Page 55 of Encounter

For the following week, time seemed to have slowed down significantly. Usually, I would have been happy—I liked the slow-paced life much more than constantly feeling on edge and out of control. Yet with every passing day, I woke up and went to bed wishing it was already the next, and frantically checked my phone every time it dinged like I was some obsessed, jealous boyfriend.

When the weekend finally came, I already did all I could to distract myself from the thing occupying my every thought. I went for a run in the morning. I did most of my schoolwork. I cleaned my room, played on the piano, and listened to more music.

Was I supposed to call him today? In the evening? Or maybe wait for Sunday...

Surely, everyone’s free on Sunday. Maybe he had time to think about it.Time to decide he’s through with me.

After a bit of hesitating, my anxiety started to try to make me backtrack. I should only send a message. Calling would be too intrusive, too annoying, too ballsy. Then again... wouldn’t that be what Chast wants? For me to be braver?

Isn’t that what I want for myself?

Taking a deep breath, I called him, holding the phone next to myear while I paced in front of the street-facing window in my room.

My heart galloped when he finally picked up a call. “Yeah?” With a stupid smile on my face, I bit my nail.

“Hey, you— You said to get back to you at the end of the week.”

Chast chuckled. “You’re takin’ the end of the week pretty literally, huh?”

Oh god, I’m too pushy, aren’t I?“I’m sorry. I wasn’t sure what you meant by—”

“Calm down,” he said, sounding completely back to his normal, calm persona. “I don’t have time right now. Got a last-minute job I need to take care of, but I’m not workin’ tomorrow, so let’s do that. Seventeen hundred hours, regular spot?”

I instantly became excited that the worst scenarios I had been playing in my head for a week didn’t come to fruition. “Alright,” I blurted out, nodding to myself.

He must have been really rushing because Chast ended the call without saying anything else.

Smirking, I sat at my desk and let go of a deep sigh I felt like I’ve been holding ever since the last time we saw each other. No training today. At least I had some time to get some more research done for school, but there was no doubt in my mind that I wasn’t going to be able to concentrate at all...

?

The next day, I patiently waited on our usual spot. Sitting on the edge of a concrete planter running across the walkway, I watched the cars go by, anticipating seeing the one my eyes were now trained to identify almost immediately. There was a bit more anxiety buzzing through my chest than usual. I still wasn’t sure what exactly set Chast off last time. I was sure he was back to his old self, and he was most likely going to apologize.

I was pretty hopeful, at least for the first thirty minutes. Then, an hour passed. Hour and a half...

Chast was a busy man with a busy, unpredictable job.

He wouldn’t just bail on me, would he?

No, he seemed like the type of a man whose pride wouldn’t let him. Surely, he had a good reason. But... henevercame late. He was always here, waiting.

Is he okay?

I decided to wait longer, checking my phone every two seconds, willing a text to pop up. With each passing minute, I doubted my decision to come, and the evil, spiteful voice in my head started whispering the painful, agonizing ‘told you so’, over and over again.

Once it turned seven, I finally got the courage to give Chast a call. Hopefully, I wasn’t going to interrupt anything important.

With slow, heavy breaths, I listened to the ringing while studying the leaves littering the ground below my feet. It went on for a while, to the point I was ready to give up, but then Chast picked up at last.

Before I could speak, his loud groan came through the speaker. “Ohhh, fuck!” He sighed, sounding frustrated and in pain, worrying me. “Shit. I... ugh! I completely forgot, shit, sorry.”

“You forgot? It’s— Th-that’s fine,” I blurted out and immediately closed my fists tight to stop the sharp, cold wave of disappointment rushing through my body.Don’t take it personally, don’t think about it.

“No, no, no,” Chast reacted quickly. He sounded a little out of breath. “I didn’tforgetforget, I-It’s the fucking gig from yesterday, it was... ugh, not ideal to say the least.” He let out a bitter chuckle. “Not a failure—wouldn’t be speakin’ to you if it was, but I was stupid and lazy.” Hearing the painful huffs and groans on the other side of the phone quickly turned my self-pity into worry for Chast. “Not the first time I’ve had my ribs broken, but first in a while and it sure don’t get easier.”

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