“I love you,” I say.
And then we hang up, because nothing else needs to be said after that.
I want to give Zara her life back. Even if I feel I deserve something like this, I don’t deserve it at her expense.
She will remember all of it, I decide. Not my discontent. But the contentment that caused it.
Day 6031
I wake up feverish, sore, uncomfortable.
July’s mother comes in to check on her. Says she seemed fine last night.
Is it sickness or is it heartbreak?
I can’t tell.
The thermometer says I’m normal, but clearly I’m not.
Day 6032
An email from Rhiannon. Finally.
I want to see you, but I’m not sure if we should do that. I want to hear about what’s going on, but I’m afraid that will only start everything again. I love you—I do—but I am afraid of making that love too important. Because you’re always going to leave me, A. We can’t deny it. You’re always going to leave.
R
I don’t know how to respond to that. Instead, I try to lose myself in being Howie Middleton. His girlfriend picks a fight with him at lunchtime, over the fact that he never spends time with her anymore. Howie doesn’t have much to say about that. In fact, he stays entirely silent, which only infuriates her further.
I have to go, I think. If there are things I will never have here, there are also things I will never find here. Things I might need to find.
Day 6033
I wake up the next morning as Alexander Lin. His alarm goes off, playing a song I really like. This makes waking up much easier.
I also like his room. Plenty of books on the shelves, some of their spines worn down from rereading. There are three guitars in the corner, one electric, the amp still plugged in from the night before. In another corner, there’s a lime-green couch, and I know immediately this is a place where friends come to crash, this is their home away from home. He has Post-its all over the place with random quotes on them. On top of his computer is something from George Bernard Shaw: Dance is the perpendicular expression of a horizontal desire. Some of the Post-its are in his handwriting, but others have been written by friends. I am the walrus. I’m nobody—who are you? Let all the dreamers wake the nation.
Even before I’ve gotten to know him, Alexander Lin has made me smile.
His parents are happy to see him. I have a sense that they’re always happy to see him.
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay for the weekend?” his mother asks
. Then she opens the refrigerator, which looks like it’s been stocked for at least a month. “I think there’s enough here, but if you need anything, just use the money in the envelope.”
I feel something is missing here; there is something I should be doing. I access and discover it’s the Lins’ anniversary tomorrow. They are going on an anniversary trip. And Alexander’s gift for them is up in his room.
“One second,” I say. I run upstairs and find it in his closet—a bag festooned with Post-its, each of them filled in with something his parents have said to him over the years, from A is for Apple to Always remember to check your blind spot. And this is just the wrapping. When I bring the bag down to Mr. and Mrs. Lin, they open it to find ten hours of music for their ten-hour drive, as well as cookies Alexander has baked for them.
Alexander’s father wraps him in a thankful hug, and Alexander’s mother joins in.
For a moment, I forget who I really am.
Alexander’s locker is also covered in Post-it quotes, in a rainbow of handwritings. His best friend, Mickey, comes by and offers him half a muffin—the bottom half, because Mickey only likes the tops.
Mickey starts telling me about Greg, a boy he’s apparently had a crush on for ages—ages meaning at least three weeks. I feel the perverse desire to tell Mickey about Rhiannon, who is only two towns away. I access and find that Alexander doesn’t have any crushes himself at the moment, but if he did, they’d be female. Mickey doesn’t pry too much about this. And quickly other friends find them, and the talk turns to an upcoming Battle of the Bands. Apparently, Alexander is playing in at least three of the entrants, including Mickey’s band. He’s that kind of guy, always willing to chip in with some music.
As the day progresses, I can’t help but feel that Alexander is the kind of person I try to be. But part of what makes his personality work is his ability to stick around, to be there day in and day out for people. His friends rely on him, and he relies on them—the simple balance on which so many lives are built.