Page 91 of The Story Of Us

It must just be a glitch or something.

In again, out again, in again.

Nothing.

All of his files are gone.

35

ISAAC

Once I’ve told Violet I love her again, I put my phone on charge, then head to my bathroom to take a shower and get ready for our nightly call. They’re my second favourite part of the day, the first being when I actually get to see her. And even though we’ve spent most of the day together, I’ll never get tired of this giddy feeling that comes whenever I hear her voice.

I’m finishing up my skincare, with a new moisturiser added thanks to Violet, when my phone rings. She must have gotten tired of working on the project already, but that is completely fine with me if it means I get to talk to her earlier. I step out of the bathroom, drying off my wet hair with a towel, and glance at my phone.

Violet’s face looks up at me as I admire the picture I’ve set for her that she sent me a few days ago. Once I realised how little I had of her after we broke up, I decided that I wanted as many photos of her that I could have, and even though I take a ridiculous amount of candids, I still find myself asking her for them too.

During the break, she went clothes shopping with her mum for a family friend’s wedding and tried on all different colours of salwar kameez. She kept sending me pictures to ask for my opinion, but she looked absolutely stunning in every single one of them. Eventually, she decided to buy a dark green set and that’s the picture that is currently set to show up when she calls me.

I swipe at the screen to answer before it cuts off and hold the phone to my ear.

“Bored already?” I joke, towelling off my hair as I take a seat at my desk.

“Isaac..” she whispers my name, and I can hear a tremble in her voice that makes my heart drop and has me standing up immediately.

“Jaanu, are you okay? What happened?” I soften my tone, grabbing the nearest shirt I can find and pulling it over my head as I rush towards the door.

I’ve never heard her sound like this before, and the way she said my name, laced with so much worry, it felt like all the air left my lungs.

“It’s all gone..” Her voice gets shakier, and I can hear her breathing getting panicky, too.

I slip my feet into whatever shoes I can find, then I’m out of my room and the dorm building quicker than I ever have been before.

The worry I had before about getting caught is completely gone because right now, all I care about is getting to Violet. I don’t know what’s happened, but the gasping breaths she’s taking as she tries to hold back her crying is enough to send me into a full-on run towards her building and room.

“Hey, hey, listen to me. It’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay. Open your door, I’m nearly there.”

I try to calm her down, keeping my breathing as even as possible so she doesn’t realise that I’ve started panicking too. I enter her building, and then I’m rushing towards her room as I keep repeating the same things to her in hushed whispers, telling her not to cry, that it’s going to be okay, that I’m almost there.

As soon as I reach her door, I push it open and hurry over to where she’s sitting on the bed. Her head is buried in her hands, her entire body trembling with the effort of trying to keep herself together. I crouch in front of her, taking hold of her wrists and slowly bringing her hands down from her face to her lap so I can take them in mine. I’ve never seen her cry like this, and it causes a pain in my chest that I’ve never felt before.

I still don’t know what’s happened, but I’ll do everything I can to make sure she never cries like this ever again. I can feel a sting in my eyes as my own tears start to form, but I blink a few times to keep them away so that I can stay strong for her.

Violet doesn’t look at me as I run my thumbs back and forth across the back of her hands in an attempt to soothe her. Her long hair falls in front of her face as she tucks her chin into her chest. I know she’s trying to hide from me, but I won’t let her.

“Violet, jaanu, it’s okay. Just tell me what happened.” I speak quietly as I duck my head to try to see her face. There’s a lump forming in my throat, and I think if I try to speak any louder, tears will come with it. I won’t cry in front of her when she’s already this upset.

“All of your work, it’s gone,” she says quietly and slowly, forcing the words out almost as if she can’t believe she’s saying them. A small sob escapes her on the last word, and her breathing gets panicky again as she starts crying loudly. I can tell she’s been holding it in since I got here, but I think saying what has happened has pushed her over the edge.

“What do you mean?” I ask, still rubbing circles on her hand and willing her to look at me. I heard what she said, but it’s not really registering in my mind. I bring her hands close to my face to kiss her knuckles. “What happened?”

“I don’t know. I just plugged it into my laptop, and there was nothing there. I don’t know what happened. I kept trying, but there’s nothing.”

Every other word she says is broken up with gasps as she tries to catch her breath, and it feels like a stab to the heart every time. I’ve never seen her so upset before.

She pulls her hands away from mine, covering her face again while sobs rack her body and make her shoulders shake.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. I’ll fix it.” I rest my hands on her knees, needing some kind of contact with her so she knows I’m here for her. “Please stop crying, jaanu, it’s breaking my heart.”

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