Chapter 111 Inexplicable
Daniel pretended not to hear me, strolling along at his own pace.
With his hands in his tracksuit pockets, he eventually walked beside me. No matter how much I tried to shake him off, he stayed silent and kept walking.
The moonlight was bright, casting long shadows on the ground, like two parallel lines that never met.
Even the moon seemed to know there was no future for Daniel and me.
Daniel's phone kept vibrating in his pocket, the sound unsettling in the quiet night.
He ignored it, letting it buzz without a response.
The caller was relentless, hanging up and calling back immediately, determined to get through.
The only person who'd call Daniel like that was Zoe.
All evening, from rehearsal to dinner, Daniel's phone hadn't rung once. I thought Zoe had changed, but he had just set it to vibrate. This way, he wouldn't miss any calls and it wouldn't disturb anyone, which was better than silent mode.
It was a big improvement and much kinder compared to when he cut ties with me for Zoe.
That's the difference between love and not love.
When we reached the apartment entrance, another girl from the building was struggling with two large bags, panting heavily.
I worried Daniel might walk me upstairs, which would be awkward.
Thankfully, a distraction appeared.
I ran over to help her with one of the bags, chatting as we walked in together.
Daniel turned and left, his white figure looking cold and lonely in the moonlight.
Back in the room, Mindy was actually there.
She was lying on the bed with a face mask on, holding her phone up, seemingly on a video call.
Seeing me, she sat up, ended the call, and peeled off the mask, patting her skin.
"Did you go for BBQ? You stink," Mindy said, urging me to wash up and change.
I sniffed my arm; she was right. I quickly grabbed my clothes and headed to the bathroom.
By the time I was clean and in bed, forty minutes had passed, and the clock showed ten.
It was too late to draw now; it would disturb Mindy. I started thinking about moving out. Living alone would cost more but offer more freedom. I could wake and sleep whenever I wanted, and when inspiration struck, I wouldn't have to hold back because of a roommate.
I grabbed my phone and saw a few missed calls, all from Brad.
I slapped my forehead, feeling a wave of regret.
I'd been back for almost an hour and forgot to let Brad know.
Feeling a bit panicked, I wanted to call back, but it was too late, so I quickly sent Brad a message on Facebook to let him know I was safe.
Mindy, done with her toning workout, stood by the window drinking water and said curiously, "Someone's been wandering downstairs for a while. Looks familiar."
I went over to take a look and felt a mix of emotions.
Of course, I recognized him—it was Brad.
'Has he been standing there the whole time? Or is he so worried because he hasn't heard from me?' My guilt deepened.
Because of my negligence, Brad had to come looking for me so late.
He was pacing under a tree, looking lonely in the night.
I quickly unlocked my phone and called Brad.
From the window, I saw a light appear in Brad's right hand. He had been holding his phone, waiting for me to let him know I was safe.
I watched as Brad brought the phone to his face, checking it before putting it to his ear.
His deep voice came through, calling my name hoarsely, "Jane."
"Brad, I'm sorry. I've been back for a while. I went straight to shower because of the BBQ smell and forgot to call you," I said quickly, guilt rushing through me.
Even so, I couldn't hide the waves of guilt.
Brad's husky laugh sounded in my ear. "Get some good sleep, goodnight."
I did sleep, but not well.
In my dreams, I kept seeing Brad waiting for me downstairs, and even in my sleep, my guilt was overwhelming.
Tortured by guilt all night, I went to breakfast the next day with heavy dark circles under my eyes.
Mindy went with me and ordered my favorite sandwich. Maybe because I hadn't slept well, the sandwich didn't taste as good as usual.
When I got to the classroom, it was still early. I chose a seat, placed my books, and took out my phone to pass the time. I found a highly liked post on my feed.
The post was from a young teacher at the school who was friends with Brad. By chance, I had added him as a friend.
It was a three-second video with a dark background, lights retreating, clearly shot in a car. On the left side, I could vaguely see the profile of a person with deep facial lines and what seemed like a mole near the right eye.
The video was captioned, "Persevering forward."
The time shown on the video was 10:21 PM last night.
Although the profile wasn't clear, I recognized it immediately—it was Brad.
This meant that after leaving my apartment, Brad drove off somewhere. As for where, I didn't know.
I wanted to call and ask what he was doing out so late.
Unfortunately, the class bell rang, and while I was studying the video, the classroom had filled up. I had to put away my phone and focus on the class.
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