1.2 | Highway of Lights ✓

15 | infinity

15
i n f i n i t y

New York City
December

Noah's POV

THERE'S ALWAYS A day that you can't forget. That day. That person.

Riley Ran. The girl who taught me how to pronounce her name, the girl who cried when she saw the Grand Canyon, the girl who told me about her mother, the girl who told me about comets and parallel universes, the girl who still has my watch.

The girl I pushed away.

I've always thought that pushing her away is for her good, that it's rescuing her from me. But the truth is—I asked for her number.

It's been four months. We did talk in these four months, I would ask about her grad school life, she would ask about my work, I would talk to her when she was stressed, she would talk to me when I was tired. Our lives get busy, but we're trying, nonetheless.

I tried to wish her a happy birthday, but just to realize that I don't even know her birthday. She doesn't know mine too.

I told her that I'm dangerous. In fact, I've always been dangerous. But I think of how I was on the Grand Canyon, alone, during the trip after I graduated from high school. I couldn't stop being impressed by how magnificent the scene was, and I remember talking to myself that "you had no idea what you'd miss if you just ended your life like that."

I've been clean for years, but that inner voice of mine keeps reminding me of what I've done to Lana. I pushed Riley away as well, thinking that it would be the best for her.

But this time, it's the what ifs that haunt me. What if we work out? What if in another parallel universe, I didn't push her away? From the moment I asked for her number, these thoughts linger.

But really, it's never about whether I'm ready or not, whether I'm dangerous, whether I'm lost—it's how I know when I'm with Riley, she leads me to a destination, and I, for the first time, can also get lost with her without fear.

Reading her texts is not enough. Hearing her voice through the phone is not enough. I want to pull her into a warm embrace and tell her that she can lean on me. I want to stroke her strands of hair and brush her cheeks again, transferring the warmth of my hand to her. I want to look into her gorgeous eyes and let her know that I don't need anything else in the world. I only need her.

I have given her my watch, and I'll give her more. I'll tell her everything about me, from my birthday to my family, from my past to my future, from my love toward that day to my love toward her.

And with that, I'm standing in the 8 Street Station in New York City, my luggage standing next to me. I navigate myself through the crowd of people, feeling the chilly air inside the station as the weather is turning icy outside.

I haven't told Riley yet, but I will when I'm ready.

Or... do I have to?

There is an infinite amount of parallel universes, and each choice you make, a parallel universe branches out. There is also an infinite amount of choices being made every day. And out of all the infinities, we land on this one universe.

The universe that we meet. Again.

It's hard not to see her, even though she's in the middle of a swarm of people. She's wearing a crimson scarf, a long camel coat with a pair of long boots. I snort a bit, amused by how things work in the world.

She's waiting on the platform, engrossed in her phone. I decide to take out my phone as well.

Me: Hey

Right after I've hit the send button, she stops, her finger soon starts moving on her phone screen.

Riley: hey

I smile at her reply.

Me: Where are you now?

She doesn't move again, probably confused by my sudden question. As she turns her head around to confirm her surroundings, my phone buzzes again.

Riley: train station. why?

Me: Turn around.

She jaw drops a bit. She starts to jerk her head around, not long before her eyes land on me.

Her reaction is nothing like the actors in movies. No hands covering her mouth, no wide-eye gaze. She just stares at me, her eyes glinting.

I tilt my head as I open my arms. She presses her lips together, refrains herself from smiling, and walks into my arms, burying her head into my chest.

"Hey," I say, winding my arms around her.

She looks up at me, her eyes still full of disbelief. "Why— how?"

I give her a smirk. Sighing, I say, "There are quite a lot of jobs for architects in New York."

This time, her eyes widen, together with her jaw unhinging. "No, you did not, Noah."

"I'm still trying to rent a house, you know, and I was about to tell you when everything is settled. But guess things just happen," I say.

She punches my chest lightly. "What if I didn't like you anymore?"

I lift her chin gently with my hand. "Well, do you still like me, then?" I ask, my tone becomes more serious.

She stares into my eyes, and proceeds to bury her head into my chest again. "Of course I do." Her voice sounds muffled, but she breaks out a laugh after that.

When she looks up again, her eyes are filled with tears. "I still can't believe it, Noah. What about everything in Vegas?"

"Moving to NYC is something that I dreamed of too, Riley. And it's on my bucket list because of you now." I brush away her tears.

I feel her warmth. The December wind is replaced by the New York subway station heat that fills the air around us, waves of people walking past us.

It's snowing outside.

"You won't leave again, right?" she asks, a trace of fear flashes in her eyes. My heart clenches. I broke her heart, and I'm going to heal it back.

I kiss her forehead. "I won't."

"Promise?"

"I promise, Riley Ran," I say her name.

This time, with the correct pronunciation.

THE END