The Lonely Hearts

Chapter 11

After a while Archie reached his destination. He parked the car and was about to enter the elevator when his phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID frowned and felt a wave of annoyance. He immediately declined the call. But as he stepped into the elevator his phone began ringing again. He ignored it but it kept ringing up to his floor. Once he entered his apartment, the ringing finally stopped. He set down his keys, let out a deep breath and just as he was about to enter his bedroom his phone buzzed once more. Frustratedly Archie answered nearly shouting, "What do you want now? Why can't you just let me live in peace?"

A soft voice replied on the other end, "I'm… I'm sorry. I just wanted to check if you got home safely." Archie's eyes widened in horror as he realized it was Zoyee. His face flushed with embarrassment as he cursed internally realizing he hadn’t even checked the caller ID this time. He quickly replied, "Oh Zoyee, I'm so sorry. I thought it was a scam caller. I didn't mean to yell at you."
Zoyee chuckled lightly, "It's okay. Just wanted to make sure you got home fine. I'll let you go then."
"Thanks for checking in," he said trying to recover from the awkwardness. "I reached home safely. Don’t worry. And... um.. sorry again for yelling." "Really, it's fine. Just relax, freshen up, okay?"

After they hung up Archie let out a sigh of relief. He put his phone aside. He took a long shower and tried to calm his thoughts. Yet despite the refreshing feeling, his mind kept drifting back to the message he had received earlier, the unwanted person who had reached out to him. As much as he wanted to forget about it he couldn’t shake the tension in his chest. Meanwhile Zoyee lay on her bed and staring at her phone sensing there was something bothering him. Though she wanted to believe him a nagging feeling wouldn’t let her rest.

Just as she was lost in thought her phone lit up, it was Archie. She answered with a soft "Hello?" "Hey, you were sleeping?" "Nope, not yet." "I just wanted to say thanks again. Today was really nice. I don’t usually share much about my personal life, but with you it just feels easy." Zoyee felt warmth spreading in her chest. "I enjoyed it too. I’m glad you feel comfortable enough to share." They talked for a little longer exchanging stories and laughter until they both felt ready to call it a night.

With Monday came, Zoyee found herself in her usual classroom chatting with her friends Bella, Henry and Ryan while waiting for the professor. Just as they were talking Ryan leaned over with a mischievous grin and asked, "So, Zoyee, what did you do over the weekend?" The question caught her off guard but she quickly managed, "Oh, I just hung out, met up with some friends. Nothing special." Ryan raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. "Friends? Or a friend?" She hesitated, her cheeks becoming pink. "A friend" Ryan leaned in smirking, "A friend or... maybe... a boyfriend?"

Bella's eyes widened as she exchanged a look with Henry. "A boyfriend!? And we don't know anything about it?" Zoyee quickly shook her head trying to explain, "It's not like that at all, I promise." Ryan only grinned wider. "Oh yeah? Then why did you post a picture at the beach—alone?" Zoyee crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow at him. "And how does that prove anything?"

Ryan slid his phone across the table, showing a screenshot, "Because Archie also posted a picture at the exact same beach on the exact same day. And neither of you posted a picture with whom you went there." Zoyee's mouth opened then closed as she fumbled for words. She really didn't know that Ryan was also on Archie's following list. She was saved only by the professor’s arrival and everyone quickly took their seats. But Henry whispered to her, "Don't think you're saved. You'll have to spill everything at lunch." With that the classes continued.