Page 110 of From Me to You

Things still weren’t fine between us because I refused to speak, so we stayed quiet. I was stuck on a dead end, waiting for the inevitable doom to explode in my life, and he was stuck in a constant state of confusion and fury. It was eating us both alive.

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“Call me when you get there.” Jay sighed as he held me tight at the airport terminal.

I nodded.

“Call me if you need me. I am just a phone call away.”

“Okay,” I whispered, “I am going to go now. I am late for my flight.”

Jay swallowed as he waved me goodbye, his eyes full of hurt and helplessness.

But I turned my back on him as soon as I headed inside. I needed to distance myself from all this mess because I was going crazy. It was killing me alive to hurt him like this.

As soon as I entered the departure gate, all my bravery faded away, and the fear and loneliness engulfed me. The thought of not seeing him for the next few weeks was agonizingly painful. But I decided to relish it as my sentence for all the pain I have caused him.

I was broken.

“Evy, oh my God! It’s so good to see you.” Aunty M hugged me tight when she received me at the airport.

“It’s nice to see you too, Aunty M,” I said in my monotonous, dead voice, which had become my new norm.

Aunty M frowned as she pulled back. “Everything okay, honey? You seem sad.”

I exhaled. “I am fine, Aunty M. Come on, let’s go.” I gave her a small smile, but she didn’t look like she believed me.

We boarded the car, and soon we were on our way to Liam’s apartment.

“How’s Emmie, darling? I never thought you would come back home this soon. You two are usually attached to the hip.” Aunty M smiled at me.

“Yeah, he is fine, busy,” I muttered as I turned to look outside the window.

I felt a hand on my thigh. “Everything okay with the both of you?”

“Splendid.” I leaned against the window and closed my eyes. I did not want to talk anymore.

The next three weeks vanished in a haze. I missed him. I missed us. And I was dreading the deadline. I only had eight weeks left before I left him forever.

Their first single was officially released this week. I felt so sad and lonely that I didn’t know what to do.

Every bone in my body screamed to go back to him. But I resisted. Instead, I walked to keep my mind off things. I walked and walked till my feet burned. I walked for what seemed like hours. I walked everywhere, and nowhere, it kept me going. One more week, and I would go back to break his heart.

Aunty M was worried about me. I could see it in her eyes, but she didn’t say anything. I loved her for that. But I knew she would intervene soon enough, and I had to get out of here before she did that. I didn’t want to speak about this to anyone.

Jay texted me every single day, all of which I barely replied to. But I always answered his video calls just to see his face. I mostly stared at him with a vacant look while he updated me about everything. His presence through a tiny screen kept me alive. I didn’t know how I would survive after all this.

I sighed as I buried myself in my pink bunny blanket, clutching the ‘J’ on my neck. The only thing that brought me an ounce of comfort.

There was a knock on the front door. I frowned. Aunty M and Liam were at the hospital—they wouldn’t be back until late, so I wondered who it was.

I sauntered to the door, frustrated. I really wanted to just lie in bed and do nothing.

The sight that greeted me when I opened the door took my breath away. Standing there in his usual black attire—his leather jacket and dark Levi’s—was my baby.

My heart pounded when I locked my gaze with his. God, I loved him so much.

“Jay,” I whispered. “What are you doing here?”