Promises
Fabian was trying to be strong. It had been six days and seven hours since he last saw Nina. He paced back and forth in the foyer of his house with his phone in his hand until his Mom, who was lying on the couch, shouted at him,
"Just call the girl!"
She was a little grouchy. She also didn't really know much about Nina. Just that she was his girlfriend, and it was complicated. Complicated. The understatement of the century. He didn't want to seem desperate to call Nina, but it had been almost a week. It should be okay, right?
Before he got to think it through anymore, his finger reached for the button on speed dial to call Nina. It buzzed, and five rings later, Nina hadn't picked up. It went to voice mail. Fabian didn't even leave a message. Just shut his phone and marched up to his room, before his Mom could comment on anything else.
Just as Fabian threw himself onto his bed, his phone buzzed, and started playing Perfect Day. Their song. It was Nina. He almost picked it up right away, but forced himself into waiting until the third ring.
"Hello?"
"Fabian! You just called me?"
"Yeah I was just- saying hi."
"Thanks goodness! I've been waiting to hear from you! Why haven't you called?"
Fabian hesitated. "I- I didn't want to seem desperate."
"Desperate? Don't worry, I miss you too." And he knew that that was exactly why he had Nina. She knew what to say.
"Yeah."
"Look, I have to go, we're at lunch, but can I call you back?"
"Please. And I'll call you tomorrow."
"And the next day?"
"Every day. I promise."