Until I Met Her

Chapter 7 (Edited)

When I woke up, it was 2:40 a.m. and my phone was buzzing against the nightstand.

I was disoriented at first, half-dreaming, forgetting I was not in my room and that the body next to me is Freddie.

We were in Brighton, at a slightly dodgy Airbnb that Freddie, Eleanor, Billy and I managed to afford. Weird group, but when Eleanor told me she'd signed me up for a competition in Brighton, the guys basically launched themselves into the car. The comp was on a Friday so Joe, Mark and Lexi couldn't get time off, and Gio couldn't skip class.

Eleanor managing all of this was still confusing as hell. London I understood. This? Comintg along, finding new competitions for me to go to? No clue.

I grabbed my phone, turned the brightness down and open the new message.

From Kheli.

As soon as I read it, my heart skipped a beat. I read it again. And again.

U know I miss the nights we spent together.

When id sneak in and we spend

the whole night talking about anything.

i miss u ty. Do u miss me too?

I sat up, resting against the headboard. My thumbs ached to type but my brain refused to gave in. The last time she texted was weeks ago and she left me on read. I wanted to do the same to her... so I put my phone back on the nightstand, lied down and turned my back to it as if that'd make it disappear.

But I couldn't sleep anymore. All I could do was think about her stupid texts.

Do u miss me too?

I wanted to be mean, I wanted her to know she hurt me. I wanted her to know that her coming and goings were hurting me. How? How could you miss me when you were the one pushing me away?

I turned over, sat up slightly. I didn't want to wake Freddie up so I tried to be quiet as I grabbed my phone and opened Kheli's chat again.

Shouldn't you be sleeping?

I hit send before I could overthink it. I stared at the screen waiting for her reply and, when it comes, I forced myself to stay cold, distant, uninterested. If she did it, why couldn't I?

By 3 a.m. my eyes were wide open, my heart bruised and aching, my uninterested façade completely gone as her responses kept coming.

I couldn't be like Kheli was. I couldn't be rude and detached— even if I wasn't in love with her, I still cared for all that we lived together, and she knew it.

She knew exactly what to say or do to make me forget all the bad.

⚢

"You went to bed at 10. Why do you look like you haven't slept at all?" Eleanor's eyes were accusing as she stared at me up and down, arms crossed, leg bouncing. It was 11 a.m. and she was walking around with her large coffee cup.

"Beauty sleep isn't an actual thing, Eleanor." I sighed, dropping onto the couch next to Freddie. She was on her phone, ignoring Eleanor.

"You have a competition. Your first out of town and—"

"Bro, relax, it's not a big deal." I met her eyes, instantly regret it and looked away.

If she were a cartoon, there'd be steam coming out of her ears.

Without another word, she stomped out of the room.

"She gets angry so quickly," I muttered, shaking my head and turning to Freddie. "She might have anger issues."