Nice Guys Finish Last Ch. 07-08

"It's time," I whispered to myself as I closed my eyes once again. "It's time to stop being a bother in her life. She told me not to talk to her so I should finally take a hint."

Suddenly, my phone buzzed, this time not startling me as bad as the previous. Curiously, I opened my eyes and reached over to grab it once again.

Julia had sent me something, but I really didn't know what it was. When I opened the message, there was a screenshot with a QR code.

"What is this?" I responded, still scratching my head.

"It's a ticket to the swim meet. And it's two hours away."

I quickly surmised that Valerie or Marissa must have revealed more about our conversation than I anticipated. I didn't know exactly what they told her. I was just afraid that they said I begged to be invited.

Still, her sending me a ticket was a big deal... Even knowing that she probably didn't want to send it to me, it left me with this feeling that was slowly undoing whatever was unsettled in my heart.

"Do you actually want me to go?" I asked, giving her an opportunity to express her true feelings.

"Do whatever you want," she responded before surprisingly ending our conversation with, "Good night."

I didn't know why but I was suddenly smiling from ear to ear. Maybe I was just happy to know she didn't hate me that much. Or perhaps I took it as a sign that she was doing okay. Either way, I couldn't deny this feeling that had come over me.

Truthfully, I had hated her for so long, but I never wanted to hear about her being hurt. And after what Valerie told me, I couldn't help but wonder what she was going through. This didn't really mean anything. I didn't know for sure that she was doing better, and it definitely wasn't a sign that she would stop bullying me, but having her invite me to her swim meet was the sign I needed to get through my restless night.

My future as a man still felt hopeless. I could still admit that I was pathetic. However, even though Julia probably didn't want me there, I was looking forward to going to that swim meet, regardless of whether she would even acknowledge me or not.

To be continued...