The Night We Met by Ruero

Chapter:13 The Night We Met

After college, Angelica kept her promise to help me find the elusive dead rat. We searched every nook and cranny of my apartment, turning the place upside down. The room looked like a war zone with clothes and old pizza boxes scattered everywhere. We were both exhausted, our energy drained, but the sense of teamwork kept us going. Finally, after hours of relentless effort, we discovered the decaying culprit behind my bed. With the rat disposed of, the smell began to dissipate, and I could finally look forward to a peaceful night's sleep in my own bed.

Angelica sighed in relief as she leaned against the wall. "Finally, we can both get some rest," she said, her voice tinged with exhaustion and satisfaction.

"Yeah, thanks a lot, Angelica. I couldn't have done this without you," I replied, genuinely grateful. I noticed a smudge of dirt on her cheek and pointed it out. We both laughed, the tension breaking as we cleaned up the remnants of our rat hunt.

She smiled tiredly, brushing her hair back. "No problem, Ethan. Get some sleep."

As night fell, I found myself lying in bed, scrolling through Instagram. The soft glow of my phone was the only light in the room. I stumbled upon Angelica's profile. She had over 30k followers and countless posts of her performing on stage. In each photo, she looked confident and radiant, lost in the music. I couldn't help but admire her; she was so cool and talented, yet so sweet and down-to-earth. I caught myself smiling like an idiot, feeling a strange warmth in my chest.

Suddenly, a soft sound broke through the silence. I strained to listen and realized it was sobbing coming from the next room. It was Angelica. My heart sank. "Is she crying?" I wondered, feeling a pang of sadness. "Is it because of the breakup?"

I had no idea how to handle this situation. Comforting people wasn't exactly my forte, and the thought of trying to comfort her felt incredibly awkward. But I couldn't just ignore her pain. I sat up in bed, feeling the weight of indecision pressing down on me. "What should I do?" I asked myself, anxiety creeping in.

An idea struck me. I grabbed my guitar, hoping it might work. I took a deep breath and started playing her favorite tune, "The Night We Met." The familiar melody filled the room, wrapping me in a sense of calm. As the soft, melodic notes floated through the air, I listened carefully, hoping the music would reach her.

The sobbing gradually ceased. "Did it work?" I thought, feeling a glimmer of hope. I continued playing, pouring my emotions into each note, hoping she could feel the comfort I was trying to offer.

Moments later, my phone buzzed with a message. It was from Angelica. My heart raced as I opened it. She had never texted me before. The message simply said, "Thanks."

I stared at my phone, terrified of making things awkward. I typed and erased several responses, my fingers trembling. Finally, I decided to respond with a weird cat picture from my gallery. To my surprise, she sent back a smile emoji. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. "Why am I so dumb? I can't even talk on chat. Kill me," I thought, feeling a mix of embarrassment and relief.

The room was now silent except for the faint hum of the city outside. The moonlight filtered through the curtains, casting a gentle glow on the walls. Despite my awkwardness, I felt a sense of connection with Angelica. I had managed to make her stop crying, and that was enough for now. I put my phone down and closed my eyes, finally at peace.

The next morning, sunlight streamed through the window, casting a warm glow across my room. I woke up feeling surprisingly refreshed. As I stretched and got out of bed, I couldn't help but think about last night. Angelica's presence in the next room felt comforting, like I wasn't alone in this big, chaotic world.