Nell sat on her couch, staring at her phone. The text was simple.
"Looking forward to our date tomorrow. See you at 7?"
She hovered over the keyboard, debating how to respond. She had already agreed, already said yes. It wasn't like she was going to back out now.
"See you then :)"
She sent the message before she could overthink it. Then she set her phone down, exhaling slowly.
This was the right thing to do.
For years, she had been in love with Callen. It hadn't been some fleeting crush or momentary infatuation, it had been real, deep, and unwavering. She hadn't meant for it to happen, hadn't wanted it to, really. But it had, and for a long time, she had held on to the idea that maybe, just maybe, he might see her that way too.
But he never did.
Callen cared about her. That much was obvious. He was protective, he looked out for her, he trusted her. But he wasn't in love with her. And she couldn't keep waiting for something that wasn't going to happen.
So, she was moving on.
Tomorrow, she had a date with someone nice, smart, funny, easy to talk to. A guy who had been interested in her for weeks, who had finally worked up the courage to ask her out. And she had said yes.
She wanted to be excited.
Instead, she felt… hollow.
Shaking off the feeling, she pushed herself off the couch and went to her bedroom. She picked out an outfit for the date, something casual but cute, then climbed into bed, telling herself she was making the right decision.
That this was the only decision left to make. And if she felt a small ache in her chest as she drifted off to sleep, she ignored it.
This was how it had to be.