He Always Said Yes, But Never Heard Me Until I Left Chapter 07

After moving back home, I changed my phone number.

I kept my old number active on a spare phone, using it only to tie up loose ends.

Unable to reach me, Reid started asking our friends to pass along messages.

He told them he’d stopped wearing his earbuds and kept his phone’s ringer on. Whenever I w ready to talk, he’d be there to listen.

A friend spoke cautiously.

“This time, he really…”

“I have nothing to say to him.”

I was checking the quote from the moving company and had just added two more items to the list of things I wanted to take.

“Please don’t pass along any more messages from him. If you’re free on Saturday, could you come with me to pick up the rest of my things?”

My friend agreed.

We arrived outside the building as planned on Saturday morning.

Reid came downstairs to meet us himself.

When he saw me, he took a couple of steps closer. His gaze lingered on my face before he stopped.

“You’re looking a little better.”

I didn’t respond. Instead, I opened the trunk and asked my friend to help unload the empty boxes.

Reid reached out to take one, but I’d already handed it to one of the movers.

When we went inside, I found an entire meal laid out on the dining table.

Reid was wearing the loungewear I’d bought him, his sleeves pushed up. A fresh burn marked the

back of his hand.

The TV was on, too.

I used to like having something playing in the background while I ate, but he’d always complained

that the noise made it hard for him to think.

Now the room was filled with cheerful voices from the television, and he stood beside the table.

“Why don’t we eat first? The packing can wait.”

I ignored him, handed my friend the inventory list, and went into the walk-in closet.

Reid followed me.

“I talked to a doctor, and I checked every single ingredient.”

“Everything I made today is safe for you to eat.”

I zipped up my suitcase and dragged it into the hallway.

There was a platter of barbecue ribs on the table, with a printed recipe lying beside it.

He followed my gaze and quickly picked up the serving tongs.

“You used to eat these every time we had them. I remember.”

“Those were your favorite.”

He froze with the tongs hovering over the platter.

I took my mug out of the cabinet and wrapped it in packing paper.

“Where’s my photo album? It used to be on the second shelf of the bookcase.”

Reid set the tongs down.

“It’s in the bedroom.”

I went to get it, but he reached into the nightstand drawer and took it out before I could.

I held out my hand. He didn’t give it to me right away.

“Could you leave this one here?”

I looked at him.

“No.”

His thumb pressed against the cover. After a moment, he finally loosened his grip.

I slipped the album into my bag and went back to checking my list.

The packing went faster than I’d expected.

The movers carried out the last box, and Reid suddenly called after me.

“Can you give me ten minutes?”

I checked the time and told my friend to go downstairs without me.

Reid immediately set his earbud case on the table and turned off his phone in front of me.

“Go ahead. I’m listening.”

I took out my key and placed it beside the earbud case.

“I think I’ve got everything. If anything else turns up, send a list to my friend.”

“And don’t contact my mother again. Don’t ask anyone else to pass along messages, either,

He raised his hand out of habit.

“Wait, let me explain. The reason I contacted your mom was…”

I stopped and looked at his raised hand.

His voice gradually trailed off.

His hand hung in the air for a few seconds before he slowly lowered it to the table.

“I’m sorry. Go on.”

“That’s all.”

I picked up my bag.

He immediately stood. “The ten minutes aren’t up yet.”

He came around the corner of the table and stood in my way, a few steps from the door. But he

didn’t dare reach out and touch me.

“I can change. Just give me a month. Even a week.”

“I’m done waiting.”

He swallowed hard, his voice faltering.

I walked past him.

“Move, Reid.”

Just then, the door opened.

Paige came in carrying a stack of documents. She stopped short when she saw me.

But she quickly recovered her smile.

“Oh, you’re here too? Perfect. I’ve been so busy I haven’t even had a chance to eat.”

She lifted the takeout bag in her hand.

“Mr. Callahan, I brought you something from that place you always order from.”

“There’s already food on the table…”

Reid answered so automatically that the words were out before he’d even thought about them

Hall through, he caught himself and turned to look at me.

I’d already turned the doorknob.

Paige glanced at the spread on the table and smiled.

“Did you make all this?”

Reid didn’t answer. He hurried after me.

“I just answered her out of habit. It doesn’t mean I have feelings for her.”

“I made that meal for you.”

I pressed the elevator’s door-close button without responding.

Once downstairs, we got the boxes loaded and stopped at a little café on the corner.

My friend asked what I wanted to eat.

I opened the menu and ordered a bowl of lemon chicken soup.

The café was only a short distance from Reid’s place.

I’d lived there for years, yet this was the first time I’d ever gone inside.

After I left, Paige started contacting me on Reid’s behalf.

Several calls came through on my old phone, but I ignored them all.

Eventually, she sent a message saying I’d left a necklace in a makeup bag on our wedding day. She’d been keeping it safe and wanted to return it to me in person.

I sent her my address and told her to ship it.

She added that Reid hadn’t been sleeping well lately and that she wanted to talk to me.

I ignored that and arranged for a courier to pick up the necklace.

It arrived the following afternoon.

There was an extra note inside the box.

Paige wrote that Reid had spent days waiting for my messages without wearing his earbuds, missing countless important things in the process. She claimed it hurt her to see him like that.

The note ended with: [He’s never swallowed his pride for anyone like this. You could at least cut

him some slack.]

I took a picture of the note and sent it to Reid.

Me: [Keep your assistant in line.]

He replied almost immediately.

Reid: [I didn’t ask her to do that.]

I didn’t bother asking anything else.

But when I opened the jewelry box, I discovered that one of the pendants was missing from the

necklace.

My mother had given it to me, and I’d later had it added to the chain.

I found an earlier photo of the necklace, circled the missing pendant, and sent it to Paige, asking her to find it as soon as possible.

Instead, I got a call from Reid.

I declined it and sent him a message.

Me: [If you have something to say, text me.]