Research On You

Chapter 11 : The Day He Didn't Text Back

It started as a normal Tuesday.

8:02 AM:

Theo: good morning, research spouse. coffee?

8:05 AM:

Me: yes please. black no sugar.

8:15 AM:

Theo: on my way to Rel’s. save me a seat.

I did.

9:30 AM: Class. He sat next to me. Bump shoulder. Pass notes. Normal.

12:00 PM: Lunch. He stole my fries. Normal.

3:00 PM: Library. He fell asleep on my shoulder for 20 minutes. Normal.

6:00 PM: Me: heading home?

6:05 PM: Theo: yeah. see you tomorrow?

6:06 PM: Me: see you tomorrow.

That was the last message.

---

7:00 PM. No text.

8:00 PM. No text.

9:00 PM. No text.

That wasn’t weird. Sometimes he studied late. Sometimes his phone died.

10:00 PM. Still no text.

11:00 PM. Still no text.

I told myself to sleep.

I didn’t.

---

Wednesday. 7:00 AM.

Me: morning?

Delivered. Not read.

8:00 AM. I went to Rel’s.

He wasn’t there.

9:00 AM. Class.

His seat was empty.

Professor Celes noticed. "Where’s Alistair?"

"I don’t know, ma'am," I said.

My stomach dropped.

10:00 AM. Me: hey. are you okay?

Delivered. Not read.

11:00 AM.

Sera: have you seen theo?

Me: no. you?

Sera: no. cass?

Cass: haven’t seen him since yesterday.

12:00 PM. I called.

Straight to voicemail.

"The number you have dialed is not available—"

I hung up.

---

1:00 PM. Panic.

I went to his dorm.

His roommate: "Haven’t seen him since last night. He said he was going home to get something."

"Did he say when he’d be back?"

"No."

2:00 PM. Me: Theo please. I’m worried.

Delivered. Not read.

3:00 PM. Eli posted on the page: has anyone seen theo alistair?

Comments blew up.

Classmate: saw him at the bus station yesterday

Another: he looked tired

4:00 PM. I was in Rel’s. Not working. Just staring at my phone.

Rel sat down. "Kid. Breathe."

"I can’t," I said. "What if something happened?"

"Rel," I said. "What if he’s mad at me? What if I did something?"

"You didn’t," Rel said. "But we’ll find him."

5:00 PM. Sera, Cass, and Eli showed up.

"Okay," Sera said. "Game plan. We call everyone. We check his usual places. We don’t panic."

"I’m panicking," I said.

"I know," Sera said. "That’s why we’re here."

We split up.

Sera and Cass went to the bus station.

Eli checked the library and gym.

I went back to the library. Our library.

Our table was empty.

His notebook was still there.

Blue pen.

Half-finished notes.

A sticky note in his handwriting: remind ana about slide 12

My hands shook.

---

6:00 PM. No one had found him.

Me: Theo. Please. Just tell me you’re okay. I don’t care about anything else.

7:00 PM. My phone buzzed.

Not him.

Unknown number: This is Theodore’s mom. Is this Anastasia?

My heart stopped.

Me: Yes ma'am. Is he with you?

Theo's Mom: He’s here. He’s okay. He just needed to go home. Family emergency. He left his phone.

I cried. Right there in the library.

Me: Can I talk to him?

Theo's Mom: He’s sleeping. He’s been up for 2 days. He’ll call you tomorrow. I promise.

"Okay," I said. "Okay. Thank you."

I told the group.

Sera hugged me. "See? He’s okay."

"But why didn’t he tell me?" I whispered.

"Because he was dealing with something," Cass said. "He’ll explain."

---

I didn’t sleep.

---

Thursday. 9:00 AM.

Theo: Reyes.

Theo: I’m so sorry.

Theo: Can we talk?

I called immediately.

"Hey," he said. His voice was rough.

"Hey," I said. "Are you okay?"

"I’m okay," he said. "My lolo. He had a stroke yesterday. I had to go. My mom called and I just... left. I forgot my phone."

"Is he okay?" I asked.

"He’s stable," Theodore said. "But it was bad. I’m sorry I didn’t text. I’m sorry I scared you."

"You scared me," I said. "I thought—"

"I know," he said. "I’m sorry. Really sorry."

There was silence.

"Can I see you?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said. "Come to Rel’s."

---

30 minutes later he walked in.

He looked tired. Eyes red. Same shirt from Tuesday.

He saw me and ran.

Not walked. Ran.

He hugged me. Tight.

"I’m sorry," he said into my hair. "I’m so sorry I worried you."

I hugged him back. "Don’t do that again."

"I won’t," he said. "I promise."

We sat down. He told me everything.

About his lolo. About driving home at midnight. About his phone dying in the car.

"I kept thinking about you," he said. "About how you’d be worried. I’m sorry."

"I was," I said. "I was so scared."

"I know," he said. "I saw your messages. All 14 of them."

"14?" I asked.

"14," he said. "I counted."

Sera came over. "You idiot."

"Yeah," Theodore said. "I know."

Cass nodded. "Glad you’re okay."

Eli took one photo. Just one. Of us, still holding hands.

Rel brought coffee. "On the house. For the boy who forgot his phone."

---

After, we walked.

"You can tell me next time," I said. "Even if it’s messy. Even if you’re scared."

"I know," he said. "I just didn’t want to burden you."

"You’re not a burden," I said. "You’re my partner."

"Research partner?" he asked.

"Everything partner," I said.

He stopped and kissed my forehead. "Okay. Everything partner."

---

That night,

Theo: thank you for worrying.

Me: thank you for coming back.

Theo: always.

Me: always.

---

Friday. Class.

Professor Celes: "Glad you’re back, Alistair. And glad you’re both okay."

"Yes, ma'am," we said.

After, Theodore handed me coffee.

"Black, no sugar," he said.

"Thanks," I said. "For coming back."

"Always," he said.

---

Sera posted the photo Eli took.

Caption: They fight. They worry. They come back. #ResearchOnYou

Comments:

seraphina.s: my babies

cass.v: good

theo.a: sorry everyone

eli.t: never sorry for this

---

That weekend, I met his lolo.

He was okay. Sitting up. Grumpy.

"This the girl?" he asked Theodore.

"Yes, Lolo," Theodore said.

"Pretty," Lolo said. "Keep her."

I turned red.

Theodore squeezed my hand.

---

Sunday night. My notebook.

Pink: Introduction.

Blue: Literature Review.

Yellow: Methodology.

Green: Results.

Purple: Unexpected.

Under purple:

The day he disappeared.

The day I realized I couldn’t do this without him.

The day he came back.

My phone buzzed.

Theo: sleeping?

Me: no.

Theo: can i call?

Me: yes.

He called.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," I said.

"Just checking," he said.

"I’m here," I said.

"I know," he said. "And I’m here too."

We stayed on the phone until we both fell asleep.

---

Monday. Back to normal.

But better.

Because now we knew.

Even on the bad days.

Even when we’re scared.

We come back to each other.

END OF CHAPTER 11