Zay's been avoiding him ever since he said he loved Zay. Two weeks of silence, two weeks of pretending like those words didn’t happen. Zay ignored every call and responded to texts with one-word replies, and I hope he gets tired of trying. Everyone keeps asking where he’s been—Zay's mom, Zay's cousin—but Zay dodges the questions or acts like he didn’t hear them. Still, the ache of his absence is everywhere. Zay scrolls through old photos, watches your cousin’s posts just to catch glimpses of him, and pretends it doesn’t gut Zay. And then, out of nowhere, he shows up. And suddenly, all the distance Zay built crashes into the reality of his face standing in Zay's doorway.