Earl
Dawn didn't call.
At first, I told myself it was nothing.
He was probably busy... practice ran late, or he fell asleep doing homework, or his phone died. All reasonable explanations. All things that had happened before.
Still, I checked my phone more times than I wanted to admit.
No missed calls.
No voice notes.
No I'm here text.
By evening, the quiet started to feel wrong.
I paced my room, the familiar pressure in my ears pulsing a little harder every time my thoughts spiraled. I reread our last messages, looking for something I might've missed. A hint. A warning.
Love you. Talk later.
That was it. That was the last thing he'd sent.
"What if something happened?" I muttered to myself.
I almost called him—almost—but stopped. I didn't want to sound paranoid. Didn't want to be the clingy one. So I waited.
And waited.
By the time my mom knocked on my door, it was already dark outside.
"Earl," she said, smiling in a way that immediately set off alarm bells. "Can you come with me for a moment?"
My stomach dropped. "Why?"
"Just... trust me."
I followed her out into the living room, heart racing now. The apartment felt different. Too tidy. Too expectant.
Then I heard it.
A voice.
Not through a speaker. Not distorted by a phone.
Real. Close.
"Hey."
I froze.
My brain couldn't process it fast enough. I turned slowly, like I was afraid the image would disappear if I moved too quickly.
Dawn was standing there.
Actually standing there.
Same messy hair. Same familiar posture, hands shoved nervously into his jacket pockets. His eyes met mine, and his smile broke wide and real in a way no screen could ever capture.
For a second, I couldn't breathe.
"Dawn?" My voice came out broken, disbelieving.
He stepped forward. "Surprise."
That was it.
Everything I'd been holding together for weeks... months.... collapsed all at once. My chest tightened sharply, vision blurring as tears rushed in without warning.
"You—what—how are you—" I couldn't finish a single sentence.
He crossed the distance between us in three quick steps, and the moment his arms wrapped around me, I lost it completely.
I cried hard. Ugly. Shaking.
I buried my face into his shoulder, gripping his jacket like I was afraid he might vanish if I let go.
"You're here," I choked out. "You're actually here."
"I am," he said, voice thick right against my ear. "Semester break. I couldn't not come."
I pulled back just enough to look at him, tears streaking down my face. "You didn't call. You didn't text. I thought something happened."
"I know," he said softly, lifting a hand to wipe my tears without hesitation. "I'm sorry. I wanted it to be a real surprise. I contacted your mom weeks ago. She helped me plan everything."
I looked over at her. She was crying too, smiling through it.
"You came all the way to Singapore," I whispered, still barely believing it.
"For you," Dawn said simply. "Always."
I laughed through my tears, a broken sound. "I don't even know what to say."
"Baby you don't have to say anything," he replied, pulling me back into his arms. "Just let me hold you."
So I did.
I held onto him like he was proof that all of this... every painful day, every exhausting treatment, every lonely night had been leading to this moment.
He was real and solid and warm in my arms.
I felt whole.