Love You Forever (2013 Wattys Finalist)

Chapter 19 - Cutting Without a Knife

Robert was lying in his bed with the crook of his arm over his eyes. It was Saturday morning, the beginning of another endless weekend with hours to be filled before he could go back to work again. He was just trying to think of what he might do when his mobile started vibrating. He reached over to his bedside table to get it and looked at the display.

Shit. He couldn’t believe it was her again.

Why the hell couldn’t she leave him alone? She’d just called two fucking days ago. Every damn time she contacted him, he was left dealing with all the feelings she’d stirred up. And just when he’d gotten over it, she’d fucking call him or e-mail him again. How the hell was he supposed to forget about her if she kept at him like this?

He wouldn’t answer it, he thought angrily. She could fucking call all she wanted, he just wouldn’t pick up. And when he got up, he would delete her fucking e-mails and the picture as well.

His mobile stopped vibrating and he breathed a sigh of relief. He knew it wasn’t over but at least he had a moment of peace. Sure enough, a few minutes later, it started vibrating again. He didn’t bother to check the display.

As it continued to vibrate in his hand, it almost felt like it was her hand shaking his, trying to get him to pay attention to her. Mercifully, it stopped. Then a few minutes later it started up again and he couldn’t fucking take it anymore.

“What!” he shouted when he answered it.

“Oh,” she said, sounding a little surprised, then said, “Hi, Robert. It’s me, Georgie.” As soon as he heard her familiar soft voice, the anger drained out of him, and he could feel desolation taking its place.

“Yeah,” was all he could manage. There was a pause.

“How are you?”

“Alright,” he said with a sigh, and laid the crook of his arm over his eyes.

“Good. I’m glad.” There was a much longer pause. He could swear he heard her breathing on the other end of the line.

“I’m calling because I need to ask you – I mean, I wanted to ask –,” she said hesitantly, her voice suddenly higher and shaky. He waited through a pause before she started again.

“I’ve been thinking a lot, you know? And I –.” He heard her sigh deeply when she stopped.

“I just wanted to ask you –,” she started shakily again, and then there was another pause.

“This is harder than I thought it would be,” he heard her say quietly to herself.

As he waited through another pause, he thought it would be almost funny, if he didn’t feel like he was dying every time he heard her soft voice. He wished she’d just hurry up and say whatever it was she was going to say. The sooner she did, the sooner the call would end, and the sooner he’d stop feeling like he was being tortured.

“I-want-you-to-come-to-Chicago,” she said quickly as if it was all one word. It was so quick, he wasn’t sure he heard right.

“What?” he asked, taking his arm off his eyes.

“I want you to come to Chicago,” she said more slowly with her voice shaking and breathy as if she’d just been running.

He sat up in his bed, hardly able to believe what he’d just heard. What the hell? Was she fucking joking? He didn’t even have to think about it.

“No.”

“Uh – what?” she said, actually sounding surprised, and he could feel the anger boiling up.