He Took Her To Bali While I Buried My Parents Alone Chapter 07
Thomas and Eleanor didn’t know what happened. They just thought he was upset because Elise left without telling him.
“Don’t worry, Elise isn’t gone forever. If you miss her, you can always go abroad to visit her..”
Landon’s face was pale as paper, his heart twisted with pain.
How could he?
How could he have the nerve to go after her?
[Take care.]
He typed on his phone, deleting and rewriting for over ten minutes. Finally, he sent just those two words.
And surprisingly, I didn’t block him. I replied quickly.
[Thanks.
I won’t use this number anymore. If anything comes up, your parents can reach
me.]
By then, I’d already landed at the airport overseas.
I was helping Grandma into a cab to our apartment when I saw Landon’s message.
He really didn’t care at all. Only managed to send four short words.
I smiled and snapped that SIM card in half. Dropped it in the trash.
Landon. From now on, you and I are both free.
The Randalls had good friends overseas. After I arrived, they helped me get settled.
Once college started, I dove into my studies. I barely talked to friends back home, slowly fading out of their social circle.
And Landon, like I figured, never reached out.
Occasionally, his parents mentioned him. Everything was normal. Nothing special.
We were like two tangled threads that, after a stretch of walking life together, turned into two lines that never crossed again.
“Elise, you didn’t know? Landon and Tessa broke up ages ago!”
A classmate told me the news.
“I always thought it was weird when they went public on social media. Sure enough, Landon dumped her the second they got to college.”
“And it got nasty. I heard Tessa got him drunk and tried to sleep with him, but he shut her down and actually called the cops-said she drugged him.”
Drug?
I frowned.
I thought they were into each other. Why would Tessa need to drug him?
And why would Landon refuse?
“I still think he likes you,” the classmate said.
“You two grew up together. Childhood sweethearts. How could you ever break apart?”
I smiled, letting it go.
“That’s all in the past.”
“We never dated. And we never will.”
Roads split. Landon’s life had nothing to do with me anymore.
Four years flew by. I put down roots overseas. After graduation, I got an offer from a big company and decided to stay in this little beach town.
And in those four years, Landon never contacted me first. But he never fully disappeared either.
Every so often, I’d get packages sent from home.
Mostly health supplements for Grandma.
Some medicines weren’t available abroad, and like he could see the future, he always sent exactly what I needed.
Occasionally, there were gifts for me too.
Mostly necklaces.
Some he’d braided himself, some store-bought, expensive ones with gems and diamonds.
I donated all of them to a local charity shop. Never wore a single one.
During winter and summer breaks, I’d fly back to visit Thomas and Eleanor.
And every time I went back, Landon wasn’t home.
They said he had heavy coursework and always stayed on campus over breaks to work on projects.
“That kid, I don’t know what keeps him so busy. He can’t even find one minute to see you.”
The year I graduated, I came back early to see Landon’s parents.
Eleanor teased me while piling food on my plate. Her loving eyes rested on me, still testing.
“I asked him. He’s been single for four years. No girlfriend at all.”
“Elise, what about you? You and Landon grew up together. If you still feel something-”
“Eleanor, I have a boyfriend.”
I cut her off with a smile.
“I was going to bring him this time so you two could meet him, but he’s still busy with school stuff. He’ll get here tomorrow.”
“He’s half American, a great guy. You’ve been like parents to me. Tomorrow I’ll introduce you.”
Crash.
A small noise. I looked back.
Landon stood at the door, the bag in his hand dropped to the floor. He was frozen, staring at me across four