Seven Times I Drew Blank, Seven Times They Drew Each Other Chapter 10

Seven Times I Drew Blank, Seven Times They Drew Each Other Chapter 10

I had waited far too long to hear those words.

If he had said them sooner-when they first left me behind, when I first watched the five of them pose for a photo without me, or when I first realized Vanessa’s tears mattered more to him than my birthday–I might have gone back.

But now, I simply said, “I don’t need you to change anymore.”

“Who you love, who you choose, who you stand beside from now on-none of it has anything to do with me.”

Julian clenched the ring so tightly that the band bit into his palm, just as it had once bitten into mine.

“Do you really not love me at all anymore?”

I was quiet for a moment.

“I did once.”

A flicker of hope appeared in his eyes.

Then I added, “But those seven blank cards wore it away, little by little, until there was nothing left.”

Julian didn’t leave right away. He stayed in the coastal town for two weeks.

Every day, he showed up at our filming locations to carry equipment, bring water, and check the vehicles.

He did what I used to do-quietly taking care of all the things no one ever noticed.

But none of it made me say anything more to him.

Before leaving town, Julian came to see me one last time.

He set a hard drive on the table. It contained the entire history of the five-person group chat, along with an apology letter he had written by hand.

His eyes were red.

“I’ve cut ties with them. Derek and the others know they were wrong too.”

“They want to apologize to you.”

“There’s no need.”

I shook my head.

“Whether they like me or not doesn’t matter anymore.”

“You were the reason I stayed all those years.”

“And in the end, you were the reason I left.”

Julian lowered his head.

After a long silence, he asked, “Is there really no chance for us anymore?”

I looked out the window at a flock of white birds flying over the ocean.

I used to keep trying to find a place in their circle.

Only later did I realize how big the world was.

I didn’t need to stay around people who didn’t want me there just to prove I was worthy of love.

“No.”

“Julian, I have friends now.”

“They wait for me before they eat. When we take group photos, they pull me into the middle.”

“Turns out, real friends don’t make you fight for a place in their lives.”

Tears slipped down Julian’s face.

“What about me?”

“You’ll meet someone who’s right for you too.”

“But you’re the only one I want.”

I shook my head gently.

“What you want is the Nora who would never leave you.”

“She’s gone.”

After that, I traveled to many different places with the documentary crew.

For the first time, I was no longer just the person behind the camera.

My coworkers pulled me into group photos.

If there were only five chairs, someone would get up and bring over a sixth.

At meals, someone remembered I didn’t like cilantro.

When I was sick, someone would ask if I was hurting.

They might have seemed insignificant, but in seven years with Julian, I had never experienced any

of them.

The day the documentary premiered, the team posted a behind-the-scenes photo.

I was standing in the middle of everyone, smiling brightly.

Julian liked the photo.

I heard that after that, he never went to another get-together with the rest of the old group.

He started wearing the plain band himself.

Someone once asked him, “Nora’s gone. Who are you doing this for?”

He only said, “It’s not for her. It’s to remind me.

“I thought she would never leave.”

“So I was the one who drove her away.”

Two years later, I saw Julian again at a photography exhibition.

Hanging in the center of the gallery was my series,.

The photograph showed an empty chair.

Beside it were two lines:

[Not everyone without a seat is waiting for one.)

[Sometimes, she’s already found a much wider world.]

them belly truth bey from my si

Betand me julien remained alone in front of the empty chain

At last, he understood

Now he was the one who could never enter my world again.