6
I was about to go out and chill with my
roommate on the weekend when my mom
called.
“Ashley, why aren’t you home?”
Г
“Huh? Mom, I told you I wasn’t coming home
this weekend.”
My mom paused.
“Didn’t Chad tell you? He’s coming home
today.
You got time to come back? We’re all getting
together.”
I froze, not sure how to feel.
It had been three months since I’d seen him
last.
I wanted to say no, but I couldn’t help but
hope.
“Okay, I’ll be there in a bit.”
く
When I got home, I saw Chad was already
sitting on the couch, talking to our parents.
He saw me, smiled, stood up, and grabbed
my hand.
“Babe, I decided to come back last minute. I
didn’t get a chance to tell you. You’re not
mad, right?”
I looked at him, the same Chad I’d always
known.
But he felt different.
I couldn’t really say anything with our parents
around, so I just gave him a hug.
His clothes smelled sweet, not like his usual
detergent.
く
I chuckled and pulled away before he could
hug me back.
Our parents smiled and started chatting with
- us. Then we all went out to dinner.
Chad sat next to me.
He was holding my hand with one hand, but
texting on his phone with the other.
I glanced over and saw his phone wallpaper
wasn’t my picture anymore. It was just a
picture of a random view.
A view I recognized. It was near a place
outside the city.
When I was still excited about going there, I
Chad said we’d go there once I was in the
city.
But he already went without me?
Was he busy with someone on travel?
I laughed, feeling silly, and pulled my hand
away.
Chad noticed and dimmed his phone.
“What’s up, babe?”
I shook my head. “I’m tired.”
Chad patted my head. “We’ll go back and
relax after dinner. Just hang in there, okay?”
I nodded, but didn’t say anything.
Chad didn’t understand what I meant.
I wasn’t physically tired, I was emotionally
tired.
