The Fate Of Broken Hearts

Chapter 37

If there was ever a moment in my life where I felt like my own person, this was it.

Early this morning I went downstairs to check my letterbox like I did every week. I pulled on the small door and took out a heap of folded advertisements and envelopes, but as I flicked through each one, a particular envelope caught my eye. It was addressed to me personally, with a brown book stamp in the top right corner. It was from the library.

My curiosity got the best of me and I didn't wait to get back to the apartment to see what was inside. My finger quickly slid under the opening flap and ripped it open. There were two pieces of paper. One was a folded letter which I took out first.

My eyes flew over each sentence looking for words like 'terminated employment' or 'sanctions' of any kind. I was sure I did something wrong to be receiving a personal letter from my workplace, and yet I was wrong.

The letter didn't describe unemployment of any kind, and the more I read, the more I understood.

At the bottom, Kate's name was signed. My hands fumbled as I folded the paper back up and reached into the envelope again to remove a crisp white check with a multiple-digit number printed on the left-hand side.

I covered my mouth and let out a silent squeal after I fully registered what it was. I could barely contain the relief and joy that I felt. I hadn't experienced this feeling since I opened my college acceptance letter in the kitchen with a cup of coffee that I spilled on myself shortly after. And the first person I wanted to tell was Will. I wanted to call him straight away, even though it was eight in the morning on a Saturday and he didn't wake up until the evening.

I quickly pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed him anyway. It came as no surprise when I was sent to voicemail. I left a message anyway.

I knew no one was up, but I wanted to tell someone, anyone. I thought about calling my mother, but for some reason, I didn't.

I scrolled through my contacts and then scrolled through them again. Not only did his name appear in my head, but it appeared under my thumb on the screen.

I knew I shouldn't. There was no reason for me to. We weren't friends. We weren't anything. However, I wanted to tell him. I wanted to share this with him.

I had decided against it and meant to leave it alone, but in the accidental tap of the screen in an attempt to leave the app, my finger slipped and pressed on his name.

Frantically, I tapped the button to end the call repeatedly. My phone almost fell out of my hands in the process. Thankfully, his name disappeared.

I palmed my forehead hoping desperately that it hadn't given the call enough time for it to reach his phone.

It did.

I knew it did when I received a message from him.

'Did you call me by accident?'

I blinked at his words, and then I typed a response.

'Yes, sorry. My finger slipped. I hope I didn't wake you.'

A grey bubble appeared informing me that he was typing. I watched as they went from a back and forth bounce to nothing at all. He never replied.

I climbed the stairs and stepped back into the apartment where the quiet was accompanied by the sunlight breaking through the trees. The warmth reached the living room for one of the last times of the season. Winter was closing in. Now, only a few days away. The cold, icy days had already started to make their way into our surroundings. The trees were the first to be affected by the change. They began losing the last of their orange leaves, which were now discarded in a brown coat covering the grass beneath them.