He'd only said it once—one time too many.

Two months of silence on your end, the miniscule updates filtered to him through your mother. He's been clinging to mere scraps of information, every one of them precious and irreplaceable in its own right.

Could fragile trust be the reason behind this distance? Or perhaps it was the distance itself that made communication a challenge—his presence always brief and fleeting in the grand scheme of things?

Your relationship has always been a struggle, only worsening as you grew older and more distant after leaving for college. He'd once called you out for always keeping your guard up around him. You snapped back that he's never the one to initiate any contact either.

The phone works both ways, he'd pointed out. And you haven't spoken to him since then.

Simon's eyes are glued to the call button on his phone. Your number has been selected, but his fingers remain obstinately still. Hesitations and doubts swarm inside his brain, casting a shadow over his reason.

"Get a grip on yourself," he scolds himself quietly and eventually dials your number, bringing the device to his ear and praying for you to answer while simultaneously hoping you don't.