Page 41 of Fame & Chaos

And somehow still ended up strangers.

God, I wonder if she ever thinks about me.

Stop it, Caleb!

Thinking about her never gets you anywhere.

“Jesus Christ, get a grip,” I mutter at my reflection.

My shoulder-length hair is falling perfectly tonight, messy in that intentional rockstar way girls seem to lose their minds over, and my black shirt fits tightly enough to show the hours I spend working out without looking like I’m a try-hard. Basically, I look exactly like the kind of guy eighteen-year-old Caleb always wanted to become.

Too bad the bloke staring back at me still looks miserable underneath it all.

While shrugging on my leather jacket, my cell slips from my pocket and crashes onto the floor.

“For fuck’s sake.”

I bend down to grab it, and the screen lights up automatically in my hand.

Big mistake.

Before I can stop myself, my thumb is already opening Indi’s contact, and her photo fills the screen instantly.

Blonde hair.

Bright blue eyes.

Eighteen years old forever inside my phone.

And all of a sudden, I can’t breathe properly again.

“Don’t do it,” I warn myself aloud.

But my thumb moves anyway straight toward the call button.

“Seriously, Caleb?” I bark at my own reflection. “She hasn’t answered in six years. Why the fuck would tonight be different?”

Still… I hover there.

Every single time I call, part of me stupidly hopes she’ll finally pick up.

That I’ll hear her voice.

That maybe she misses me too.

“This is the last time,” I tell myself firmly. “If she doesn’t answer, you delete the number. Done.” I sound completely insane talking to myself in the mirror, but at this point, I don’t care.

I hit call, and my heart starts pounding so hard it hurts.

The ringing echoes through the speaker while I hold the phone to my ear, every pulse of sound making hope flare despite myself.

Come on, Indi.

Please.

But there’s nothing.

Just endless ringing.