You've Found Oliver (You've Reached Sam, #2)(42)

I respond right away.

Hey!



Sorry



I woke up in Ellensburg again



But I’m okay!



He responds a few seconds later.

I was waiting to hear from you



Glad you’re okay



I don’t know how that keeps happening



So you don’t remember leaving?



Not at all! I honestly have no clue how I got back



I just woke up in my bed again



It seems like this always happens after you fall asleep



That’s so weird



yeah I know



At least we got to spend some time together



I take a deep breath and let it out. Maybe we should focus on the good.

Thanks for letting me stay over again



I had a great night



Me too



But I was hoping you’d stay longer this time



Was planning to cook French toast for breakfast this morning. Had all the ingredients and everything



Ugh that sounds really good



Sorry to disappoint you



Hopefully it won’t always be this way



Its ok



Will save it for another day



I hadn’t truly considered this. The thought of never being able to wake up with him. See his face in the morning light. Sit down and have breakfast together. Are those things we’ll never get to share? I remember thinking how hard a long-distance relationship would be. Now we’ve found ourselves in different timelines. I still can’t wrap my head around any of this.

But I’m missing you already



I miss you too



I lie down and hold the phone close to me. Maybe it doesn’t matter how or why this is happening. There’s a world out there where we’re still strangers. I’m just happy we found each other in this strange glitch in the universe. All that matters is Ben and I have each other. Even if it’s only momentary.



* * *





Flowers are blooming outside. You become more aware of the seasons when you’re moving between them. I imagine leaves falling wherever Ben is right now. It’s an odd feeling, walking through the same world, experiencing something different. Does that mean there’s another version of him here, doing something else? Would he even know who I am? I think about this as I head to the library. Thankfully, Rami is back this week. We spend the first hour catching up on everything.

“How was your trip?” I ask him.

Rami sips his coffee and says, “Honestly, exhausting. We were craving Mexican food but couldn’t find anything good. But what do you expect from Canada?” He was in Vancouver for the weekend with the chess club. “My friend Maki had a great time though. Except the part where he got robbed. There are pickpockets everywhere these days.”

“Oh god, what did they take?”

Rami waves it off. “Don’t worry, he’s broke. And I’m honestly glad he lost that hideous thing he called a bag. Must have had five dollars in there at most, which he owed me. Should have taken his shirt while they were at it. Who still wears tie-dye these days?” Rami pretends to shiver at the thought. “Anyway, enough about that. What about you? Are you still talking to that Ben guy?”

“Of course I am. I stayed at his place last night.”

“Oh. Does that mean it’s serious?”

“I don’t know about serious. But we definitely like each other a lot.”

“Then why aren’t you exclusive? Hasn’t it been a month now?”

I lean back in the chair and say, “It’s complicated. I mean, he lives over a hundred miles away.” Obviously, I don’t tell him the other reason.

“Hmm. So he wants to be open,” Rami assumes.

“That’s not what I said! The distance is just”—I pause, wondering how to phrase this—“more than I thought, okay?”

Rami nods. “That can be a deal-breaker for most people. I don’t know of any long-distance relationship that’s actually worked—”

I hold up a hand. “That’s not why I told you, Rami. You’re supposed to reassure me that everything is going to be okay.”

“Oh, right,” he corrects himself. “What I meant to say was that some distance could be good for you. Look at John and Savannah.”

“Who are John and Savannah?”

“From Dear John?” He rolls his eyes as if I should know that. “It’s such a good movie. He goes off to war for two years and they never stop sending each other letters.”

“What happens in the end?”

“It’s actually been a while since I’ve seen it,” he says, scratching his head. “I think he dies of cancer and she marries someone else…You know what, maybe I’m thinking of The Notebook. Or do they both die in that, too?”

“Rami, those are terrible examples.”

He frowns. “Sorry. I’m dyslexic.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”