บททั้งหมดของ The Boy I Wasn't Supposed To Want. : บทที่ 51 - บทที่ 60

November arrived colder than Ivy expected, both literally and in the small, accumulating ways long distance wore at things that had felt effortless in October.It started small. A missed call that turned into three days of scheduling attempts before they actually connected. A video chat where Callum kept glancing at his laptop screen instead of his phone, clearly still working through something for a case even as he insisted he was fully present."You're doing the thing," Ivy said, watching him type something mid-sentence."Sorry. Sorry, give me one second." Callum finished whatever he was typing and set the laptop aside, guilt flashing across his face. "I'm here. Really.""You've said 'one second' three times in the last ten minutes.""I know. I'm sorry. This case is a mess right now, and I keep thinking if I just finish one more thing it'll stop following me into everything else." He rubbed his eyes, exhaustion evident even through the screen. "I don't want you to feel like you're g

They didn't talk for two full days after that, the longest silence between them since Callum had moved, both of them apparently waiting for the other to break first, neither quite willing to.Ivy spent those two days more distracted than she wanted to admit, snapping at Priya over nothing during a study session."Okay, what's going on with you," Priya said, closing her laptop pointedly. "You've been weird since Thanksgiving.""Callum and I had a fight," Ivy admitted. "About Noah.""Is he just your friend?""Priya.""I'm not saying you like him. I'm saying you sound very invested in proving that you don't."Ivy paused, something uncomfortable settling in at that. "He's my friend. We have history. Callum's being insecure about something that isn't a threat.""Okay," Priya said, unconvinced. "Insecurity doesn't usually come from nowhere. Doesn't mean he's right to act on it badly. Doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong either. Just means something's worth looking at."Noah texted her t

Callum surprised her.He hadn't mentioned it during their call, just texted her Friday afternoon while she was leaving Hargrove: Look up. And there he was, leaning against his car across the street, a small, hopeful smile on his face, a duffel bag in the back seat."You didn't tell me you were coming," Ivy said, crossing the street in disbelief."I wanted to surprise you. Figured after everything this week, we needed actual time together instead of another phone call." Callum pulled her into a hug, tight and a little desperate. "I took tomorrow off. I'm here until Sunday."They spent that evening quietly, dinner at her apartment, careful and gentle with each other, both of them making an effort neither fully articulated, just present, trying.Saturday afternoon, Ivy had already promised Noah weeks ago that she'd help him move a few boxes into his new apartment, and she debated canceling before deciding it would only reignite the pattern she'd promised to stop."I told Noah I'd help hi

Callum called the next morning, finally, his voice rough like he hadn't slept much either."Noah came to see me yesterday," he said, no preamble.Ivy's stomach dropped. "He what?""Showed up at my hotel. Wanted to explain himself, apparently.""Explain what?""That there's history between you two I didn't know about. A bonfire, junior year. He said you two almost kissed, that you pulled away, and he's spent years assuming that meant you were scared, not that you didn't want it."Ivy sat down hard on her kitchen chair. "There was a bonfire. We were sixteen. It was one stupid, awkward almost-moment that neither of us ever mentioned again.""You never mentioned it at all," Callum said. "That's the part I keep getting stuck on.""Because it wasn't significant to me. I'm not keeping a file on every guy I've ever talked to, Callum. How was I supposed to know some dumb thing from when I was sixteen would suddenly matter?""Maybe it didn't mean anything to you. It clearly meant something to h

Callum drove down on Friday, arriving later than he'd planned, an accident on the highway pushing his four hours into nearly six. Ivy was waiting on her porch steps when he finally pulled up.He opened his arms. Ivy hesitated half a second before stepping into them."Hi," she said, muffled against his shoulder."Hi."They ordered takeout instead of cooking, too tired from the week to manage much else, and ate at her small kitchen table in a quiet that wasn't quite comfortable and wasn't quite tense either."I talked to Noah," Ivy said eventually. "He apologized properly. Told me he understood he'd misread the whole bonfire thing for years. I told him the truth, that I didn't want to kiss him then either.""How do you feel about that?""Relieved, mostly." Ivy pushed her food around her plate. "I told him I needed time to figure out whether we're staying friends.""Do you want to?""I don't know.""That's not really an answer.""Because I don't have one yet, Callum.""Okay." He went qui