Need Better Connection

Connection

'Stupid phone' she thought as she started slapping her phone against her hand stupidly hoping that might make some difference. She was too worried about her lose of connection to notice all the gloriously towering buildings that encompassed her as she made her way down the disgustingly paved street. 

Why would that idiot want to meet at some old diner in the city? It shouldn't be such a surprise to her. That diner was so important to him. It was closed though so they wouldn't even be able to eat there. she had even heard some rumors it would have to go out of business. He would be crushed if he heard about that so she had conveniently forgot to mention it when they set up this meeting.

Why wasn't this phone getting connection? "Stupid... flipping... cursed... goshdangit..." She sounded so crazy the man on the street was judging her. 

She needed the stupid phone to work... she hadn't been in the city since she was five. It was wild to think back to that time... It was wild to think back to just months ago... before all this started.

She looked down on her royal blue dress. He always liked this color on her, right? She missed him so much. She missed all of her incredibly weird friends but he was different. They had been so close... she had been so close... but then they were told they couldn't see each other... or anyone else for that matter, lest they get sick. 

Sure she had texted them but that was so sporadic... She didn't even have all her friends' numbers. Then it felt so off with him sometimes. He had his own worries and she had hers... that was the truth of it... but she didn't want it to be. She wanted to be with him and share all his worries, no matter how painful.

She was done with this phone. If someone tried to call her, oh well. She could probably find her way around here. Fortunately it wasn't as crowded as it had been not so long ago. She remembered her mother helping her shuffle through the crowd. It had become her second nature. It had certainly come in handy when she had to navigate high school hallways.

"Oh, I was supposed to call mom!" She rolled her eyes at her idiocy. How could she be so forgetful! Her mother would be worried sick. She thought something might happen to her... she was only seventeen after all.

She bit her lip thinking. Someone actually pushed past her as she stood thinking. 'Seriously!' she thought. There were hardly any people on the street and that oaf was acting like it was rush hour. She practically cursed him out but she had to stop herself. You never know how he may react. She sure would love a fight though. It would release all her emotions that had piled up over the months. Boy was she upset!

She had never been so lonely in all her life. It felt as though none of her friends cared. They hardly reached out and she was too worried to be the one to reach out. It was stupid and she knew it but still. 

'I need to call that idiot... Where could he be?' She looked around. She was right outside the boarded up diner. Where was he? Her phone read 12:38... he was late, as usual. Still no connection.

She looked around her. All the buildings, the few people passing... it all made her feel smaller than he already did. Seven billion people in this world and she was but one. 

She was so different now... would he still like her? Did he ever like her? She missed who she used to be? She was the most emotional person you would ever come across. One second she was breaking down in tears and the next she'd be laughing along to some joke or tripping up the stairs in a fit of giggles. Had he liked that about her? Well, who cares what he thinks... 'I do' she thought. But that didn't matter. What mattered is she missed her old self. She missed feeling happy.

Where was that imbecile? It was rather late. Maybe she should try calling her mother again. Oh, great now not only did she need a better connection but her phone was dying. 

What was she going to say to him first? Obviously, 'Hey' but what after that? Maybe he'd ask about her sister or her parents... she'd ask about his... Maybe she could ask him whether he wanted to go on a trip with her.

She wanted to go back to some of their old haunts... before they moved and before everything close down. Maybe go back to how it was. It wasn't going to the same. She knew that, but she hoped maybe she could make new memories on the way and finally let go of that life... become who she was and who she is... if that made any sense.

She was lost in her thoughts, twirling her auburn ponytail as she let her eyebrows furrow in what all her friends called 'the Hartford Heart' cutting out her face. She was so far gone she hadn't noticed the boy, correction, man standing across the street staring at her with a quizzical smile adorned his face. She was looking straight past him. Always such an oddball, she was.

'Where are you, you stupid-' She was stopped as she looked at her phone by a voice, a warmly familiar voice, shouting out "Hey, Hartford! You gonna say hi or what?!" She looked ahead and finally say him. How long had he been standing there? She let go of it all and ran to his arms, smiling. She finally got that connection.