Page 157 of After All This Time

"I personally like the word boyfriend, but it doesn't feel strong enough to label what we are." His voice suddenly drops. "Doesn’t even begin to cover what you do to me."

"So I'm your girlfriend?"

"Fuck yeah, you're my girlfriend."Joy bubbles up in my chest as we laugh, the sound mingling through our screens. "I like that. And I love you."

"I love you too, but I've got to go. We're back on the road tomorrow."

"Where to?"

"I'm not sure, but it's somewhere just outside of Indiana."

"Check in with me, yeah? Just let me know you're okay."

"Of course I will. Now go get some sleep."

"I'm sleeping in your bed tonight,"he says, and butterflies swirl in my stomach at the thought of him in my space.

"I'll be back in itwith yousoon."

"One hundred and forty-five days,"he murmurs.

"Yeah, baby. It's getting less."

"Still too fucking long."His sigh carries the weight of every mile between us. "But all I want is for you to be happy."

He's my happy.

"Right, go rest. I'll talk to you tomorrow, Firefly."

"Talk tomorrow," I whisper.

The call ends, and I'm just settling into bed when my phone vibrates. I grab it, see it's from Tobias, and when I open the photo of him in my bed, sprawled out and looking like every wet dream I've ever had, I'm ready to screamfuck youto my dreams and ride him to the moon and back. His hair's a mess, his smirk is sinful, and I swear he's trying to kill me. I let out a frustrated groan, dropping my phone onto my chest before sending back the most inadequate response in the history of human communication—a heart emoji.

Chapter 58

Amelia

Travelling to Pennsylvania feels like driving straight into the mouth of hell, and the closer we get, the more my stomach ties itself in knots.

Knowing I've got to face my mom is eating away at me. After everything she pulled with me and Tobias, I don't even want to see her, let alone sit through whatever passive-aggressive comments she's undoubtedly been storing up. And David? He's not much of a stepparent, more of a prop being dragged along because someone told him to be there.

The bus hums beneath me as I sink into my usual spot near the back, tucked away in my favorite corner seat. My earbuds are in, and the world around me is fading into a low buzz of conversations and distant traffic.

These quiet moments are rare—little pockets of peace where I can drop the mask and don't have to be anyone's anything. I don't need to smile for the audience or act like I'm not countingdown the days until I'm back in Tobias's arms. Just me, existing in this space between cities, watching the world race by.

The rest of the crew is scattered around the bus, some chatting, others dozing, and the lowbuzzof voices blend with the vibration of the wheels on the road.

Logan interruptsmysilence when he drops down next to me; he rolls his head back to rest against the cushion, and I know he's about to talk before he even opens his mouth.

I pull out an earbud, the music cutting off mid-chorus as I hit pause on my phone.

"You look like you're in your feelings."

"Maybe a little." Iwatchhimas hefullymelts into the seat beside me. "Are you okay?"

"I want to tell you something, but I don't want to make you sad," he says, his voice softening in a way that instantly makes my guard rise.

"You realize that I need to know now, right?" I narrow my eyes as he laughs. "Spill it."

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