 2025

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"Bojan..." I just about managed to mutter through my heavy breathing.

"What's wrong?" Bojan said almost instantly. Of course he knew something was wrong. I had been calling him since eight in the morning, although knowing perfectly well that he'd never be up at that point in time.

"Can I- I need to be with you. Just tell me where you're staying so I can go to where you are. Everyone I trust isn't here and I just need you." My voice was shaking, although I did my best to remain calm.

"Of course you can come here. I'll text you the hotel straight away. In the meantime just try to focus on your breathing okay? Let's get that back to normal." Bojan said, trying to sound calm, but I could hear the worry in his voice.

"Can you tell me what's wrong?" He asked again when I didn't reply. "Are you hurt?"

I wanted to reply, I did, but I couldn't trust myself enough to form words that made sense. "Eva, I'm freaking out right now too. Please tell me you're okay. I can hear you're driving. Please be careful." Bojan nearly begged when I once again took too long to reply.

"I will be. I promise." I said quickly. "I just... I can't be alone right now. I need you." I considered Slovenia to be my home by now, but it wasn't my home country. I knew the language, my way around Ljubljana, but my social circle was still very limited to people I knew through Bojan. I didn't want to bother Bojan with this, initially, but the more I tried to reach out to the people I knew and trusted in Slovenia, Bojan's parents, Bojan's sister, Kris' mother, other friends, but apparently this week literally everyone was out of the country, the more desperate I grew.

"Eva pull over at the next stop please. I want to see you." Bojan said, the worry in his voice now gone. He sounded more stern now.

I sighed deeply. There were only a couple of times when I heard Bojan speak in such a heavy tone, and when he did there really was no point in arguing with him. "I'll be there in three hours." I tried to reason. I really didn't want to take a break, it would only cause me to arrive to Budapest that much later.

"Eva, listen to me. I don't know what's going on but you're not thinking clearly. You're gonna pull over and we're just gonna talk, okay?" I sighed and made a barely audible affirmative sound before ending the call.

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"Thank god." Bojan said the moment I FaceTimed him just a couple of minutes later, probably because he saw I was at a gas station. "Eva, it's more than okay if you want to come here. I honestly would want nothing more. But you have to promise me you do so safely. And please share your live location with me so I know you're safe." Bojan's harsh tone from before had changed into a soft and gentle one.

"Okay." I murmured quietly. I wanted to say so much more, but I didn't know how. Bojan's eyebrows were furrowed and even if he tried to hide his worry, I know it was still there.

"Eva, can you tell me what made you want to come to Budapest?"

"I want to tell you in person. Just.. try to trust me when I say that I'm not hurt. And that I love you. And I always will." I whispered quietly as I ran my fingers over my phone. "It's just... no one's here and I just need someone right now."

"Of course I trust you love." Bojan said quietly. He tried his best, but I could tell he wasn't completely telling the truth. "Be safe, okay? I'll see you soon."

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Bojan was already waiting in the hotel lobby when I arrived at his hotel. I ran as fast as I could the moment I first saw him, wrapping my arms around his neck as tightly as possible. "Let's go to my room, okay?" Bojan whispered against my hair as he returned the hug by wrapping his arms around my waist.

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