Before the College Application Deadline My Boyfriend Unplugged My Mouse Chapter 09

Before the College Application Deadline My Boyfriend Unplugged My Mouse Chapter 09

Hailey covered her mouth, unable to speak through her tears.

I turned and walked through security.

This time, I did not look back.

Life in San Francisco was hectic.

The Global Journalism program was fast-paced and writing-intensive, the workload was heavy, and internships were fiercely competitive.

The first time I went to a job interview at a local television station by myself, I was so nervous that I dry-heaved in the restroom.

My reflection looked ghostly pale.

I turned on the faucet and splashed water over my face.

A series of messages from Nolan appeared on my phone.

Nolan: [It’s colder today. Remember to bring a jacket.]

Nolan: [I saw that it’s raining in San Francisco. Don’t get soaked.]

Nolan: [Natalie, Hailey and I aren’t in touch anymore.]

I read them, deleted the conversation, and did not respond.

His concern had come too late.

Something that arrives after it is needed has no value, no matter how perfect it seems.

I did not go home during winter break of my freshman year.

I stayed in San Francisco to work on an interview project with one of my professors.

On New Year’s Eve, Nolan called me.

I hesitated for several seconds before answering.

It was quiet on his end.

His voice was low and hoarse.

“Natalie, Happy New Year.”

“Happy New Year.”

He was silent for a long time.

“Have you been doing okay?”

“Pretty well.”

“I heard you joined the campus newsroom and won an award.”

“Yeah.”

He gave a bitter laugh.

“You’ve always been incredible.”

I said nothing.

Then he asked, “Can I come see you?”

“That wouldn’t be a good idea.”

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

I looked out at the lights across San Francisco Bay.

“Nolan, that’s none of your business.”

His breath caught on the other end of the call.

After a long silence, he said, “I understand.”

When the call ended, I blocked his number.

It was not because I hated him.

I simply no longer wanted the past knocking on my door.

Later, I heard from an old high school classmate that Nolan had not been doing well in college.

Although he and Hailey attended the same school, they were practically strangers.

Hailey tried to corner him outside his dorm several times, but he always avoided her.

Once, she cornered him in tears and demanded, “You chose me too. What right do you have to blame me

now?”

Nolan gave her only one answer.

“I didn’t choose you.”

“I lost her.”

When those words reached me, I was rushing to finish a profile piece.

I paused for only two seconds before continuing to type.

He called it losing me.

He spoke as if I were a key, a book, or some other possession he could eventually recover.

But people aren’t possessions.

Once someone has been disappointed enough times, they walk away on their own.