"I miss you, sometimes. When it's late and I'm by myself. I shouldn't have called, but you didn't pick up, so I guess it's fine,” her small voice whispered through the phone.

She sighed, the exhalation barely audible over the hissing white noise in the background.

“Sometimes I wish I’d fought for you harder. A lot of times, actually. But I get it, you know? I’ve had to live with myself since the day I was born. If I could escape myself, I’d do it in a heartbeat.”

Spencer wished Marlee had fought for them. All they’d needed was clear communication.

“I’m sorry for calling out of the blue like this. I don’t deserve your time, but I impose myself in it anyway. Classic me.”

Reverting to self-deprecation to hide her true feelings - classic Marlee. Spencer hadn’t heard that phrase before dating Marlee, but they still used it every other day.

“Maybe I knew, subconsciously, that you wouldn’t pick up. Maybe that’s why I finally called… Spencer, I’m - I’m not great.”

Understatement of the century.

“I never imagined it would turn out like this,” she confessed with a trembling voice. “It arrives so suddenly,...