The Doctor Who Learned Love Too Late Chapter 05
I slept until noon.Â
When I woke and saw the room flooded with light,Â
I was dazed for a moment.Â
The room was still unpacked, and everything wasÂ
a mess. I rubbed my temple as if I had a hangoverÂ
and reached for the phone I had muted andÂ
tossed by the bed last night.Â
I pressed the screen for a long time, but it stayedÂ
black.Â
It was dead.Â
I found a charger and plugged it in. The secondÂ
the phone turned on, missed calls and unreadÂ
messages flooded the screen, nearly freezing it.Â
I was just about to delete everything with one tapÂ
when another call came in.Â
I stared at the name on the screen for a fewÂ
seconds, then answered.Â
The other side went quiet for a moment, then hisÂ
voice came through, surprised.Â
“June?”Â
Then he immediately asked, “Where are you?”Â
“Chloe was soaked yesterday. I planned to take her away and then come get you. Nothing happened between us.”Â
I sat up in bed.Â
“Whatever,” I said.Â
“What?”Â
“Whatever happens between you and her is yourÂ
business. We broke up.”Â
I paused for half a second.Â
“That’s all.”Â
After that, I blocked his number and every otherÂ
way he could contact me. Then I lowered my headÂ
and sat there in a daze for a long time.Â
Ivy knocked on the door and yawned.Â
“Last time, you said you could write a script forÂ
our theater. So, how about I waive your rent?”Â
I froze, then smiled.Â
“Sure.”Â
Back when I was in the hospital, a few actors from her theater had come to see her.Â
The moment I saw them, I felt a strange kind ofÂ
pull, so I said I wanted to collaborate with them on a play.Â
Their theater didn’t look wealthy. Ivy had started it herself.Â
But my gut told me I had some kind of fate withÂ
those actors.Â
We discussed the script until midnight, then fell asleep in the middle of the mess.Â
The next day, I half–opened my eyes and went out to throw away trash.Â
The door opened halfway.Â
Then I froze.Â
I thought I had seen a ghost and immediately triedÂ
to shut the door.Â
Landon reacted fast and pressed it open.Â
His eyes were red–rimmed, and severalÂ
unflattering wrinkles had crawled across the shirtÂ
he always kept neat.Â
“June.”Â
Even his voice sounded like a ghost.Â
“What are you doing?”Â
His expression was like he was looking at anÂ
impossible problem.Â
“I want to explain things clearly. That day…”Â
“Stop repeating it. I’m not deaf!”Â
I cut him off.Â
“Nothing happened between you two this time.Â
What about next time? Nothing happened now.Â
What about later?”Â
“She’s just like a little sister to me. We wouldÂ
never…”Â
“There is no never! What kind of little sister? AreÂ
you related by blood?”Â
My voice rose.Â
“Do you think you’re standing here saying thisÂ
because you only want to convince me? BecauseÂ
you want me to accept your explanation? AcceptÂ
your logic?”Â
“It’s because you know it was wrong.”Â
“It’s because even someone like you, with nothingÂ
but work in his head, knows that kind of scene would make people misunderstand.”Â
“It’s because you can feel that it crossed a line. So why did you still do it?”Â
I paused, and my voice lowered.Â
“Landon, you just don’t care how I feel.”Â
“You think as long as something makes sense according to your own logic, it’s right. You don’t care what anyone else thinks.”Â
“Including me.”Â
He froze.Â
“Landon, I don’t know why you came here. If youÂ
just wanted to explain what happened that day, then I heard you. I understand. I believe you.”Â
“Now it’s my turn to tell you. We broke up. Don’tÂ
come looking for me again.”Â
“I’m not joking. I’m serious. Treat it like a sentenceÂ
written in a medical chart, very serious, veryÂ
official.”Â
Landon stood there, his lips moving several times,Â
but no words came out.Â
I gripped the doorknob.Â
“Goodbye, Landon.”Â
Then I closed the door.

