Chapter Seven--- After the Almost
876 Words
By the time I made it home, my brain felt like someone had tossed all my thoughts into a
blender and hit the highest setting.
Luca had waited for me.
Luca had talked to me.
Luca had said he was glad I didn't disappear.
And somewhere between my heart beat malfunctioning and Avan yelling about killer bees,
I realized something terrifying:
I wanted more.
I was supposed to want more. Wanting more was dangerous. Wanting more was how
you ended up staring at your ceiling at midnight wondering why a boy could rearrange
your entire emotional chemistry with one sentence.
I dropped my backpack onto my bedroom floor and flopped onto my bed. The ceiling fan
spun lazily above me, mocking me with its calmness.
"I am not thinking about him," I said out loud.
My ceiling fan continued spinning, judgemental.
I groaned and pulled a pillow over my face. The second I closed my eyes, all I could see
was Luca standing on that sidewalk, sunlight catching the side of his hair, eyes soft like he
was seeing me for the first time all over again.
My stomach fluttered. Violently.
"Nope," I whispered. "We are not doing this."
Before I could talk myself out of the spiral, my phone buzzed.
Unknown Number:
You got home okay?
I sat up so fast I nearly launched myself out of the bed.
There was only one person who could've sent that.
My fingers shook embarrassingly as I typed back:
Mia:
Who is this?
Three dots appeared instantly.
Unknown Number:
Really?
I bit my lip, fighting a smile.
Mia:
Okay fine. Hi, Luca.
And yes. I got home. You?
A pause.
Luca:
Just wanted to check.
Also... sorry about Avan.
And the bee situation.
I didn't expect a wildlife atack during out first conversation in momths.
I laughed---out loud. Like an i***t.
Mia:
Yeah well, that's Avan.
Chaos in human form.
Luca:
Still funny though.
Your face was...
idk
cute
My heart fully stopped.
I stared at the text so long my phone dimmed twice.
Cute.
Cute.
I flopped backward on my bed again, kicking my legs like I was five years old and had just
been told I could sleep over at a friend's house.
I tried typing a response four times before giving up and sending the safest thing possible:
Mia:
Oh.
Thanks.
I regrettied it instantly. Oh? Thanks? Who was I, a polite grandma?
But before I could throw my phone across the room in humiliation, another message
appeared.
Luca:
Can I see you tomorrow?
Not at school.
Somewhere else.
I want to talk more.
Everything in my body went still.
See me tomorrow.
Not at school.
Somewhere else.
My brain exploded into static.
I reread it tens time, like the words might rearrange into something more logical.
See me tomorrow.
See me.
Me.
I typed slowly, carefully, pretending I wasn't panicking.
Mia:
Where?
Another pause. Longer this time.
Luca:
The hill behind the soccer field.
Around five?
If you don't want to, it's okay.
I just---
There's stuff I need to say.
Stuff I should've said before I left.
My breath hitched.
Stuff he shoul'dve said before he left.
Like what?
Why he disappeared?
WHy he didn't say goodbye?
WHy that almost-kiss lived rent-free in my head even now?
I swallowed hard.
Mia:
Okay.
I'll be there.
The dots appeared again, then disappered. Appeared again. Disappeared.
Finally:
Luca:
Good.
I'm... glad.
I threw my phone down like it was on fire.
My heart was doing gymnastics. My brain was doing karaoke. My emotions were doing
something illegal.
Tomorrow.
He wanted to see me tomorrow.
I fell backward onto my pillow again, staring at the ceiling like it was going to give me
advice.
It didn't.
But then---
"MIAAAAA!" Avan yelling from the hallway. "I KNOW YOU'RE HOME AND I KNOW YOU'RE
IGNORING ME!"
I considered playing dead.
Too late. He barged in dramatically, collapsing onto my carpet like he had been shot. "Tell
me everything."
I narrowed my eyes. "How do you even know there's something to tell?"
He scoffed. "Please. You walked in looking like someone who just got proposed to by her
long-lost soulmate."
I threw a pillow at him "I did NOT."
"You kinda did."
"I didn't."
"Mia, you're glowing like a sad little lightbull that finally got replaced."
I glared at him. "He texted me."
Avan screamed into his hands.
"STOP," I said, smacking him with another pillow.
"NO," he said, eyes wide. "TELL ME MORE IMMEDIATELY."
I took a breath. "He... wans to meet tomorrow."
Avan sat up so fast he nearly dislocated something. "OH."
"Yeah."
"OH."
"please stop saying 'oh."
He pointed at me accusingly. "You canot go unless I supervise from a distance."
"No."
"Yes. I'll wear camouflage."
"You're not coming."
"I'm absolutely coming."
"No you're absolutely not."
Mia, I'm your emotional support racoon. You can't deny me this."
I shoved him toward the door. "Goodnight, Avan."
"This isn't over!" he yelled as I slammed it in his face.
I leaned against the door, heart racing again.
Tomorrow.
Five o'clock.
The hill behind the soccer field.
Whatever Luca had ot say...
I wasn't sure I was ready for it.
But I knew one thing:
I was going away.
- Writer
