“What do you imply? What’s there to do?”

He sighs. “Hear, Dyl. You’re a sensible lady. One who not often lets obstacles get in the best way of what she desires. How is this example any totally different?”

“It’s totally different as a result of it’s the NFL,” I retort.

“The Dylan I do know wouldn’t let anybody inform her what to do. She makes her personal guidelines, and everybody else falls in line.”

I smile at that.

“Simply know that this doesn’t must be the top of the highway. You simply have to seek out your means out of the maze utilizing a distinct route.”

Tears properly up in my eyes. “You’re my finest buddy for a cause, Ash. God, what would I do with out you to pump me again up after I’m feeling overwhelmingly deflated?”

“The identical factor you’d be doing with out me. Kicking ass and discovering methods to make shit proper for your self.”

He’s not incorrect about that.

“However I’m about to go to mattress. Two-a-days are again, and if I don’t get some relaxation, I’ll be ineffective as a concrete parachute.”

“Oof. Sounds harmful.” I shudder.

“Oh, I may be,” he brags. “However let’s plan to fulfill up after I’m again on the town. Perhaps we will seize some ice cream at that previous creamery we took Colin to?”

“That sounds excellent,” I say with a smile that’s extra real than those I’ve been carrying for days.

After hanging up with Ashton, I’m left feeling totally torn.

How can one be so heartbroken but nonetheless care so deeply about somebody? I want love was easy. Straightforward. Carefree and enjoyable. However no, it must be sophisticated, painful, and a relentless battle to carry on to what you’ve discovered.

My love for Lake isn’t like sand from the seaside being slowly dragged again into his water. I typically considered myself drowning within the entity that’s him. Suffocating beneath his strain. However it wasn’t that in any respect. I’m his shore. The place beneath his floor that surrounds him, tethering him to my earth. Holding him secure. Offering him with that consolation he’s unknowingly sought.

He wants me greater than I would like him.

I determine to go into that assembly this week with weapons blazing. If I need to be on this area, I’m stepping into headfirst with nothing swept beneath another person’s rug.

Iwaketoasliver of sunshine capturing onto the ceiling from my nightstand. It’s nonetheless darkish in my room. The one factor illuminating the area is my cellphone display. I slap a hand over it, able to flip it over, after I convey it nearer to my face. I squint as I try to deal with the message earlier than me.

Lake: You upstairs?

My chest feels prefer it virtually caves into itself. My abdomen swirls with nerves and sudden anxiousness over the 2 easy phrases he despatched me.

Two phrases that would imply just one factor.

I sit up, re-reading the message. He despatched it lower than a minute in the past. Did he imply to ship this to me? Absolutely one thing unusual occurred right here, an previous message he unintentionally despatched? Or maybe it was meant for one more lady? I test the time, seeing it’s three within the morning. He can’t severely be right here proper now. Is he?

I don’t need to go there, however the ultimate thought at the back of my thoughts is that one thing horrible has occurred. I’ve heard nothing about him since yesterday when he missed remedy, presumably due to me.

I textual content again that I’m residence and patiently watch my cellphone.

I see the three little dots seem, insinuating he’s typing, solely to see them vanish a couple of seconds later. I lay my head again towards my pillow, staring up on the ceiling.

What I don’t need is to be toyed with. He made it clear we couldn’t work collectively. He needed this. The separation. I don’t need a back-and-forth sport, if that’s what that is. I’m so in my head. I would like to relax.

Checking the display once more, I see these three dots reappear. I wait as they proceed bouncing in their very own torturous means, the anxiousness of what’s coming subsequent making it laborious to breathe correctly. However earlier than they arrive, they disappear fully.

Confusion hits me similtaneously curiosity, and I lean over my mattress to the window to take a peek down on the parking zone.

Positive sufficient, his truck is parked exterior in one of many empty stalls. It’s working, however his lights are off and it’s too darkish to see him within it within the dimly lit parking zone.

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