TILL INFINITIES END

55. TIA

I was forced to wake up, by the sound of my phone, the ringtone hurting my ears in the quiet  early morning. I opened my eyes, but the sunlight coming up through the window hit my face so harshly that I had to squeeze them shut again. There was a dull ache behind my forehead, the kind that comes from not sleeping well, but I ignored it. My hand reached for my phone, and that's when I saw it.

Everything stopped.

It was Sam. Video calling me. At 7 in the morning.

I stared at the screen for what felt like forever, my breath catching in my throat, my heart racing as if it couldn't decide whether to come out of my chest or just stop doing the one job it had. For a second, everything else faded—the room, the sunlight, even the headache. I swallowed hard, feeling a strange lump form in my throat as my thumb hovered over the screen. Should I pick up? Should I let it ring?

But before I could overthink it, I swiped.

And there he was.

Sam. His face filling the screen, looking exactly how I had imagined him before falling asleep last night. The same maroon t-shirt I had pictured him wearing, the same tired but familiar eyes, the same smile that I've caught myself dreaming about a hundred times. I felt like my entire world tilted, everything inside me dropping all at once. 

It was him. 

And for a brief moment, my heart stopped.

"Good morning!" His voice came through, bright and cheerful, like it always did, like nothing had changed.

I tried to respond, tried to force the words out, but it felt like my throat was glued. I managed a small smile, even though everything inside me felt like it was spinning.

"I said, good morning!" he repeated, with that familiar teasing tone, seeing no words come out of my mouth.

"G-good morning," I croaked, my voice barely making it out of my mouth. I must've sounded so ridiculous.

"I called you at least a million times yesterday. I wanted to show you the room! And the campus!!" He pouted, like he always did when he was being dramatic.

A million times. He always exaggerated like that. It used to make me laugh, but now....leave it.

I smiled again, trying to hide my true feelings, "Million? Do you even know how many zeroes are there in one million?" I teased him, the words coming out shakier than I wanted.

"Shut up," he rolled his eyes, "Tell me, why didn't you pick up my calls yesterday?"

"Wait," I said quickly, trying to avoid the truth. I turned the camera to show Myra, still fast asleep beside me, in her usual white night dress with unicorns all over.

"Shit, Tia—" he exclaimed, "You slept with her?"

I couldn't help but laugh, despite everything. "What?"

"It's not even one day since I left, and you've already slept with her?" he groaned dramatically. "Yuck! You can do better."

Little did he know... little did he know she was the one who held me all night while I cried over him. The one who rubbed my back and told me everything would be okay, even when I knew it wouldn't.

I swallowed hard, trying to keep my voice steady. "Sorry... I was out with Myra, and then we stayed up late talking. I didn't see your calls."

HAHA. 

The truth was, I'd seen every single one of them. I'd stared at my phone, my heart in my throat, but I couldn't bring myself to answer. Not when I knew it would hurt too much to hear him talk about his new life without me.