Alex and Emma Pt. 19

Emma: It's been a few weeks since I got home. Since I found out you left without a trace. I've struggled to understand why. To rationalize what could have been said or done by either of us to prevent it. But all I come back to is more questions. The only thing certain is that I loved you and enjoyed every minute we spent together. Congratulations on getting your degree. I wish you luck with your future. Goodbye.

The whoosh of the message sending seemed so final. Not exactly closure because there was so much left unknown. But it was my way of telling him what I'd been too much of a coward to say in person.

I was in the kitchen, staring at the sink when my phone dinged. My hand shook as I pulled it out of my pocket, and then I staggered back into the counter. My thumb wouldn't work to unlock the screen. I feared I would lock myself out. And then I was staring at the response to my message.

My expectations had been pretty non-existent. Since he hadn't texted me since my return, I had predicted radio silence. But I wasn't prepared for a message from my carrier telling me that the number I had used was no longer in service. From previous experience, I knew that the message meant one of two things: the number had been disconnected, or my number had been blocked by the receiver. I was going with option B.

The bastard had not only hightailed it out of Dodge the second I was gone long enough for him to pack his things, he'd cut all ties with me. Had he been biding his time because he needed to finish school first? Had he regretted ever contacting me? Convincing me to give him another chance?

God. More questions and no answers. My head was killing me.

I'd been tempted to leave the keychain behind, but I'd hung on to it as a reminder to guard my heart better in the future. And every now and then when I saw it hanging in my apartment, a memory made me shake my head. If I'd just mailed the damn key way back when, like I'd intended, I could have saved myself all this heartache.

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