Say Hello For Me

f i f t e e n || the breakup

Almost a week has passed since the last time Nessa and Liam spoke. To be specific, it's been five and a half days. Even though she'd never admit it aloud, Nessa's sort of looking forward to his next call. He's become her favorite regular customer, and it's only been a matter of weeks.

The first thing Liam says after Nessa picks up the phone is, "We broke up. Delilah and I are over."

There's a hint of relief in his voice, the sense that all the weight he has been hefting on his shoulders has finally been lifted.

"Should congratulations be in order? Should I call the city and tell them to bring out the fireworks and champagne?"

"They should be, but not for me," Liam responds. "When do we ever see fireworks authorized by the city other than Fourth of July? We should just go buy some of our own!"

"What are you trying to say?"

"We should be congratulating you," Liam responds, explaining himself further. "I honestly couldn't have done this without—"

"Liam, please," Nessa cuts him off before he can say anything else. "Don't say that."

"Well I'm going to say it anyways!"

If there's one thing Nessa has to give Liam credit for, it's his persistence. The next words that escape his lips come out like rapid fire. She knows it's all so she can't find the room to interrupt him again.

"I couldn't have done any of this without you. If it wasn't for you, I'd still be with Delilah and I'd still be miserable right now. So thank you, Nessa. Thank you for setting me free. I feel liberated!"

She doesn't know why, but her cheeks are heated. When she looks at her reflection in the mirror, she sees that her cheeks have colored. They're only a color shades away from scarlet. Some people would call it blushing.

"I only gave you a couple pieces of advice," Nessa reminds him modestly. "You did everything else on your own. You need to give yourself some credit, Liam! But you're welcome. I also need to say thank you, too."

"For what?"

"Thank you for making my days at AskAway a little more interesting than usual."

"Thank you for being a friend to me, Nessa."

"Wait, we're friends now?" Nessa emphasizes the surprise in her voice.

"Ouch! That really stung. And here I thought that we were something more than two strangers talking on the phone."

"I'm just kidding!" The line fills with her soft, easy laughter.

"Wait, why does this sound like a goodbye?" Liam asks suddenly, reading in between the lines of the words being exchanged.

"Because I thought—"

"Well, you thought wrong," he tells her. "Who's supposed to help me the next time I have girl troubles that can't be fixed with hate sex and alcohol?"

"You really don't have to call anymore if you don't want to," she whispers quietly, not quite sure how to understand the mixed signals of her desires.

"But I want to."

They're both grinning at this point.

"Plus, friends are supposed to talk to each other."

"Really, tell me more about this."

"Daily. They're supposed to talk to each other daily."

"Is that so?"

"I'll call you tomorrow at 10, Nessa. That's a promise."