The rest were from an unknown number, but Maddie automatically knew they were from him.
Call me.
We need to talk.
At least let me know you got home okay.
Maddie …
She ignored his text messages and set her phone aside, deciding to return to her work. She had two papers she needed to get started on, both of them due in a few weeks for different classes. Now that she wouldn't be spending a few hours at the garage each night, she could get them done quickly.
Maddie worked for a half hour until her phone lit up on the desk with another incoming call. Her heart stuttered in her chest when she recognized the number and looked around, as though anyone would be able to see that he was calling.
She ignored it, but five minutes later, it rang again. She ignored it again, only for it to ring again almost immediately. Frustration, confusion, anger made her accept the call and when she lifted it to her ear, she hissed, "What?"
"I'm losing patience, princess. I can keep this up all day."
"Losing patience?" she gaped, ignoring the way her heart skipped at the sound of his voice. "You never had any to begin with."
A couple people shot her looks, even when she was whispering, so she got up from her seat and scurried towards the bathroom, figuring that she may as well get this over with. Maybe then she'd be able to put him out of her mind for good so she'd be able to focus on what was really important: her degree.
Keep your eye on the prize, she thought.
With that in mind, she locked herself in a bathroom stall.
"Why didn't you return my calls?" he demanded, his voice even more gravelly on the phone.
The truth was that she hadn't checked her phone until this past hour, but she didn't tell him that. "I have nothing to say to you."
A pause. Maddie could almost imagine him running a hand through that thick hair. She now knew just how thick and soft it really was.
"Will you come by later?" he asked her, his tone solemn.
"No."
"I'm asking you to."
"I know. And I'm declining," she told him, trying to remain detached.
"We need to talk," he insisted. "I need to explain … "
Her cheeks tinged with embarrassment and fury. "There's nothing for you to explain, Caleb. I get it. Trust me, I get it."
"You don't 'get' anything. I need to-"
"You should be happy," she told him, bitterness creeping into her tone. She was done with this conversation. "You got what you wanted. And I let you, so there's no one to blame, right? We're both adults and we made a choice. It was the wrong one, at least for me."
"Maddie, I-"
"Nothing messy. That's what you wanted," she said, her voice softening. "I'm making it easy for you, Caleb, so make this easy for me too."
He was stubborn. "I want to see you."
"But I don't want to see you."
A brief silence. Maddie bit her lip, staring at the fading blue door of the bathroom stall. When he finally spoke, his voice was calm and determined, "I have $600 worth of your gift cards."
She saw exactly where he was going with this and she stared at the door in disbelief.
"If you want them back, you'll come see me once you're done with your classes today."
"You-you," she stuttered.
"Have a good afternoon, princess."
Then he hung up. Maddie pulled the phone away from her ear, staring down at it in incredulity. He'd just one-upped her. And he knew it.
Now, she had to decide whether her dignity cost $600 worth of gift cards. Unfortunately, she already knew the answer to that question. But it didn't mean that she'd give into him.
She'd go to the garage tonight on her way home, listen to what he had to say, hopefully say goodbye one last time to Brian and Peter if they were around, collect her gift cards, and leave. She wouldn't look back. She had a plan. And she'd always done well when she had a plan.
* * *
When Maddie pulled into what she had been considering her parking space at the garage later that night, Brian was just leaving.
"Caleb told me you'd finished," he greeted her with a big smile. "But I had a feeling I'd be seein' you again."
Maddie managed a smile and gave him a hug, even though her heartbeat was thundering in her throat. "I'm picking up some stuff, so I'm glad that I caught you before you left to say goodbye."
"Ah, sweetie, I don't think it's goodbye. You'll be 'round, won't you?" he asked, pulling away, peering down at her carefully. Maddie flushed when she realized he was fishing for answers. He thought something was happening between her and Caleb, which she wouldn't deny, but as far as she was concerned, whatever had been happening was over.