too late pt. 1
Gosh, you were running late. You were supposed to meet with Levi at noon but the surprise you’ve been working so hard to get for him didn’t arrive until just now. You tap your pocket for reassurance, making sure the pouch is still there. You had a pretty good excuse for your tardiness but none of that would matter to Levi. He’s always on time. Always. You feel slightly out of breath as you maneuver around pedestrians on the sidewalk, apologizing to people you bump shoulders with.
You finally make it to the tea shop and you see him sitting by the window, looking at his wrist with disdain written all over his face. You hurriedly approach the window and tap the glass to get his attention. Levi looks up at you and shakes his head. He gets up from the table and meets you outside.
“It’s an hour past noon. I have things to do now.”
“I know.” You pant. “I really didn’t mean to be late—”
Levi cuts you off with a scoff. “This always happens. I just can’t do this anymore.”
“Okay? We can just reschedule-”
“No.” He runs his hands through his hair. “I mean this” He gestured between you and him.
It’s as if everything around you comes to a standstill. “What?”
“I can’t be with someone who is always chronically late for everything.” He adjusts his collar and looks off to the side. “I’ve spent too much of my time waiting.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” you ask, mind still reeling with the words that were leaving his mouth.
“It means I’ll see you around.” Without a single glance at you he walks away, taking your entire heart with him.
You’re not sure how long you stand on that sidewalk but it feels like ages. You pull the pouch of tea from your pocket. This is why you were late. He’s been trying to collect this particular leaf blend but he’s been too busy to do so. Your plan was to take one thing off the mountain that is currently over his shoulders but for what? At the cost of your relationship? You walk to the bench on the sidewalk and leave the pouch of tea on there.