Just as I drop my phone onto my chest, ready to give up on hoping my sister might give me the heads-up to call my dad, my phone chimes.
In mere seconds do I have the phone lifted, the brightness of my screen burning my eyes for a second there.
It’s not Sun who texted. It’s Luan.Finally.
No, not finally. This is bad. When I said I want him to give me the chance to respond, I didn’t mean it. Well, I did, but he couldn’t possibly have heard my thoughts. And giving me the opportunity to text him doesn’t quite go with my wish to stay as far away as possible from him while still figuring him out so I can stop obsessing over it.
Luan:Hi.
I’m about to hit delete when there comes a follow-up text.
Luan:You know, the last time someone ignored me as long as you did, I was on a farm with my best friend’s family. My mom told me they’d take me on a weekend-trip to Disneyland but instead of an amusement park with rollercoasters and waterslides, I got to see cows and chickens. One of those chickens starts picking at my shoe, to this day I wonder why that chicken preferred my shoes to anyone else’s because mine weren’t half as cool as the ones my best friend wore. He had cool Spiderman shoes, I just had some blue sneakers which I’m sure had a hole in them.
Luan:I lied. Nobody ever ignored me as long as you did. But the story is true.
I shake my head as I read his texts, not wanting to believe this guy even babbles when hetypes.
Luan:I figured it out though. The reason why you don’t text back.
That’s a trap. He’s waiting for me to ask why, which then has me respond, breaking my silence. But I’m considering it.
Still considering it…
What would be so bad about me responding?
He’s kept this up for a little overtwomonths, with a short pause every now and then. Either way, he texts me, sends me ice hockey posts that I’m sure he doesn’t understand.
Two months in which he texts, and I never respond. Two months he spent on trying to get me to talk to him and I don’t understand why.
Anyone else would’ve given up after the first text, but not Luan. Sure, there were days he stayed quiet, but he made up for those by texting more the following days.
I’mstillconsidering it…
Fuck it.
Grey:Well, are you going to tell me the reason or not?
I can picture Luan looking at his screen right now, smiling because he finally managed to pull a reaction out of me. Or maybe he doesn’t care all too much.
That’s the thing about him. I don’t know how he’d react because people like Luan surprise me all the time. They’re unpredictable and I hate this, but that’s also why this guy still occupies my head, I bet.
Luan:Because you’re in love with me, obviously.
Grey:Is that what it is?
Luan:Definitely. I mean, name one person on this planet who hates me.
Grey:Your future partner’s parents, I’m sure.
Luan:Shit. What’d I do to your parents?
Myparents.
I like that he doesn’t ask why I’ve been ignoring him and just talks like I never did. But again, who does that?
If someone ignored me for two months, you best believe I’d ignore them for four.
Luan:Wait, let me guess…
