Maria:
I don’t move when the phone starts ringing.
I just stare at it.
Noah.
It rings again.
And again.
I pick it up on the third.
“Hi.”
There’s a pause. Not long. Just enough to feel like he’s adjusting himself before speaking.
“Hey.”
His voice is calm. Careful in a way I don’t think I’ve heard before.
“I didn’t want to keep texting,” he says.
“Yeah… I figured.”
I sit on the edge of my bed, elbows on my knees, staring at the floor like that might help me stay focused.
Another pause.
Then—
“I saw the engagement thing,” he says.
I let out a quiet breath.
“I was going to ask if you did.”
“I did,” he repeats. “I didn’t bring it up earlier.”
“Why?”
“Because I know that’s not you.”
Something in me softens a little at that. Just a little.
“It’s not,” I say. “It’s just them
