After I Saw His First Love, I Left

Chapter 6

Ding!

Every alarm bell in my head blared at full volume. A sharp, twisting rush of fear and disorientation coiled tight in my chest, my lie was about to be exposed.

Isadora had already scurried off in a hurry, but Eliseo was staring down at the slip of paper in his hand. He lifted his head, his eyes sharp with confusion and suspicion as they locked onto me.

"Why did she just give me another Chatter ID?"

The winter night air bit at my skin, but cold sweat was already soaking through my clothes. "Probably a side account," I mumbled, my mouth dry as cotton. "We can ask her about it when we're all back, right?"

Eliseo stuffed the paper into his pocket. "Fine, I'll sort it out later."

He reached for his school bag on instinct, but the movement pulled at his wound, making him flinch sharply.

I moved automatically to help him carry it, but he swatted my hand away hard, his tone ice-cold. "Calixta, what happened between us isn't over yet. Don't act like everything's perfectly normal, got it?"

With that, he switched to his other hand, hefted the bag over his shoulder, and walked away without a second glance.

I barely remembered the walk home. All I could register was that the wind that night was colder than usual, cutting right through my clothes and settling deep in my bones.

The second I got back, I booted up my computer. My Chatter inbox was flooded with a string of messages from Eliseo.

Eliseo: Isadora, did you get home safe? :)

Eliseo: Do I need to add that other Chatter ID you gave me today too?

Eliseo: I can't find it when I search, though. Did you write it wrong by mistake in a hurry? :/

When I read that last message, the icy tightness in my chest finally loosened a little, the numbing cold seeping out of my limbs bit by bit.

Isadora had always had a sky-high ego, thriving on all the attention and admiration people lavished on her. Even if she'd given Eliseo her number, and he hadn't added her, she'd never swallow her pride to reach out and ask him about it first.

That meant my secret was safe... for now, at least.

I took a few deep breaths to steady my nerves, then typed out a reply.

Isadora: Yeah, I must have written it wrong.

But barely a second after I hit send, a video call request from Eliseo popped up on the screen.

My heart jumped into my throat, and I fumbled to type another message as fast as I could.

Isadora: Sorry, I'm a little busy right now, can't talk.

After a long, tense stretch of silence, Eliseo sent back a simple "okay," paired with a cute emoticon.

At the same time, his Chatter pet hopped across my desktop, spun around in a little dance, and leaned in to kiss my Chatter pet right on the face.

I let out a long, shaky breath, staring blankly at the two little pixelated creatures, all sweet and cuddly with each other on the screen. They looked so happy, like we would be, once we got married.

Every time I booted up my computer those days, I'd see those two Chatter pets all cuddled up together, sweet and inseparable, just like how Eliseo and I were after we got married.

But right now, I knew clearer than ever that every last bit of it was a lie...

After a long moment of staring, I stood up and ripped the 15th page off the calendar.

Knock, knock, knock!

Someone was rapping at the door.

At that hour, there was only one person who'd show up unannounced: Eliseo.

I turned off the monitor and walked over to pull the door open.

There he was, leaning lazily against the door frame, a glass jar clutched in his hand.

He rubbed his nose awkwardly, like he wasn't quite sure how to say what he came for. "You wanna make up?"

My eyes went wide as shock zipped through me.

Make up?

Just an hour ago, he'd been giving me the cold shoulder.

I'd already resigned myself to muddling through the last dozen or so days I had left in this timeline.

I shoved down the swirl of emotions in my chest and nodded carefully, almost afraid to breathe too hard.

Eliseo immediately thrust the glass jar into my hand.

"Isadora's birthday is the day after tomorrow. I wanna get her a one-of-a-kind gift. Catch a hundred fireflies and stuff them in this jar for me, and I'll make things right between us."

His words hit me like a bucket of ice water dumped straight over my head, the cold seeping right down to my bones.

Never mind the fact that he was only offering to make up so he could do something nice for Isadora... fireflies? In the middle of this freezing winter? Where the hell was I supposed to find fireflies?

But Eliseo didn't give me a second to say no. He clapped me on the shoulder, dropped a quick "I'll be waiting" and turned on his heel, heading straight back to his place and closing his door behind him.

Cold wind howled down the hallway, cutting right through me.

I stood there holding the jar, which still carried the faint warmth of his palm, but every limb in my body felt like ice.

Two days later.

Light snow drifted down from the dark night sky.

Evening study let out, and the whole playground was dead empty.

I huddled behind a tree, blowing hot breath on my stiff, numb fingers every few seconds to keep them from locking up completely.

Before long, I spotted Eliseo leading Isadora over toward the spot where I was hiding.

Isadora's face was tight with annoyance, her tone sharp. "What do you even want? I've got homework to finish; I don't have time to mess around."

Eliseo didn't have a trace of the impatience he always showed around me. "Isadora, it's your birthday today. I've got a special present for you."

Right as he finished speaking, I pulled the glass bottle I'd tucked inside my coat out and twisted off the lid.

Every single firefly inside was one I'd trekked all the way out to the mountains in the countryside to catch, after taking a leave of absence from school.

They all poured out at once, tiny pinpricks of glowing light drifting in every direction. They darted and flickered through the trees, weaving a scene so gorgeous it didn't feel real, like something out of a dream.

I watched Isadora freeze on the spot. She didn't say a word, but her eyes were wide, brimming with obvious delight.

While she was distracted by the lights, Eliseo inched a little closer to her. Under the dim streetlamp, their shadows stretched across the ground, looking like they were leaning gently against each other.

Staring at that sight, my eyes burned. A flood of memories came crashing over me.

Decades in the future, fireflies were almost impossible to find.

But the day after Eliseo and I got our marriage license, he'd caught a whole jar of fireflies and brought it home.

We turned off all the lights, and their starlike glows lit up every corner of our apartment.

That night, he'd pulled me into his arms and pressed a soft kiss to my cheek.

"A late gift," he'd murmured. "Do you like it?"

I did.

Even now, when I knew full well, I was just a stand-in for Isadora, I still liked it...

I stared at the boy with eyes bright as constellations, and my vision grew blurry.

This wasn't a birthday gift from Eliseo to Isadora.

It was me returning that long-ago romance to him.