Say Hello For Me

t w e n t y - n i n e || the other side

One second crashes into the next and the hands on the clock are revolving so fast that everything appears pixelated to the naked eye. It all passes by too quickly—the words that are exchanged, the panic that's diffused through the air, and the glances they all shoot each other from opposite sides of the table. Before Liam's mind even knows it, he is watching the girl with dark hair and matching brown eyes leave through the back entrance. She's moving at the speed of light, gone within the blink of an eye. She never looks back, and he doesn't really know what to make of it.

"Did you also think that was weird?" Vy asks her boyfriend just as the hostess arrives with a tray of drinks in hand. "She didn't even stay for her drink."

"Maybe she had to go somewhere," Liam suggests, sliding into one of the empty seats on the other side of the table. "Job?"

"She doesn't have a job anymore. She quit last week," Vy responds, sipping on her daiquiri.

Liam doesn't know it yet, but he's been given the first piece of the puzzle. It's dangling in front of his face, but he can't see it.

"She probably just saw textbook guy and was embarrassed," Vy concludes after awhile as she scans the crowd again, searching for something that's in front of her eyes.

"What?" Liam says a little too quickly for his liking. Vy now has his undivided attention.

The puzzle piece has been lowered, its south tip lingering in Liam's field of vision. He knows it's there, but he doesn't understand why.

"Oh, you don't know about that." Vy laughs, placing her drink down. "She accidentally dropped a textbook on this cute guy's foot today. He said he was going to be here."

"She thought he was cute?" Amusement rings in his voice, but his cheeks are heated.

"That's what she told me."

"What was her name again?"

It takes Vy a bit of time to respond, but she finally says, "Nessa."

That's not the response Liam was expecting.

"Nessa?" Liam repeats, her name sounding foreign on the tip of his tongue despite how many times he's said it before.

"Yeah, she goes by Nessa, but it's actually short for Vanessa."

Vanessa?
Vanessa.
Vanessa, the girl who prefers to go by Nessa.
Nessa, the girl with dark, curly hair.
Nessa, the girl who has a best friend named Vy that likes camping.
Nessa, Vy's best friend.
Nessa, the girl who dropped an art history textbook on his foot.
Nessa,the girl who quit her job last week.
Nessa, the girl who sent in her resignation letter to AskAway last week.
Nessa from the hotline.
Nessa.

The puzzle piece lowers itself until it sits in the palm of Liam's hand. For the first time, Liam can make out its ridges clearly. Now, it's his choice what to do with it.

Liam sits across from Vy, his mind popping in and out of his own thoughts and other people's conversations. He's staring at his lap as if the lines on the palms of his hands contain all the answers. In a way, he's hoping they do. He needs all the help he can get.

"Where did she work again?" Liam asks more quietly this time. "Before she quit."

"AskAway," Vy replies. "You've probably never heard of it. It's a relationship—"

"Hotline," he finishes the sentence for her. "I've heard of it."

Vy's surprised, and she should be. "Really? I thought only old men knew about it."

Before Liam can even explain it himself, he's standing up from the table with his eyes focused on the door. Something beyond that door is calling him. He doesn't even know what he's thinking, if he's even thinking at all.

"I—I've got to go, Vy," Liam tells Vy before placing a quick kiss on her forehead. "I'll see you back at your place."

Liam heads for the back door, clutching the puzzle piece in his hand. He isn't sure of many things at this point, but he's certain that his puzzle piece will fit with hers.