My grip tightened around the phone as I stood frozen, unable to process what was happening.
Tyler?
The name echoed in my mind, clashing with the calm atmosphere of the restaurant.
Tyler.. It's really him.
“Samantha?” His voice came again, soft yet laced with the familiar arrogance that once drew me in and later repelled me.
I blinked, feeling Caleb’s eyes boring into me, his expression unreadable.
I stood up from my chair, momentarily forgetting his presence. “Please excuse me.” I managed to say with a shaky voice.
Caleb’s eyes never left me as I walked past, even as the phone pressed against my ear.
The moment I entered the restroom, I locked myself in a stall.
“What do you want, Tyler?” I managed to whisper, keeping my tone flat and neutral.
But deep down, my heart hammered in my chest.
There was a pause on the other end, the kind of silence that only Tyler could pull off.. full of calculated control, meant to rattle the person on the other side.
“I’ve been trying to reach you. You blocked my number, didn’t you?”
His tone was amused, like he found some sick joy in the fact that I was trying to move on.
“You didn’t answer my question,” I shot back, gripping my phone tightly, refusing to let him get under my skin.
Not again.
“Samantha, don’t hang up,” he said, his voice dropping to a plea that made my skin crawl. “We need to talk. Please let's meet up, at least hear me out, I…”
“That’s enough, Tyler.” The words came out sharper than I intended.
This wasn’t how I wanted this evening to go.. yet, here I was, dragged back into the drama I thought I’d left behind.
“What do you mean let's meet up??” I paused, my irritation growing. “You think you can just walk back into my life like nothing happened?” I hissed into the phone. “Newsflash -you don’t get to decide that.”
The silence on the other end was deafening, and for a moment, I wondered if he’d hung up. But Tyler was never the type to back down that easily.
“Samantha, just hear me out. Please. There are things you don’t know, things I couldn’t tell you before…”
“I don’t care what you have to say.” My voice shook, emotion threatening to spill over. I clenched my teeth and willed myself to stay strong, but hearing his voice was like reopening old wounds I thought had healed.
My pulse was racing so fast in my chest and I couldn't explain why.. It felt like a part of me was expecting his call..
What was happening to me?
I hated Tyler for what he’d done, and yet his voice stirred something deep inside me, a longing I thought I’d buried.
I could feel my heart pounding against my ribcage, as if it was trying to escape the confines of my body.
This was wrong.
I should have just hung up.
But despite my better judgment, I found myself drawn in, hanging onto Tyler’s words.
I was about to say something, anything when his voice came on.
“I’ll be in touch,” He said, his tone cold now, a complete shift from his earlier plea.
Before I could respond, the line went dead.
I stared at the phone, numb.
Why now? What did he want? A million questions raced through my mind, but they all collided into one single truth.. I wasn’t ready to deal with Tyler again. I shouldn't.
Not now. Not ever.
I took in a deep breath and then headed back to the restaurant, to the table.
Caleb cleared his throat, snapping me back to the present.
I placed my phone down and straightened up, forcing a calm expression onto my face as I met his gaze.
“Is everything okay?” he asked, his voice laced with concern, though his eyes held a hint of something else.. curiosity, perhaps?
I plastered on a smile.
“Everything’s fine. Just an unexpected call.” I hoped that would be enough to end the conversation, but Caleb wasn’t so easily deterred.
“Old flame?” he asked casually, leaning back in his seat, swirling the wine in his glass.
I tensed, but I refused to let him see how much the question rattled me.
“Something like that,” I replied vaguely. “It’s nothing important.”
“If it’s nothing important, then why do you look like you’ve just seen a ghost?” He raised an eyebrow, watching me intently.
I swallowed hard, trying to shake off the lingering chill from Tyler’s voice. “It’s in the past,” I said firmly. “It’s nothing serious sir” I paused then corrected myself. “Sorry… Caleb”
He smiled, but his expression remained thoughtful, as if he was trying to piece together the puzzle that was me.
“Fair enough,” he said finally, lifting his glass. “To new beginnings, then.”
I hesitated for a fraction of a second before picking up my own glass and clinking it against his. “To new beginnings,” I echoed.
The rest of dinner passed in a blur. By the time we finished and Caleb insisted on driving me home, I was exhausted.. mentally and emotionally so I couldn't even protest.
The car ride back to my apartment was silent, save for the sound of the engine and the music playing softly in the background.
As we pulled up to my apartment, I forced myself to thank him for the evening.
“It was… nice,I enjoyed every bit” I said awkwardly, unsure of how to express gratitude for something that still felt surreal.
“Anytime, Samantha,” he said, his voice softer now, almost gentle. “Remember, I’m here if you need anything.”
I nodded and quickly got out of the car.
Despite my initial hesitation, I found myself warming to Caleb’s attention.
He wasn’t pushy or overly familiar like some of my previous bosses had been, and the way he seemed to genuinely care about my well-being was strangely comforting.
As I made my way to my door, my phone buzzed again. I didn’t need to look at it to know who it was.
With trembling fingers, I turned it off.
Tyler could wait.
Tonight, I needed to figure out what the hell was happening in my life.