It has been exactly three days and two nights.
Since Ralph left the town he was in.
It was the usual routine for him for the past month, ever since he left for Europe.
1. Check in to a semi-cheap hotel.
2. Stay for a while and enjoy the moment.
3. Then, leave.
He sighed as he leaned back to his seat, looking cozy and stressed at the same time. Cozy, because he was checked into a room better than last time. And stressed, because his friends didn't seem to get the whole ordeal of being missing.
Why can't they just let me be? He thought in his head as he yawned and looked up to the ceiling of his room.
Squinting his eyes as the blinding light of the fluorescent glared at him, he couldn't help but think of what could have happened if he didn't leave. There were so many unanswered questions inside his head—and he didn't know if he wanted to find the answers for it.
Would he still be pining over a man who didn't reciprocate his feelings?
Would he be willing to risk everything for love?
He scoffed under his breath and turned his head to the side, muttering, "As if."
He might be an idiot, but he wasn't stupid. Love certainly was something worth taking a risk for, but to only those who deserved it.
Beep!
Something clicked from his phone, signaling a notification from whomever it was. It snapped him out of his thoughts, and he reached over to the center table to grab it when it started to ring.
He frowned and felt his heart beating frantically, like it was going to come out of his chest when he saw who was calling him. He stood up in reflex and ran his hands over his face, feeling his anxiety surging through his body.
Nope!
Nope!
NOPE!
Why the fuck was he calling now?
What did he want?
Did he want to rub it in his face that he didn't choose him?
Did he want to tell him that he has a girlfriend after all the time they spent fucking?
Not that he was stalking him in Instagram. No, not at all.
Okay, maybe he did. Once.
Twice.
Or, maybe it was thrice?
"Fuck," he said aloud to no one in particular. He felt anxious and a little bit hopeful, and he didn't know if it was a bad thing or a good thing. Sure, their relationship was rocky, but he felt safe and cared for when he was with him.
It was all still confusing to him.
He needed to clear his head—his mind about everything.
Getting lost in his thoughts, he vaguely heard a small beep after his phone stopped ringing and a familiar voice he never thought he'd heard from again started speaking.
"Hey, Raf. Uh, I know this may be a bad time," Kyle said from the other line, and Ralph could hear a small chuckle.
You think?
"But, please come back. Your friends and family miss you a lot,"
Of course they do.
There were a couple minutes of silence, before Kyle continued speaking softly.
"I-I," he stuttered. "I miss you."