Beyond us (all of us #3) 18+

F I F T E E N

C H L O E

I stare at my phone like it's the one who betrayed me, and not the boy I've considered my boyfriend for the past three months.

Still no calls, no texts. Not even a read receipt. It's been hours.

My lashes are just about glued to my cheeks with half dried tears, and my body feels like's been through an emotional car crash. It hurt my feelings even more when I peeled off the cute pajama set I picked out for tonight and threw on a hoodie instead. One of his, because I hate myself.

I lie on my side, hugging my knees to my chest like I'm desperately trying to hold the pieces of myself together.

What was I even thinking?

That we were gonna kiss and fall into bed and magically everything would feel right and perfect? That he would be perfect? That he could be?

I'm so stupid. So damn stupid.

I reach for my phone again, even though it hasn't buzzed once. No new messages. I scroll up through our texts like maybe rereading them will change something. Like I can somehow rewrite the ending if I look at the beginning enough.

And then I cave.

I hit call, listen to it ring, and ring, and then go straight to voicemail. I make sure to hang up before it can even beep.

"God I'm such an idiot," I whisper out loud. Like saying it confirms it's true.

He doesn't want this. Maybe he never did. Maybe it was all just a game. Just a challenge. Something fun to chase until he realized how real I made it.

But it was real. It felt real to me.

I swipe under my eyes, furious at myself for crying again. For feeling like I might not be able to stop.

I open my contacts and tap Marina's name with no hesitation.

"Hello," she croaks, sounding sleepy.

"Can you talk?" I hate how shaky my voice is.

I can hear the shift in her breathing as if she's sitting upright. "What's wrong?"

"He's not answering. I texted. I called. Nothing..."

She pauses a few beats. "Chloe...I'm sure there's a valid reason. You know how he is. Maybe his phone died, or he fell asleep, or--"

"No. I can feel it. Something's off. He never just disappears like this."

She exhales, like she's trying to gather her words without making me spiral even more. "Do you want me to come over?"

I almost say yes, but then I hear it.

Tap Tap...Tap.

My heart seizes in my chest and I almost drop my phone when I see the glum look on his face as he waits behind my window.

"Marina, I gotta go." I hang up, my phone falling out of my hand when I bolt to let him in.

I swing open the window, cold air rushing in and mixing with my breath. My damp skin stinging as the remnants of tears completely dry.  "What the hell, Diesel."

He climbs in and lands softly on the carpet like he's done it a hundred times. Probably a hundred and four at this point.

"I know," he says first, breath a little heavy like he hurried here even though I've been waiting to hear from him for hours. "Look, I'm here now."

I blink, shocked. My heart thudding in my throat because for a moment I thought the worst.

I thought everything I'd ever known about him was true. The very legends curated about him in the halls we walked the past two years proven fact, and I'd found out in real time.