George

I stare at the phone as it rings, the knot in my stomach intensifying with each passing second. One ring, then two, then three. I already know how this ends, but I wait anyway. Maybe she'll pick up this time. Maybe she's waiting to hear from me, just as much as I want to hear from her. But no, the call slips to voicemail again.

"Hey, it's Ella. I can't take your call right now, but leave a message and I'll get back to you."

I sigh heavily, dropping ...