At half past eight in the evening, Angela got out of the shower and stood in front of the sink with a towel wrapped around her chest. Using a clean grey t-shirt, she wrapped her hair with it and plopped it up. Then she brushed her teeth, did her skincare routine, and then checked the notifications on her phone.

Angela lingered by the sink as she answered some texts, then she felt something wet around her feet. She looked down and found a puddle of water on the floor. Did she make a mess that much after showering? Her brows furrowed as she dragged the floor mat with her foot around the wet area to absorb the water.

She didn't think much of it and walked out of the bathroom to change into comfortable sleepwear. Just as she was done, her phone rang—the familiar assigned ringtone sounded from it, making her smile as she knew who was calling her.

~

I can't think about anybody but you.

Sugar, I can't think about anybody but you.

~

"Antonina~" Angela sang as soon as she picked up the call.

Her friend sighed in resignation as if she had given up scolding the other for calling her that name she hated.

"How's it going? I haven't heard from you since your message this morning. Everything okay?" Angela probed, crawling on her bed and grabbing a pillow to hug.

"You will not believe what kind of day I had. Ugh!" Nina groaned, evidently sounding irritated as she began. "My cousin Lauretta—that dumb pûttana is going to stay here with me for weeks!"

Angela chortled a laugh when Nina called her cousin a whore. Nina really had such a foul mouth when she's mad. "What is she even doing there?"

"She and her assh*le fiancé are in a fight, so she left their house and went home. She's not in good terms with her parents, so my father is now forcing me to take her in like she's some lost puppy. I'd rather—a hundred percent—rather take 101 dalmatians in instead of her—Yeah, you heard me, I'd rather take a dog than you!" Nina yelled at the last part, and Angela heard an angry rebuttal made by a woman's voice whom she thought was her best friend's cousin.

"Wow. You hate each other so much, so why is she staying with you?" Angela knew about Nina's rivalry with her cousin. And the two of them had always hated each other growing up.

"I've been asking her that same question many times, but she just shuts up and not talk."

"You know you can always stay with me, right?" Angela offered.

Nina let out a tired sigh. "I wish. I was given specific instructions not to leave her alone because she's too depressed at the moment. Oh, my god. I swear. I will age very quickly while she's here."

"Well, as long as you don't try to kill each other before she leaves. Stay alive!"

"Thanks. Text you tomorrow. I need to take a bath and lock myself there for a good hour. Love you!"

"Love you too."

The phone call ended, and she put her phone on silent mode. Her back fell on the bed, and she stared at the ceiling, her mind bringing her back to this afternoon when she met Gael outside of the studio. His words echoed in her head, and it replayed a few times. "I want a do-over."

Angela took a deep breath. Now her mind was filled with nothing but his image from earlier. She didn't know how much she missed him until she saw him again. Things had been pretty crazy since he was back. Her heart was yearning, but at the same time, her mind was telling her 'not again'.

It was tough, but she believed that this was for the best. She was only guarding her heart from another heartache. What's so wrong with that?

Maybe she just fell too fast—or if she fell at all. Actually, yeah… She fell alright. She fell into the most bottomless, darkest abyss of nothingness.

She snorted at her thoughts. She was being dramatic at the moment, and her current melancholic mood was giving her inspiration. Maybe she could write a few paragraphs on the story she started but stopped three months ago.

Angela glanced at her notebook on top of her dresser, and she thought of grabbing it so she could write. Before she could roll out of bed, her phone buzzed next to her. She grabbed it and answered without checking the screen. "Nin, you forgot something?"

"Hey…" a man's voice sounded from the other line.

Her breathing hitched upon hearing the familiar voice in her ear. She checked her phone screen, making sure that she wasn't imagining things. And indeed, she wasn't. Pressing the receiver back to her ear, she swallowed.

Hesitantly, Angela uttered, "Gael…"

"Were you expecting someone else?" he probed, his voice calm and gentle.

"N-no. I was just talking to Nina a few minutes ago. I thought she was calling again." She pursed her lips into a thin line while her eyes darted here and there. Her heartbeat wasn't racing, but it was surely beating loudly at the moment, and she was afraid he would hear it even through the phone.

"I see. How was your meeting?"

"It was okay."

"Good."

Angela cleared her throat. She gripped the phone tightly in her hand. It was the first time that she heard his voice through the phone again, and she couldn't tell whether she was relieved or annoyed.

She closed her eyes, trying so hard to suppress the rush of emotions she was feeling at the moment. Why was it so hard to hear his voice?

It was crazy how she was actually waiting for him to call, yet at the same time, already expecting him to fail. After all, it wasn't the first time.

And now here he was, creeping back into her life again like it was his business.

The long silence between them was haunting. For a minute, they were just listening to each other's breathing. If she were being honest, she didn't hate the silence. Maybe because she knew he was just right at the other end of the line.

Then Angela took a deep breath. 'Stop expecting! You already did that,' she scolded herself.

Gael was the first one to break the silence. "I'm serious with what I said, Angela. I want a do-over."

"Why?"

"What do you mean 'why'?"

"I don't understand why you want a do-over. It's not like we're going to work, right? So why?" She pushed herself up in a sitting position and released her hair from the shirt that she wrapped on it. She waited for him to answer, but he was quiet.

Running her fingers through her damp hair, she combed it casually. "If that's all, I'll hang up now—"

"No. Wait." Gael harshly blew out air. "Let's meet. I can't talk like this."

"I don't know, Gael—"

"Please? I won't take up too much of your time. Just one hour."

"One hour?" Her brows furrowed, and her heart started to race.

"Tomorrow. Let's meet tomorrow."

"I can't. I'm busy on Weekdays."

Angela heard him mutter something incoherent. It seemed as if he was cursing in Italian, but she wasn't too sure. She picked up a word that she thought was a translation of 'Wednesday'.

His voice then came back, and this time, he sounded enthusiastic. "You jog in the morning, right?"

"Y-Yeah. Why?"

Even through the call, she could sense the grin on his face when Gael told her, "Then I wish you sweet dreams tonight, Angel. Tomorrow, I'll wait for you downstairs bright and early. Good night."