Page 75 of On the Edge

“God, yes,” I say on a groan, and he laughs.

“Tell me something good,” he prompts. I walk over to my bed and lie down, getting comfortable. The only good things here are my brothers, so they are who I talk about. Long, rambling stories that probably don’t make a lot of sense to him, but nonetheless feel better to say than the one I told about my mom.

“Goodness,” Henri exclaims, when I tell him my dadbought my seventeen-year-old brother a brand-new car. “This is probably a bad idea, yes?”

“Probably.” I laugh.

“When I came here for school, Jakob helped me. He bought my car and Mama was not happy about this. She does not trust these American drivers.”

“Fair,” I concede. “Do you have to work tomorrow?”

I pull the phone away from my ear to check the time. Although he loosened up on the rigid scheduling of his days toward the end of the semester, I doubt that relaxation carried over into the summer. He’s probably past his scheduled bedtime right now.

“I do, yes.”

“I should probably let you go, then.”

He’s quiet on the other end of the line, breathing softly. I really don’t want to let him go. I want to keep talking well into the night, and hear all the things I’ve missed out on during these past few weeks of silence. What I really want is a confirmation that this is not a one-off. That I could text him tomorrow and expect a reply; maybe another phone call after work if I’m lucky.

“Perhaps I might call you tomorrow?” Henri asks carefully, and I let out the breath I didn’t even know I was holding.

“Sure,” I agree.

“Goodnight, Bärchen. Thank you for calling me back.”

I can’t fight the smile as we hang up the phone, Henri’s lovely, accented voice ringing in my ear long after the line goes dead. He doesn’t hate me. More than that, though, he still wants toknowme. I feel almost dizzy with relief. This outcome was too much to hope for, and certainly not what I’d been expecting. And even though we didn’t have an explicitconversation about where we go from here, at least I know there will be something. Friends, boyfriends, whatever it is, I want it.

Three weeks without Henri Vasel was more than enough for me.

23

Henri

The following morning,I wake up long before my alarm and immediately reach for my phone. I don’t have an active imagination by any estimation, but I can hardly believe that conversation with Atlas actually happened. And, based on my call history, happen, it did. Feeling a little better about our situation now that I know he won’t ignore me completely, I send him a text.

Henri

Good morning, Atlas. I hope you slept well.

Atlas

i slept on the floor which is to say i did not sleep at all

The reply came so fast, he must have been looking at his phone when I messaged him. Smiling, I prop myself up against the headboard andtext back.

Henri

And what movie did we watch?

Atlas

the dark knight

ryan loves superhero comics

Henri

It was good?

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