𝐌𝐘 𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐘 𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐍 | 𝖩𝗈𝖻𝖾 𝖡𝖾𝗅𝗅𝗂𝗇𝗀𝗁𝖺𝗆

¹⁷. 𝖺 𝗀𝗈𝗈𝖽𝖻𝗒𝖾 𝗁𝗎𝗀

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━   𝖠𝖫𝖤𝖷 𝖵𝖠𝖫𝖤

I LAY IN bed, staring at the ceiling, my thoughts running wild. Today had been... a lot. Amazing, bittersweet, and everything in between. I already missed Sunderland—mostly Jobe, and even Mark, who had this way of making me feel welcome without even trying.

Work, though? Yeah, I wouldn't miss that. The thought of going back home, of slipping back into the routine I'd been so desperate to escape, made my chest tighten. And then there was my mom. I just knew she'd call first thing in the morning, probably to remind me that i'm going back home. I wasn't ready for that. Not yet.

The clock on my phone read 12:53 a.m. I sighed, rolling onto my side. Sleep wasn't coming. My mind was too full—of Jobe's laugh, his stupid jokes, the way his eyes lit up when he talked about football. I wasn't sure how I was supposed to leave all that behind and go back to pretending none of it mattered.

I grabbed my phone, scrolling aimlessly, hoping to distract myself, but nothing worked. It was just me, my thoughts, and the ache of not wanting this trip to end.

Then I heard a soft knock at the door. At first, I didn't say anything, thinking maybe I'd imagined it. But then I heard his voice, low and familiar. "Alex."

"Jobe?" I called out quietly. "Come in."

I sat up just as he opened the door. The room was completely dark, but the faint glow from the hallway outlined his silhouette. I could barely make out his face, but I didn't need to see him to know it was him.

"You can't sleep either?" he asked, his voice soft but curious. I nodded, even though I wasn't sure he could see it.

Without saying another word, Jobe closed the door behind him, and I pulled the blanket back from the other side of the bed, lying down and tapping the empty space. A silent invitation. He hesitated for just a moment before walking over, his footsteps quiet as he made his way to me.

I watched as he lay down beside me, carefully pulling the blanket over himself. The bed dipped slightly under his weight, and for a moment, the room felt even quieter than before. The warmth of his presence was comforting, even though neither of us said a word right away.

I turned to face him, adjusting my pillow to get more comfortable. He mirrored my movements, and now we were lying there, facing each other, even though the darkness made it impossible to truly see.

Jobe was the first to break the silence, his voice soft but steady. "I'm gonna miss you."

His words hung in the air, making my chest tighten. I bit my lip, unsure how to respond at first.

"I'm gonna miss you too," I finally admitted, my voice just as quiet as his. It felt strange to say it out loud, but it was the truth.

There was a pause before he spoke again. "It's weird, isn't it? You're only leaving tomorrow, but it already feels... different."