Unrequited Love

64

Novel woke up to an empty bed. Gena's side was cold to the touch, which meant she'd left a long time ago. Novel raised her head, straining her ears, hoping she'd hear anything. All that met her was silence.

The next box on her mental list was her phone. If Gena was going to leave, she'd at least have left a message or told her where she was going.

Her inbox was empty.

Struggling with the thought she didn't want to address, Novel quieted her wandering mind. Gena was a grown-up. She didn't need to overthink anything when there hadn't been a reason to.

She winced as she dressed up. Her body reminded her of the previous night, and Novel prayed to whoever was listening that she wasn't about to feel more pain than she was already in.

"Look what the cat dragged out of the bag." Jane didn't look up as her mother walked in, scrolling lazily on her phone. "When were you going to remember I existed?"

"Have you seen Gena?" Novel asked.

Jane perked up. "Did she leave? I've been waiting for her, we were supposed to bake a cake together."

"I see." Novel's hand shook as she opened the fridge. "She had to rush home to get some things, I think she left while I was asleep."

Jane deflated, going back to her phone. "I forgot she doesn't live here. Can you alert me when she comes back?"

"Will do." Novel drank from the chilled bottle of water, checking her phone again for a message of any kind. There was none.

Her dilemma grew in her chest, spreading like poison through her veins. Gena wouldn't leave her, especially after - Novel shook her head, Gena wouldn't be that cruel.

"I'm going to go back to sleep. I'm feeling a bit tired."

Jane scrunched up her face, "That was an information I did not need to know."

Novel walked back to her room, having no energy to banter with her daughter. With her back to the closed door, Novel looked around. The room looked like Gena had never been there, realizing that was the part that made her so unsettled.

Gena had taken everything that belonged to her, even the overnight bag she'd rushed home to pack the other day.

It felt as though everything had been a dream, but her scent - Novel inhaled - was faint, but it was there. Gena hadn't been a dream, but what was this heavy feeling in her chest? A feeling she knew all so well.

Novel checked her phone again, contemplating whether or not to call. 'What if she had an emergency?', 'What if she's away from her phone?', 'What if something terrible happened?'. There were so many what-ifs, but one stood out. 'What if she left?'

Left to spiral in her thoughts, Novel sat with her back to the door and her head on her knees.

Her phone rang, Novel defied every law of speed, reaching for it.

"Hello?!" She picked up.

"Hey, bestie!"

Novel closed her eyes, keeping her tears at bay. "Samantha. How's everything?"

"Someone doesn't sound happy to hear from me." Samatha giggled. "Did I interrupt something?"

Novel remembered vividly what happened after Gena's friends had interrupted them, another open wound she needed to tend to.

"Fortunately, you aren't interrupting anything." Unable to stop her voice from breaking, she choked. "I don't know what to do, Sam."

Samantha whispered to someone in the background, then responded. "Talk to me. What happened?"