He Promised Me Photos, She Got Them Instead Chapter 05

He Promised Me Photos, She Got Them Instead Chapter 05

Dylan hurried to explain, guilt evident in his voice.

“Hannah, don’t get the wrong idea.”

“We didn’t tell you because you’re afraid of the water. We weren’t deliberately leaving you out.”

“We’ll all be at Columbia anyway. Over winter break, I’ll go anywhere you want. Madison doesn’t have to come.”

I looked up at him.

His eyes were bright, as though he genuinely believed in the future he was describing.

I could no longer hold back the words that had been sitting on the tip of my tongue.

“Dylan, I’m not going to—”

“Dylan, have you seen the photo-booth pictures we took? You don’t think we dropped them when we showed them to the security guard, do you?”

Madison’s alarmed voice cut me off.

Before I could take the photo collage out of my bag and give it to her, she grabbed Dylan and hurried away.

A few moments later, Dylan texted me.

Dylan: [Madison dragged me into the photo booth while we were waiting for you. I’ll take pictures with you another time, just the two of us.]

Dylan: [It’s late, so I ordered you a ride. Here’s the license plate. Text me when you’re in the car.]

After hesitating for a long time, I handed the photo collage to our class president and asked him to return it to Dylan.

Then I blocked Dylan’s number.

On the ride home, I booked a flight to New Hampshire so I could hike Mount Washington.

During freshman year, Dylan and I had promised that if we both got into our dream colleges, we would spend the entire summer completing a five-peak hiking challenge.

He had forgotten, but I had not.

He might have broken his promise, but I could still keep mine.

I thought I was handling it well.

Yet as I packed, tears spilled over when I saw the rabbit charm Dylan had given me hanging from the handle of my suitcase.

He had given it to me in first grade.

That summer, our families had gone to the beach together. Dylan ran after a wave and was swept into the ocean while none of the adults were nearby.

I went in after him and nearly drowned while saving him. It took the doctors three days to stabilize me.

The doctors later told my parents that I might develop more slowly than other children from then on.

Dylan and I had been too young to understand what that meant. We simply assumed I would walk a little slower than everyone else.

Young Dylan had taken my hand and said, “Don’t be scared, Hannah. If you’re slow, I’ll just wait for you.”

To his credit, he kept that promise for eight years, from first grade until the beginning of high school.

On freshman orientation day, I arrived before him for the first time.

He showed up five minutes late with Madison sitting on the back of his bike.

He explained that he had seen Madison miss the bus on his way to school. Since they were going to the same school, he had offered her a ride.

From that day on, he stopped waiting for me.

I was the one who struggled to keep up with him instead.

Dylan had almost drowned in the ocean, yet he still loved the water.

Because of that, I forced myself to overcome my fear and learn how to swim.

But when I nearly drowned, he left with Madison.

That was the day I decided I would never chase after him again.

I did not sleep at all that night.

When I opened the door the next morning, Dylan was standing outside.

His eyes were red, and his voice sounded hurt.

“Hannah, you blocked me.”

“I bought you a plane ticket to Miami last night. I know you’re afraid of the water, but there are plenty of other things to do there.”

I stared at him for a moment, then gave him a resigned look and held up my phone to show him my flight confirmation.

Dylan’s expression stiffened. He must have remembered the promise we had made.

He hesitated for a long moment, then gritted his teeth.

“I’ll go with you. Unblock me, and I’ll meet you at the airport.”

He hurried away before I could answer.

Perhaps it was the determination on his face that convinced me.

Once again, I believed him.

I unblocked his number and waited for him near the security checkpoint for an hour and a half.

Instead, I found a new Instagram post from Madison.

It showed her and Dylan boarding a flight to Miami together.

In that moment, the last trace of affection I still held for Dylan disappeared completely.

I turned and joined the security line for my own flight.

From then on, I would climb my mountains, and he could have his ocean.