I pulled out my phone and sent him a message.
Me:How’s your heart tonight?
It took him a few hours to answer, but relief swept through me as my phone dinged later that night.
Landon:Still beating.
31Shay
I held on to Landon’s words in his letter for a very long time. When he was better, he’d come back for me. As the months moved forward, and Landon never came back, I worried about whether his promises were true or if they were empty words.
He stopped texting me after a while.
He stopped answering my calls as often, too, saying he was busy in Los Angeles. He talked about Los Angeles like it was home. The city of angels had my favorite fallen one wrapped in its grip. I once mentioned I wanted to visit him. He didn’t reply to that.
I went to college and thought of him every single day. It was during my college years that I realized Landon had, indeed, gotten better. His face was plastered all over the place after he landed a huge acting role. Los Angeles must’ve welcomed him in, and he must’ve found his true calling. He went by Landon Pace as his acting name.
He looked so happy in the clips I saw online. He looked... better. Still... he never came back to me.
The promise he made me felt more and more like a lie with every passing day.
* * *
It wasn’t until my junior year that I finally let go of the idea of Landon coming back for me. My heart started racing asI clicked open a link to an article on my phone. I read the headline repeatedly.
New Couple Alert: Oscar-winning actress Sarah Sims has been spotted with the new boy on the block, up-and-coming actor Landon Pace.
What? No way. That wasn’t possible.
Clickbait. It had to be clickbait—there was no other option.
Sarah Sims was one of the most beautiful, breathtaking actresses in the industry at this time. She did it all, and she had enough awards to prove that. She was everything I wished to be and everything I was not. I was her biggest fan.
The article went on to explain how the two had been working on the promo for their film and had been seen getting cozy outside the interviews. That couldn’t be. There was no way he’d do such a thing, no way he’d get close to someone else while cutting me out. What we had was real, wasn’t it? I’d spent the past few years... waiting.
Then came the pictures of the new couple.
Pictures of Landon and Sarah freaking Sims cuddled up. Pictures of them getting lunch together. Photographs of her arms wrapped around him. Her lips kissing his cheeks. His smile.
His smile.
He was beaming from ear to ear with excitement. There was so much light in his eyes that it made me want to cry. And scream. And shatter.
Then the last photograph was their kiss.
Their. Kiss.
They. KISSED!
His lips against hers. Her lips against his.
They looked so perfect together, as if they were a puzzle with perfectly cut matching pieces, fitting together in a way I only dreamed of fitting beside Landon.
I was going to vomit.
Raine texted me. She must’ve seen the article, too.
Raine:Are you OK?