You’re Not Just Getting Dropped Off
1018 Words
RALISA
The rest of the afternoon refused to settle.
Not because work became difficult.
But because my own thoughts had become louder than everything around me.
The office buzzed with its usual rhythm.
Phones rang.
Printers hummed.
Someone laughed from the finance department.
A delivery man wheeled boxes through the hallway.
Life continued exactly as it always did.
Mine didn’t.
I tried focusing on the invoices in front of me.
One file.
Then another.
Halfway through the third, I realized I had read the same page three times without understanding a single sentence.
I sighed quietly.
“Get yourself together,” I muttered.
I rubbed my forehead before forcing myself to continue.
For nearly twenty minutes, I managed to lose myself in work.
Then my phone vibrated.
I glanced at the screen.
Nothing important.
Just a promotional message from my mobile network.
Still…
My eyes lingered on the blank notification screen for a little longer than necessary.
For one ridiculous second…
I had expected someone else.
Someone who didn’t even have my number.
I shook my head.
“What is wrong with me?”
Across the room, Linah looked up from her desk.
Our eyes met briefly.
She didn’t say anything.
She simply gave me one knowing look before returning to her computer.
That was somehow worse.
Around five o’clock, everyone started preparing to leave.
Chairs scraped against the floor.
Bags were zipped.
Goodbyes floated through the office.
I packed my things slowly, delaying the moment without really knowing why.
Normally, I couldn’t wait to leave.
Today…
I wasn’t sure.
As I slipped my notebook into my bag, Linah appeared beside me.
“You coming?”
I nodded.
“Yeah.”
She studied me for a second.
“You’ve been quiet.”
“I’ve been working.”
“Mhm.”
She clearly didn’t believe me.
We walked toward the elevators together.
The silence between us wasn’t uncomfortable.
Just thoughtful.
When the elevator doors opened, we stepped inside with several other employees.
For the first time…
I noticed the mirrored walls.
The same mirrors.
The same polished floor.
The same quiet hum.
It looked exactly like it had that rainy night.
Without meaning to, my eyes drifted toward the corner where he had been standing.
Hands in his pockets.
Watching the rain outside.
I blinked.
The memory disappeared.
The elevator reached the ground floor.
The doors slid open.
Reality returned.
Outside, the evening air was warm.
The sky had already begun changing colors, streaks of orange melting into soft shades of blue.
People hurried toward buses.
Others unlocked motorcycles.
Ride-share drivers waited near the entrance.
Life moved quickly.
Linah adjusted the strap of her handbag.
“So…”
I looked at her.
“So?”
“If Mr. Forty-Five Kilometers magically appears…”
I groaned.
“Linah.”
“…don’t get into his car.”
I laughed despite myself.
“He’s not going to appear out of nowhere.”
“You never know.”
“I do know.”
She folded her arms dramatically.
“I have excellent instincts.”
“You have an overactive imagination.”
“My imagination has saved you from bad decisions before.”
I smiled.
“I’ll survive.”
She looked at me for another second before smiling too.
“I know you will.”
Then she hugged me.
Brief.
Comforting.
“Call me when you get home.”
“I always do.”
“Good.”
She waved before walking toward the bus stop.
I watched until she disappeared into the crowd.
Then I turned toward the roadside.
The familiar routine began.
Open the Bolt app.
Wait.
Refresh.
Wait again.
No nearby drivers.
I wasn’t surprised.
This happened often.
Rush hour made everything worse.
I adjusted my bag on my shoulder and kept waiting.
Cars passed.
Motorcycles buzzed by.
People squeezed into overcrowded buses.
Nearly fifteen minutes slipped away.
Finally…
A driver accepted.
I smiled with relief.
Only for the ride to disappear seconds later.
Cancelled.
I stared at my screen.
“Seriously?”
I requested another ride.
Searching…
Searching…
Searching…
Nothing.
I exhaled slowly.
Maybe I should just walk farther down the road.
Sometimes that helped.
As I started walking, I heard someone call my name.
“Ralisa.”
I stopped immediately.
My heart skipped before my mind caught up.
That voice.
Calm.
Deep.
Familiar.
I turned.
There he was.
Leaning casually against his SUV as though he hadn’t just appeared in the middle of my thoughts.
Kade.
He smiled the moment our eyes met.
Not a big smile.
Just enough to soften his features.
“You look like someone cancelled your ride.”
I blinked.
Twice.
“What are you doing here?”
He looked almost amused.
“I could ask you the same question.”
“I work here.”
“I know.”
The answer came so naturally that it caught me off guard.
“You… know?”
He nodded.
“I remembered.”
Something warm settled unexpectedly inside my chest.
Out of all the things he could have forgotten…
He remembered where I worked.
I crossed my arms, trying to hide the tiny smile threatening to appear.
“So this isn’t a coincidence?”
He hesitated for the smallest moment.
Then he smiled again.
“I had a meeting nearby.”
Nearby.
Maybe.
Maybe not.
For some reason…
I wasn’t sure I believed him.
And judging by the way he looked at me…
I wasn’t sure he expected me to.
Neither of us spoke for a few seconds.
The evening traffic filled the silence between us.
Finally, his eyes dropped to the phone still in my hand.
“No ride?”
I looked at the screen.
Still searching.
“No.”
He opened the passenger door without another word.
“I can take you home.”
I looked at the open door.
Then at him.
Then back at my phone.
Linah’s voice echoed in my mind.
“Men don’t drive forty-five kilometers for nothing.”
I swallowed.
Kade waited patiently.
No pressure.
No insistence.
Just quiet patience.
For reasons I couldn’t explain…
That made the decision even harder.
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