Almost but not forever

Chapter 24 Their First Long-Distance Call

A few days after Ethan arrived in Manchester, Lily tried her best to keep herself busy. She helped around the house, spent time with Sophie and tried not to think too much about how empty everything felt without him. Unfortunately, nothing worked. Everywhere she looked, something reminded her of Ethan. One evening she was lying on her bed when her phone suddenly started ringing. The moment she saw Ethan’s name on the screen, her heart skipped. She answered immediately.

“Hello.”

“Wow,” Ethan said. “That was fast.”

Lily smiled. “Maybe because I wasn’t busy.”

“Sure.”

Just hearing his voice again made her feel better. They talked about Manchester, his new house and how much he hated the weather. Lily laughed when he spent five minutes complaining about rain.

“You’ve only been there for a week.”

“And I’ve suffered enough.”

“You sound dramatic.”

“I am dramatic.”

For the first time since he left, things felt normal. The conversation moved from one topic to another. They talked about school memories, graduation and the teachers they were happy to leave behind. Hours passed without either of them noticing.

At some point Ethan became quiet. “You know what’s weird?”

“What?”

“I still expect to see everyone at school.”

Lily looked out her window. “Me too.”

There was a small silence between them. Comfortable. Familiar. The kind they had always shared.

“I miss it,” Ethan admitted.

Lily swallowed. The truth was she didn’t miss school. She missed him. But she couldn’t say that. “I do too,” she replied.

The conversation continued late into the night until Ethan suddenly laughed.

“We’ve been talking for almost three hours.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s your fault.”

“My fault?”

“You called me.”

Ethan laughed again before his voice softened. “Do you miss me?”

Lily’s heart immediately started racing. “A little.”

“A little?” he repeated.

“What answer were you expecting?”

“The truth.”

For a second she almost told him everything. Instead she whispered, “Things feel different without you.”

Silence.

Then Ethan replied quietly. “Yeah. They do.”

When the call finally ended after midnight, Lily lay back on her bed staring at the ceiling. For the first time since Ethan left, the pain didn’t feel quite as heavy. She fell asleep with a small smile on her face, not knowing that distance had already started changing things between them.