Until I Met Her

Chapter 7

When I wake up, it's 2 am and my phone's buzzing against the nightstand.

I was a bit disoriented, in my dreamy state, I completely forgot that I wasn't in my room and that the body sleeping next to me belonged to Freddie.

We were in Brighton, in a somewhat cheap Airbnb that Freddie, Eleanor, Billy and I managed to pay for. It was a weird mixture but when Eleanor informed me that she signed me up for a competition in Brighton, the guys all jumped inside the car. Sadly, though, the competition was on a Friday and Joe, Mark, Lexi had to work. Gio couldn't skip class. Eleanor doing this was still confusing as hell. I understood the first time when she took us to London but now? It didn't make much sense.

When I grabbed my phone, first thing I did was turn down the brightness and then I open the new message. From Kelly.

As soon as I read it, my heart skipped a beat, I read it again just to make sure I was reading it right. And then I read it again. You know, I miss the nights we spent together. When id sneak in and we'd spend the whole night talking about anything. I miss you ty. Do you miss me soemtimes?

I sat up and rested my back against the bed's header. My thumbs aching to press the screen but my mind kept wondering what to say. The last time she sent me a text was a few weeks ago and then she left me on read. I wanted to do the same. I wanted to so bad that I even put my phone back in my nightstand and laid back in bed. Turned around as if somehow showing my back to the phone would make it disappear.

But then I couldn't sleep. I couldn't think about anything else other than her stupid question. Do you miss me sometimes?  I wanted to be mean. I wanted to ask her how it was possible for her to miss me when it was her the one who kept ghosting me? She was the one who kept pushing me away.

I turned around in bed, slightly sitting up. Freddie groaned in her sleep so I tried to be quiet. I grabbed my phone and I opened her messages.

Shouldn't you be sleeping? I hit send without thinking it twice. I stared at the screen, waiting for her reply and when I got it, I forced myself to remain cold, to be distant and uninterested. If she could do it, surely, so could I.

However, when the clock hit 2 am, my eyes were wide open, my heart content and my cold and uninterested façade long gone. I couldn't be like Kelly, I couldn't be rude and cold simply because I cared too much and she knew it, she knew exactly what to do to make me forget all the bad she did.

I hated myself for it but it was true.

⚢

"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 me up and down with her arms crossed over her chest and bouncing her leg up and down. She had about two cups of coffee already and it was only 11 am.

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

"You have a competition, your first competition out of town and—"

"Dude, relax, it isn't a big deal." I met her eyes, instantly regretting it and looking away. If she was a cartoon character, she'd have steam coming out of her ears.

Without saying a word, Eleanor turned and walked away, stomping as she went. "She gets angry so quickly," I said, shaking my head and turning to Freddie. "I wonder if she's got anger issues.

"You were texting all night." Freddie's voice was monotonous, she didn't look away from her phone. I opened my mouth to answer but nothing came out. Freddie let out a tired sighed. "Let me guess... Kelly?"