Distant Signals: The Love Between Us

Chapter Thirty-Four

As a result of a restless night, Arthit clambered out of bed far earlier than he would've liked and ended up arriving at the cafe fifteen minutes early. He sat down and told the waitress that he needed a few minutes—he'd order when his friend arrived—and got out his phone, sighing. He didn't want to think about yesterday, but he couldn't help it. The mental image of Kongpob and Praepailin smiling at each other as they gushed about one of their favorite directors tormented him, and he couldn't stop thinking that Kongpob would be better off with her. After all, he thought she was pretty. Didn't that mean he liked her a little bit?

He slumped in his seat and released a deep, heavy breath, holding his phone loosely in his hand. As per usual, Kongpob sent him a message in the early hours of the day wishing him a good morning, but this time Arthit hesitated before responding. He didn't know what to do. Should he talk to him and pretend like everything was fine? That he wasn't thinking about ending things? In the end, he decided to say good morning back and added that he'd be busy all week with an assignment, which, to be fair, was true. They even needed to travel for it.

"Oon?" that familiar voice, one that he'd loved and adored for so long, came softly from behind him. "Is that you?" Namtan smiled at him and took a seat on the other side of the table. "I can't believe you got here before me. You're never on time. What happened?"

He laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck. "I couldn't sleep last night."

"Oh? Why?"

"No reason. I'm just worried about school."

She nodded, humming in understanding. "We finally get to hang out together." Namtan leaned forward. "But it's a bit difficult, don't you think?"

"Well, we are busier these days."

"I miss the old days. We were always together."

Arthit didn't know what to say to that because, truthfully, he didn't miss the old days, but he didn't want to tell her that. He had plenty of good memories with Jay and Namtan, but their senior year of high school wasn't particularly pleasant for him, especially after he helped Jay confess to her for Valentine's Day. That, combined with the frequent conflicts between Tor and his mother, did not make Arthit want to go back to that time.

The waitress interrupted them and took their order, then Namtan gave him an apologetic smile and said, "I'm sorry for suddenly asking you to meet me."

"Don't worry about it," replied Arthit, shrugging. "What's wrong, though?"

She looked surprised for a second, as if she hadn't expected him to know something was wrong since she hadn't explicitly said anything, but then she smiled and let out a short laugh. "I can't hide anything from you, can I? You've always been able to read me so easily." She looked down at her hands. "Well...it's the same old things."

"You must be fighting with Jay again."

"No, we're not. Not really. It's more of a misunderstanding."

"What happened?"

"Jay has been busy lately, and he doesn't seem to care about me like he used to."

"It might just be temporary. The Faculty of Architecture's play will begin soon, right?" Arthit patted her clasped hands twice and smiled hoping that it'd help her feel better. "Come on. Don't think too much."

"I tried not to..." she said, playing with her hands. "But Jay didn't even remember our anniversary, Oon. He left me waiting for four hours that day."

Arthit didn't know what to say. He glanced down at the checkered pattern on the table cloth, then back up at Namtan, giving her his full attention and empathy. She called him out because she needed to vent to a friend, and he could do that for her.