I won't give up

Parallel Lines slowly converging

Karen's POV

Exams were looming like storm clouds. I had a few practicals, a case study presentation, and a full week of back-to-back hospital rotations. The pressure felt like an intense burn in my chest.

At 11.50p.m., I was still at my bedroom desk, my fingers numb with cold from typing out endless notes on cardiovascular pathology. My pens, highlighters were scattered everywhere, smoothie cold, and my hair was tied back in the kind of messy bun that screeched: "I'm barely holding this together."

Then my phone lit up.

Luke is calling...I stared at the screen for a second, astonished. We had to some extent been texting more lately, but not spoken over the phone since the café.

I answered.

"Hey," I said, my voice raspy from hours of silence.

"Hey," he replied nervously. "Sorry. I know it's late. You up studying?"

"Yeah. Med school is on the verge of taking my last breath," I muttered teasingly. There was a pause on his end, then, "I figured. I was just... thinking about you." I leaned back in my chair, allowing myself to relax for the first time that night, processing what he'd just said.

"You okay?" I asked.

"I am now. I just had this crazy statics assignment due, and it got me thinking about how you used to make fun of me for asking for a pen in almost every lesson."

"You were so annoying even when I'm first met you"

I smiled. "You were always unprepared every time you attended classes Luke

" Like—why?"

He laughed, and the sound felt like an old record I hadn't played in a while. Nostalgic. Almost comforting.

There was a long silence. But not an awkward one. Just subtle and safe. "You sound tired," he said.

"I am. But not just from school. Everything has been feeling like it's starting to catch up to me lately. Like I have been carrying a lot emotionally."

"Want to talk about it?" he asked gently. That's the
Luke I know..caring and sweet.

I was reluctant to open up to him, then spoke honestly. "Sometimes I feel like my world is spinning. It's really overwhelming. Being the perfect daughter from a well up family, competent student, the emotionally healed woman who's totally fine. But the truth is, I miss simplicity. I miss feeling... light." Luke didn't interrupt. He just allowed me to speak.

"I miss being excited about things that weren't just goals to achieve. Like silly inner jokes. Movie nights. Texts that meant something and whatnot."

His voice came through quieter this time. "I miss those too Karen."

"I know we're not... anything right now," I added, hesitantly. "But you calling tonight—it helped. More than you probably know."

"I'm glad I did then." He paused. "Can I do this again? Not as your boyfriend. Not as anything more than what you're okay with. Just... someone who cares."

For a moment, I felt an ache in my heart again. The one I'd buried. But this time, it didn't sting as much. It just reminded me that he simply cared—and that I still did too.

"Yeah," I whispered. "I'd like that."

We didn't hang up for another hour. We caught up on school stress, how his sister holly is doing since being apart from him...his clumsy attempts to cook now that he'd lived alone. My latest study playlist (which he insisted I share), and somehow, ended up reminiscing our first hideous baking night back in the day—burned cookies and all.