"Hello?"
"Hi, Luke. It's Parker."
"Oh, hi Parker." Shuffling. "You got my letter."
"I've been getting your notes for a while. They are quite lovely."
"Thanks."
"No problem." Silence. "How do you know where I live?"
"Oh, um, I—" Deep breath. "I asked around. It took me a while to find out."
"I don't recall talking to you during high school. How do you know my name?"
"I don't need to talk to you to know your name, Parker. There is also something called a yearbook."
"Oh yeah."
"Did you read everything I wrote."
"I did."
"I—"
"Are you really in love with me?"
A longer pause. I heard lots of shuffling, but decided to think nothing of it. I guess he was deciding what to say.
"When did you receive that letter?"
"Yesterday."
"Yesterday?"
"Yeah." I raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Parker, I sent that to you three months ago. How did you get it yesterday?"
"It must have gotten lost in the mail or something."
Three months since he'd sent that letter.
"I wrote that letter a long time ago. I had sent it to you, but you never responded. I was frightened that I said something wrong but I realized that maybe you didn't feel the same way. I respect your boundaries, Parker. I really do. That's why I didn't push you too far."
"I tried really hard to forget about you, but I couldn't. You—you're on my mind everyday."
"What does that mean?" I asked.
"I've been in love with you since the first day of high school, I think."
"You think?"
"I know."
"Is that the--"
"Yes. It's the truth."
"I believe you."
And suddenly, I felt a surge of relief push through my body, from the tips of my toes to the tip of my tongue. I couldn't put it into the complex words that I should have said. I just... didn't know how.
"Do you love me back, Parker?"
Was this a dream?
"Parker, are you still there?"
Maybe if I counted to three this would all go away.
"Parker, please answer me."
I shook everything away, ignoring the sweat that had formed on the tips of my fingers, threatening the phone in my hand to fall out.
Just go for it, Park, just go for it.
"Thank you for the flowers," she said. "Thank you for putting the effort into making me smile each day."
"Does that mean no?"
"I wasn't finished."
"I never had the chance to speak to you during high school. Maybe it was because I was too afraid. Or maybe it was because I didn't want to seem like I was addicted to you. I wanted so badly for you to notice me, or look in my direction. I just came to the conclusion that I was way out of your league, and that I should just give up.
"So that's what I did, Luke. I gave up on my feelings because I was a coward and too fearful for rejection. And when I got your letter, I felt a weight lifted off of my shoulders because I knew that the old me would have loved it."
"You're not answering my question, Parker."
"I know that I feel something, Luke. That's all I can say."
"What does that mean?"
I hung up.
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i am praying that this story is actually good to you guys lmao
and listen to the linked song because daNG THOSE VOCALS I LOVE HIM
