I might’ve messed up by surprising her on Saturday, but overall, the day went well. No amount of time spent with her was enough, and I knew that meant she had me wrapped around her finger. I knew, deep down, that meant I was already hers.
I wasn’t in love with her, I wasn’t at the point where I’d drop down on my knees and profess that I couldn’t live my life without her, but I was falling. At this rate, I’d get there fast.
Which was insane, because weeks ago, I’d claimed I wasn’t ready, that I didn’t want to be in another relationship. Hah, who was fucking wrong as hell? Me. I mean, look at me now—sitting in my apartment, all alone, thinking about her.
Bree. I wondered how often she thought of me while I was away.
Life went on for a while. I went to work, shut myself in my room when I was home, did my best to avoid any possible sightings of Trent. All the while, I texted Bree as much as I could. I also called her once every night, just to hear her voice. She was starting to open up, to feel comfortable talking to me, and I would not give that up for anything.
The days blurred into each other, and I could not wait for the weekend. I told myself I would not visit Bree every single weekend, but you know what? Screw that. If she wanted me to come, I would drop everything and go. I craved her, to hear her soft, delicate chuckles and just to be in her presence.
God, I’d really fallen fast for her, didn’t I? It was almost unreal, considering how terrible our first date was. She was too closed-off, while I was too much of an ass who refused to see the girl beside me. I could not stress how thankful I was that we’d moved past that horrible first date.
When Kyle had described Bree as nice…over and over again, basically the only word he used to describe her, he was right. She was nice, almost to a fault. She was never pushy, never loud or boisterous. Her personality was meek and gentle, but I also knew that her view on everything had something to do with it.
She didn’t think highly of herself. Hell, I doubted she thought anything positive about herself, which was just awful. If I had to tell her she was beautiful every day for the rest of our lives, I would, even if she never believed me. I wouldn’t sit back and let her talk bad about herself. She probably thought she wasn’t worth dating, which then led me to believe she didn’t believe she was worth loving.
And that—that could not have been farther from the truth.
No, by the time I was done with this girl, she’d know, without a doubt, she was just as deserving of love as anyone else.
And I was at the point where I seriously didn’t think I’d ever be done with her. In fact, never had I hated that I’d moved so far away from home. Never had I hated looking out the window in my room and seeing nothing but tall highrises as far as the eye could see. All of this…my job, my place, everything—none of it meant anything. Not really.
I’d give it up for her, if she asked me to, but that was the point; she never would. Bree wasn’t like that. She was the opposite of demanding and expecting. She never expected anything, actually, which only made my heart hurt for her.
That night, I lay on my bed, my phone in my hand, talking to Bree. I stared at the ceiling as we spoke, and I wondered where she was, if she was on her bed, doing the same thing.
“How did that exam go?” I asked, my other arm resting against my stomach. I hadn’t eaten dinner yet, and I wasn’t sure I was going to. Maybe Bree had rubbed off on me. Hmm. Tomorrow was Friday again; before we ended this call, I did want to ask her if she wanted me to visit. Not to put all the pressure onto her or anything, but…I hoped she’d say yes.
“Okay, I think,” Bree mumbled, talking under her breath, as was her habit. “I was the first one done with it, so I don’t know if that means I aced it, or I mistook all the questions and answered everything wrong.”
I smiled to myself. No light was on in my room; the only light that lingered came in through the window, showing a city in dying daylight. “I’m sure you didn’t answer everything wrong. You’re smart, Bree.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Yes, you are.” I knew she wouldn’t believe me, but that wasn’t going to stop me from telling her what I thought. “You’re smart, kind, and beautiful. I don’t know why you don’t give yourself more credit.”
I heard her breath out a long exhale on the other line before whispering, “Stop.”
“I mean it.”
“Calum—” She said more, but whatever she said next was drowned out by a sudden knocking on the apartment door.
Immediately, I sat up, glancing at my room’s door. Couldn’t be Trent in the hall outside, because he had a key. Unless he lost it during the day? But still, he would have to go to the property manager and ask for another copy—
“Hold on,” I told her, slowly getting off my bed and heading out of my room, through the hall to the front living room. “Someone’s at the door.” I held the phone against my ear as I went for the
