Moonstruck at Midnight

Chapter 39 - Stay

THREE WEEKS HAD GONE BY, and I feared William had returned the courtesy of blocking me. I tried calling him on two occasions, but the call never went through

Touché!

A fresh flower arrangement arrived every week from Thomas, but I kept dodging his calls.

There had to be a glitch in the universe because we were all trying to get ahold of someone who wasn't willing to pick up the phone. I even made a mental note about placing a fresh set of flowers under my pillow next year on Midsummer because, again—the glitch.

Breaking up with Thomas and having William out of the picture was all Caleb needed to go back to being the best version of himself. I'd never seen him happier, and because of that, I never found it in me to talk to him about everything like I wanted to, afraid I'd somehow ruin things. And, well, I wasn't leaving the house much either, so we didn't have many opportunities to be alone and talk freely.

I had finally agreed to have dinner with Nina and CJ tonight. And since I was done with my photography course and I hadn't felt like going out to run in the past few weeks, I—drumroll please—sat in the living room to read a book.

After the fire, Dr. Lindström asked me to take a break from boxing until my hand healed. So I canceled Grant's training sessions. But even though I was cleared to exercise, I preferred to keep my distance. I would have to bump into Tobias every day, and the thought of it made me uncomfortable. That meant I had a lot of free time on my hands, which I usually spent inside my head.

Ten minutes into my reading, I was sound asleep.

🌙

I woke up feeling disoriented with the book open on my chest, but the twinkling night lights gave me an idea of how late it was. My cell phone indicated it was almost midnight.

Shit. It was much later than I thought.

My phone was bustling with texts and missed calls from Nina, CJ, and my security group chat. They were all wondering if I was going to show up for dinner or not.

Should I throw my iPhone away? It would always remind me of William. All the unpleasant memories and feelings came flooding back to me—reminding me of the mess I'd made of things.

All cats are grey in the dark. That much I knew.

Going back to sleep wasn't going to happen. So I texted Nina and CJ instead, apologizing for not showing up. I also wanted to let Aaron, Caleb, and David know what had happened.

Me: Hey! I fell asleep and missed dinner. I'm going to get some fresh air on the rooftop.
Aaron: Thank you for letting us know, Miss Murphy. I'll meet you up there in a few minutes.
Me: That won't be necessary, Aaron. I'd like to be alone if that's okay. I'll bring my phone and let you know if I need anything.

I needed to breathe.

Did I hope for William to show up like he always did? I didn't know anymore. Did I honestly think he would? Never!

The irony ... We kept saying never, hoping for always, and now its meaning had come to life—it was sneering back at me, mocking me—ready to eat me alive.

Almost two months ago, I stood on the same rooftop, picking up flowers to place under my bed. To dream of him. What a different night that had been.

I rested my arms against the farthest end of the rooftop railing for a while and focused on my breathing, trying to keep my thoughts in check, and my tears locked in place.