Yesterday's Apology Expired

Kelly and I had been in a long-distance relationship for three years. After working overtime for a month to make time so I could see her, she could not be reached.

I waited alone in that unfamiliar place for ten whole hours before I finally got a reply from her.

My best friend, Hayden, called me and said gleefully, "Zachary, surprise! I've already explored Stranton for you. It's amazing. Kelly is a great tour guide!"

He excitedly shared his experiences, as if he had not noticed the 30 missed calls I left on Kelly's phone.

I listened quietly until he mentioned feeling cold.

Kelly took the phone and said bluntly, "I'll take him back to the hotel first. Give us a minute."

After she finished speaking, I asked, "Do you know how long I've been waiting?"

Kelly paused, her tone turning cold.

"He's your friend. Are you really going to make a fuss out of this?"

The blatant rebuke completely extinguished my desire to reply.

After hanging up, my ride back to Jazzville arrived.

The driver glanced at me and could not help but say, "Young man, it's the middle of the night. This area is quite dangerous. What urgent matter kept you waiting until now?"

Looking at my shoes, which had been soaked by the snow, I softly replied, "It was urgent at the time."

Then, I smiled and continued, "But not anymore."

Kelly Campbell only realized two hours later that I was no longer around.

Her ringtone was a foreign rock song. I disliked it and had even joked on several occasions that she should change it to the chill music I preferred.

Kelly was repulsed. Her cold tone made the song replay in my head.

"Must I do everything you say?"

Feeling awkward, I immediately apologized.

Just now, my best friend, Hayden Zachary, had posted to his social media.

[LOL! I've listened to that song I recommended to some idiot three months ago so many times that I'm sick of it, yet she's still using it.]

Kelly had replied three minutes ago.

[Who are you calling an idiot?!]

Hayden had replied quickly: [I'm talking about you!]

My phone kept ringing with incoming calls.

I suddenly felt like laughing. How could she string two men along at the same time?

Noticing that I did not answer her calls, she switched to texting me.

Kelly kept complaining: [Where on earth have you gone? Stop making a fuss, okay? It's late at night, and I'm really tired.]

The driver spoke to me again, sounding genuinely terrified. "You don't know this, but there was a robbery at that very station just two days ago. The victim died, and the whole city was in a panic. That's why I was so shaken when I picked you up today. If I were your parents, I'd be worried sick all night."

My fingers twitched, and my gaze returned to my phone screen.

[How could you be so inconsiderate? I was just a little late picking you up. Hayden's a guest and also your best friend. What's wrong with accommodating him?]

My hand trembled uncontrollably, and my heart ached as if a knife was scraping across it.

The driver noticed my reddened eyes and panicked, quickly comforting me, "I'm sorry, kid. I said too much."

I shook my head, my eyes still red, suddenly feeling a sense of relief. "No. I should be thanking you."

After a pause, Kelly sent another message when I did not reply.

[Never mind. I can't keep coddling you. You can calm down on your own.]

Out of her 28 messages, 27.5 were accusations against me, and the last 0.5 was about not being able to keep coddling me.

A wave of drowsiness washed over me, so I turned off my phone and fell asleep immediately.

When I woke up, I was already home. Seeing how tired I was, the driver let me sleep for three hours in the car, so I paid him an extra $100.

He was delighted. He reminded me when he left, "Young man, hurry back and change your shoes. They're soaked!"

Touched, I replied, "Okay."