Chapter 10 Ten

The afternoon sun spilled through the sheer curtains of Lisa's dorm room, bathing everything in a warm, golden haze. Dust motes floated in the quiet air like suspended thoughts, and the only sound was the low hum of her desk fan and the occasional murmur of voices from outside.

Lisa sat frozen on her bed, her phone clenched tightly in her hand.

"Hi, my baby."

That was the message. Four words that felt like a thunderclap across the quiet calm of her day. Four words from a voice she hadn't heard in months.

Moses.

She stared at the screen, her heart racing, her thoughts scrambling for meaning. She hadn't seen that name pop up on her phone since the day everything between them had fallen apart. Not since the silence stretched long enough to become a memory. Not since she learned to stop waiting.

Now, out of nowhere, he was here digitally, at least.

Why now?

Her thumb hovered over the keyboard, but no words came. Her mind flooded with questions, emotions, fragments of old wounds she had neatly packed away. This wasn't a message. It was a ghost.

"Hi, my baby..." she whispered to herself, her voice laced with disbelief. "What is this, Moses? Some kind of test?"

The door creaked open behind her. She didn't turn.

"Lisa?" a familiar voice called softly. Her roommate, Sandra.

Lisa didn't answer immediately. She was too busy trying to breathe through the wave of confusion gripping her chest.

Sandra stepped closer, her footsteps gentle against the floorboards. "Hey, you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Lisa finally blinked, her eyes still locked on the phone. "Maybe I have."

Sandra frowned and sat beside her. "What's going on?"

Lisa turned the phone around to show her the message. "Moses just texted me."

Sandra's eyes widened. "Wait... Moses? Your Moses?"

Lisa nodded slowly.

Sandra tilted her head, reading the message aloud. "'Hi, my baby'? Wow. That's... bold." She leaned back. "And what did you reply?"

"I haven't," Lisa murmured. "I don't even know if I should."

Sandra chewed on her lip for a moment, then cleared her throat. "Okay... so full honesty I saw him."

Lisa turned sharply. "What?"

"Three days ago. At the bookstore downtown. I didn't tell you because... well, I didn't know if it mattered. He looked... I don't know. Like he hadn't slept in weeks. When he saw me, he asked about you. A lot."

Lisa narrowed her eyes. "And?"

Sandra hesitated. "I gave him your number."

Lisa blinked. "You what?!"

"Look, I know you're mad, but he seemed sincere. Desperate even. And I know you you'd want to know if he reached out."

Lisa groaned and tossed the phone onto the bed. "That's not the point. We ended for a reason."

"I know. But you also cried yourself to sleep for three months after he left."

Lisa didn't argue. She couldn't. The silence between them said everything.

Sandra nudged her gently. "Just reply. Even if it's to tell him off."

Lisa picked up the phone again. Her fingers hovered, then began to type.

"Yes. How can I help you?"

The reply came instantly, like he'd been waiting.

"You didn't have to be rude."

Lisa clenched her jaw. "Moses, what do you want? Why now, after all this time?"

A few seconds passed. Then:

"I miss you, Lisa. I just need to know that you're okay."

She stared at the message. Her breath caught in her throat.

I miss you.

After all this time? After all the unanswered calls, the ghosting, the unexplained departure?

She thought about all the nights she'd waited for a message that never came. All the birthdays. All morning she woke up thinking about him and forced herself to forget.

"I'm fine. Thanks for checking." she replied.

And there it was the line she swore she'd never cross again. Letting him in, even just a crack. It felt like breaking open a sealed wound.

She dropped the phone beside her with a sigh, trying to push away the feelings that surged like a tide. But it was too late. They were already here.

She didn't want to admit it, not even to herself but hearing from him stirred something she thought had died. Something raw. Something real.

She closed her eyes.

Because the truth wasn't that she was fine.

It was that she had never stopped waiting for that message.

And now that it was here... she had no idea what to do with the part of her that still loved him.