All Chapters of The 500th Journey: Chapter 11

I lowered my gaze to the familiar metal tin, now badly dented out of shape. Then, my eyes fell on Marcus' hands, covered in tiny cuts from digging through the trash.If this had been a year ago, I probably would have cried from heartbreak if I'd seen him in such a state. I might even have forgotten all about the promise of 500 tickets and agreed to marry him right then and there.But now, my heart didn't even stutter at the sight."Marcus, I've counted them. The first 280 at the bottom were the tickets you saved during freshman year, when you would come to visit me every few days. During the second year, we took turns traveling to see each other, saving another 120. "On our third, you told me you had taken on a new project and were too busy. Even then, I was still willing to help us collect another 60."Marcus stiffened with each word. It seemed he finally realized what I was getting at, and the panic in his eyes slowly grew."But that last year…" I trailed off, looking him