Eli’s POV
I told myself it was fine.
Maybe she was tired.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrUv8mlNcnp
Maybe she’d forgotten.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnHN4Xnw9rL
Maybe it was just one night.
But I knew better.
Mara didn’t miss things. Not like this.
It started small—the usual playlist never came. No message. No subtle emoji with a song link. Nothing.
I still showed up at the café. Still took Table Nine. Still ordered two coffees, like muscle memory was smarter than my pride.
She didn’t come.
The next night, same thing.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQM6WRA2Zij
And the night after that.
On the third night, I didn’t order coffee. I just sat there, staring at the chair across from me like it had betrayed me.
I tried telling myself we weren’t anything. Not really. We hadn’t kissed. We hadn’t confessed. We hadn’t even made promises.
But her absence…56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAHJtMe3uJP
It hollowed out the room.
When I got home, I paced for over an hour. Thought about calling her. Thought about walking to her building. I even opened a blank message three times just to type:
Are you okay?
But I never hit send.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTkbcfPxt8t
Because I wasn’t sure what scared me more—56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3iIP3bzyzK
that she wouldn’t reply…56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvnkgswNNnt
or that she would, and something would be different.
That night, I wrote something instead. Not for a book. Just for me.
Dear Mara,
I think you became my routine before I had the courage to admit it.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAZkHCOmmxF
I memorized the sound of your laugh in lowercase, the kind that only shows up in real conversation.I know we never said what this is.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWZSuSW4GPp
But not knowing doesn’t make it smaller.If you’re hurting, I don’t need details.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMSai6DtNB8
Just tell me you're still here.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNnZEcFCuyu
That you still want me to listen.—E
I didn’t send that either.
But I left it in her mailbox the next morning.
Handwritten.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSAE85QcFjF
No envelope.56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJU9yRxkaw7
No signature.
Just one song attached to it on a flash drive:56Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN9Ed0vLDkn
The one we shared in the rain.
