Page 149 of Come Back to Me

“I’m surprised the entire class didn’t hear how loud my heart was beating,” I say.

“You did an amazing job, Violet. It’s normal to be nervous when it comes to presentations and such. I get nervous, too,” Bianca says.

The bell rings, which means it’s time for me to grab lunch on campus or make something back at the apartment.

Oh, what to do.

I quickly decide I’m going to treat myself to a pizza bagel because I haven’t had one in at least a year.

I’m lucky to have the schedule I have this semester because I have my classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the late morning. My shifts at Sweet & Salty are on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Saturdays and Sundays are optional, depending on the time of year. Since it’s almost Thanksgiving, I’ve been working most weekends.

The store has had days where we’ve had lines out the door, which is unreal to me. I can’t wait to see what happens when Christmas approaches.

Now, the nice thing about the restaurant that makes the pizza bagels is that it’s right around the corner from the business administration building where my last class is.

My phone rings and buzzes in my backpack, so I stop at one of the metal benches in front of the business administration building. Glancing at my lockscreen, I see Dani is trying to call me, so I accept her call.

“Hey,” I say.

“Where are you?”

“I’m on campus about to grab a bite by the business admin building. Why?”

“Do you want some company?”

“Yeah, that would be great.”

“I’m in the student union, which is right across from there. I’ll be there in less than five.”

“Okay, see you in a bit.”

“Bye.”

After I hang up our quick phone call, I run into the restaurant to order my pizza bagel. It takes less than ten minutes for them to make it, which is surprising with how busy it is in here. I can barely hear my thoughts because of the people chattering, the sound of music playing, and the way the walls make everything more echoey.

“I have an order for Violet!” a female worker shouts out.

“Thank you!” Grabbing my order, I walk out of the restaurant and sit down on one of the outside bench tables.

“Is this seat taken?” a familiar voice asks me.

I look up and see Dani smiling at me. “I was reserving it for you. There’s an invisible name card on the table. And you did say it would take you less than five minutes to get here, but you took ten minutes instead.”

“Glad to see your humor is thriving again.” She spots my pizza bagel as she sits down across from me, placing her backpack beside her. “Holy crap, that’s huge. And it smells good.”

Closing my eyes, I inhale the scents of melty mozzarella, herby tomato sauce, and the toasted plain bagel. I glance over at what’s in Dani’s wrapper. “What’s that?”

She unwraps whatever mystery lies inside, and it’s revealed to be a sandwich of some kind. “It’s a patty melt with no onions, and it comes with a side of fries.”

“Damn, I would’ve treated myself to three of those a few weeks ago.”

She takes a bite of her patty melt, chewing and swallowing it before she says something to me. “You still haven’t heard from him?”

“Nope, radio silence. I think this is how it’s going to be for now on.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I reached out to him multiple times thatfirst week, and he never answered me. It’s one thing to not answer at all, but to start typing something out and have it turn into nothing is so painful.” I take a bite of my pizza bagel, and my tastebuds are dancing to show how happy they are.