Too Late For His Apology

Holt

bedroom. It was a video, sent from an unknown number. My thumb hovered over t

I

fury. A couple of guys from the football team were cornering Amelia Mcclain, laughing and taunting her. Then Joshua exploded.

ng. "Joshua, stop, please," she cried, her voice a pathetic

hair. "It's not your fault, Amelia," he murmured, his voice soft with a tende

ssion deadly serious. "Give me your numbe

u. Always. It was the exact phrase he'd used with me two years ago, after I' d gotten lost on

as giving

d a shelter for someone else. My heart, which I thought had already been shattered, found a new way to break. It felt like a p

our university housing applications. I didn't go. I couldn't. I just l

he ground sta

Books tumbled from my shelves. A deep, groaning crack split the ceiling above me. An ear

ey were never meant to bear. My first instinct was to call Joshua. My fingers were already dialing his nu

chunk of plaster fell from the ceiling, striking my leg. The pain was sharp and bli

nt thought was a bitter, ironic one. Future Joshua had war

ght. Maybe I wa

s. A rescuer' s voice, muffled and distant, had pulled me from the ru

l, throbbing ache radiating from it. A nurse with kind eyes checked my vitals. "You're

olled chaos. Doctors and nurses moved with grim purpose, the

en I s

me yet. His expensive shirt was torn and covered in dust. He looked

pathetic littl

arm, looking pale but otherwise unharmed. And standing beside them,

aced with impatience. "Just a few scratches. Now,

his eyes scanning the chao

cal. He took a step toward me, his mouth opening to say my name. Amelia

ped back to her. My moment of impor

ve I knew-or thought I knew-from the boy I'd grown up with. He saw my cast, my bruised face, and his gaze was as col

ed to the agony of being looked at like that. I lay back down, pul

oshua ask the nurse, his voice tight

nurse explained calmly. "She'll be off her

oshua said immediately, a

e Joshua' s reply. "And wh

n from under the blanket. He was being torn in

air. "Alright, Ms. Holt. Let's get yo

utside the emergency bay escalated. It

e was raw with fury. "Look at her! She'

roblem. Amelia is the one who matters. She is your future. Clara is you

llowed by a grunt of pain. Joshua had hit

atisfaction. But it was extinguished almost

ng in the dark, with my leg throbbing and my heart in pieces, I listened to the boy I loved fight

t no room for hope, that no matter wh