Chapter 37
March 31, 2024
Milo: Hey. Happy Easter.
I stare down at my phone as I cuddle in bed with Coco. She purrs softly as I pet her. I glance out my bedroom window. It’s a typical cold, gray, and rainy London day in late March.
She paws at the package of half-eaten marshmallow Peeps sitting next to me in bed. I give her a chin scratch, and she purrs even louder. It mingles with the soft pitter-patter of rain against my window. Like a unique blend of white noise.
I stare at my phone screen, unable to text Milo back just yet. I’m too nervous.
Actually, “nervous” isn’t the right way to describe how I’m feeling. It’s more like butterflies mixed with an intense flash of emotion.
This day is technically the day I start to fall for Milo. But I’m already into him. I already like him. I miss him when he’s not with me. I already care about him so much.
A familiar ache hits my chest. It’s accompanied by a warmth, a comfort I haven’t felt in a long, long time.
And that’s when it hits me: I think I’m falling in love with Milo.
Gripping my phone in my hand, I stare at the screen.
I love him.
I love him and he has no idea. He likes me. He cares about me. He wants to check on me, to make sure I’m okay.
All I want is him.
Dread and sadness clash at the pit of my stomach. If I keep going back in time, things between us will change. I’ll see him less and less ... and his feelings for me will fade.
I sit there and stare at my phone, frozen with the realization that I don’t know how to stop this. No matter what I try to do, this backward timeline always wins.
I just have to keep going.
I breathe in and type out the response I knew I’d type out the whole morning while waiting for him to text.
Me: There’s nothing happy about the way I’m annihilating this package of marshmallow Peeps.
Milo: Damn, that’s a blast from the past.
Milo: They’d go down easier with some tea.
I text back a string of vomit emojis despite the fact that I’ve been craving tea since the moment I woke up.
He texts back a laughing emoji.
Milo : I can make you love tea.
Me: No way in hell. Tea is gross.
Milo: Come on.
Me: Tea is gross.
Milo: Okay, hear me out: give tea one more try. If you hate it, I’ll sign over my flat to you.
Me: That’s quite an offer .
Me: Game on.
Milo: Are you free now? There’s a cafe in my old neighborhood in Camden Town that serves the best cup of tea you’ll ever have.
Me: They’re open today? It’s Easter.
Milo: Yup. They’re open at the most random days. It’s why they’re my favorite.
Me: I can be there in an hour.
He texts me the name of the shop and the address.
Milo: See you soon, Riley