Fred picked up his cell phone and hit speed dial number four. The phone rang a few times and the answering machine picked up.
"Hey, it's Daphne. I can't get to the phone right now, but leave a message and I'll call back. Beeeeeeeeep."
"Hey Daph, its Fred. How's Oxford going? Is London still as nice as you told me before? I miss you. Call me back soon." He pushed the end button and frowned.
It's been about a month since Daphne left early for college. It went great at first. She and Fred would talk for hours every night. But every night turned into every few days, which turned into once a week until she eventually just stopped calling.
But Fred kept calling anyway, awaiting the day she would finally answer. She was all he could think about lately.
Fred shook the thoughts out of his head. He grabbed his keys and headed to the garage.
He quickly scribbled a note to his parents and left it on the counter. He wasn't going far, but Troy knew his mom would freak out if she noticed he was gone with his truck.
He pushed his car as fast as it would go, but the piece of junk wouldn't move much faster then the speed limit. He had no idea where he was going, but he needed to clear his head.
Fred ended up at His High School. This was the second time it had happened since Daphne left. The first time he ended up wandering the halls, kicking lockers, throwing footballs, and ending up standing center stage and screaming. It felt good to let loose the one time, but he didn't feel the need to do it again. He sighed and backed out of the parking lot. Screaming wasn't going to make her come back.
It's been three months now. Fred eventually stopped calling when he realized she wasn't calling back. But prom was in three days and she'd promised she would come.
Suddenly his cell phone was exploding with that special ringtone.
"Daphne?"
"It's me. I have to tell you something," she said with sadness hinting in her voice.
"What is it?"
"I'm not coming back for prom."
His heart dropped. He could barley speak. "Why?" he managed to get out.
"I've already set my roots down here. Going back would mean saying another painful goodbye."
"But you promised," he whispered.
"I'm sorry, Fred." Click.
That night, for the first time in a long time, Fred cried.
He grabbed his keys again and wrote his parents another note. They were going to kill him for this one. It was going to be a long journey.
Fred had been driving for a day now, but he hadn't made much progress. He had stopped three times for food and gas and he pulled over to sleep once, too. And there was the time his parents called. But the little progress he made didn't matter at all. He still had a lot of time.
It was the middle of day three when Troy finally arrived. He was at Oxford University, ready to find Daphne. He had figured out her schedule and knew she would be walking past the very tree he was standing in any second now. And there she was.
"Fred?"