His alright was just an answer; it wasn't a promise.
Later that evening, the blue light of my phone cut through the dimness of my room with a casual "What's up?" I stared at the screen, feeling a bit lost. I knew I'd overthought that one-word exit. It wasn't that I didn't overthink most things, but this felt different. Somewhere deep down, a small, traitorous part of me felt a flicker of relief at not being given up on. I shoved that feeling deep into a corner of my mind, hoping it would stay buried forever.
"You don't give up, do you?" I typed, fully intending to chew him out.
His response made me speechless.
"Give up on what, exactly?"
The audacity. I felt the heat rise in my cheeks. "I thought I made myself clear earlier today," I wrote back.
It took him exactly one minute to respond. "Perfectly clear."
"Then what is this?"
I was starting to have serious doubts about his sanity. From the outside, Liam looked entirely put together, but there was something in the way he moved and the way he spoke that made his entire being feel like a battlefield. He was at war with something, though I didn't understand my own observation, or perhaps I just didn't want to.
"What's what?" he replied.
I actually rolled my eyes at a phone screen. He was definitely pranking me. He had to be. Then, another message popped up.
"The 'alright' I said was just an answer. It didn't mean I was going to stop, if you're still wondering. Also, you could just block me."
He was right. I could. I totally, easily could. But I didn't, and that realization made me wonder if I was just as insane as he was. I decided not to respond. Silence was a boundary, and I hoped that by not engaging, I could starve whatever interest he had left.
If I was being honest with myself, I had no idea how to handle this. I knew I was decent-looking; I'd had my fair share of attention from boys in high school. But Mia had always "taken care" of anyone interested in me. She had this terrifying ability or maybe my friends were just traitors to ensure that any guy remotely interested in me would suddenly stop talking to me altogether.
I'd told myself I was fine with it back then. I had goals. I had my studies and my scholarship to protect. But sitting at my study table now, I had to admit the truth: I was inexperienced. I was no match for someone like Liam, and admitting that felt like a bruise to my ego.
I was still spiraling through those thoughts when the silence of my room was shattered. My phone didn't ping this time. It vibrated with the weight of an incoming call.
It was him.