It was one of those Mondays when the café was full of customers. Emily and I had our hands tied with orders, but nothing registered. I looked up every time the bell on the café door rang. Leena never came.

Emily put a plate in front of me.

"Order's up," she said.

She turned back to the coffee machine and plugged her earphones into her ears. It was her way of saying, 'Don't disturb me.'

I grabbed the plate and took it to one of the regulars. He had his laptop out again, and he barely looked up when I brought him his tuna sandwich. But I didn't mind; he left a pretty decent tip whenever he ate at the café.

I checked my phone again for any messages from Leena. Nothing. I visited the call log. I had called her twelve times since that morning. Switched off again. I put my phone next to the computer so I could check it every few seconds.

Where was she?

I didn't think that you could fall in love with someone that fast. But when she walked into the café that day, I just knew.

I was in love with Leena Faye. The way she laughed at all my jokes. The way she held her backpack in front of her like it was protecting her from the world. The way she made me nervous, but didn't realise it. The way she refused the alcohol before I explained why I didn't drink. The way she understood my family's loss better than anyone else. 

All I wanted to do when she told me about her mother was to erase her pain. But what could I have possibly said to make things better? She was scared and hurt, but she didn't want to admit it. I couldn't help her. I felt useless.

And she was breaking my heart.

I was so sure that she would come to see me, that she would have changed her mind. But it was 9:47 AM and she still didn't show.

I hated sitting around and waiting. I didn't want to think that Leena could have left. But she wasn't answering her phone. I didn't even know what time her flight was, and I had no idea where she was at the moment.

I looked around. Two girls were sitting at the table closest to the counter. They both had red hair, and one looked older than the other. They were probably sisters. I could hear them talking from where I was standing.

"I still can't believe we found this," the older girl said. "I mean, a limited edition classic at a second-hand bookstore?"

"I know," her sister replied. "God knows how much money the thing is worth."

Limited edition classic. Second-hand bookstore.

I was reminded of Leena immediately. She had looked so beautiful in the moonlight, wearing that big bathrobe. She had told me that her ex-stepmother had given expensive classics to the bookstore nearby.

Suddenly, an idea occurred to me.

"I'll be right back!" I said to Emily.

She nodded, but I could tell she wasn't listening. I sighed and ran out of the café.

It was okay. I would be back in a few minutes. Emily wouldn't even notice that I was gone.

The bookstore, called Athena's Used Books, was only a few blocks away from the café. When I walked in, the space behind the billing counter was empty. I could hear Zach's voice coming from one of the aisles.

"Zach?" I said.

He walked out and smiled when he saw me. His appearance surprised me once again. He was the kind of fit that would make you afraid to get on his bad side. But he wasn't as scary as he seemed.

"Jason?" he said. "What are you doing here?"

"Can I ask a favor?" I asked.

Zach looked confused by my question, but he nodded and pointed at his phone.

"Yeah, just a minute," he said. "Let me finish this call."

"Sure," I said.

Zach talked on the phone for a few minutes. In that time, I walked around the store.

If my plan worked, I would find Leena before she left. I would talk to her. If she hadn't changed her mind, I would beg her to. I could only hope that she loved me as much as I loved her.

Zach came up behind me.

"Hey, sorry about that," he said.

"No problem," I said.

I followed him to the front of the store.

"What do you need help with?" he asked.

"Leena told me that her ex-stepmother gave some books here," I said. "Can I see the register with her details? Leena isn't answering her phone, and I need to talk to her."

"Isn't Leena going back to London today?" Zach asked.

"Yeah, that's why I need to talk to her soon," I said.

Zach still looked confused. I didn't have the time to explain everything, but I didn't have a choice, either.

"I need to see her. I don't know when her flight is, and I don't know where she is right now," I said. "But if Claire's phone number is in your register, I can call her and find out. Please, help me out, man."

He reached behind the computer and pulled out a thick, old book with brown binding. I waited as he searched the pages for the information.

"I'll show you the register," he replied. "But I'm sorry, Jason, we don't take people's phone numbers."

Damn it, damn it, damn it!

"Can I still see it?" I asked.

I didn't want to believe him. I wanted to see the register, and I wanted to find the phone number. Zach was still searching for the page when a strange car horn sounded three times in a row. I ignored the sound when he held the book out to me. He pointed to one of the names.

"There," he said.

The page didn't have her phone number written anywhere. I shut the book with more force than necessary.

"Hey, are you okay?" Zach asked.

"Yeah, sorry," I replied.

"I'm sorry for asking," he said. "But Leena told me that you broke up last week."

"I need to see her," was all I said. "Do you know when she's catching her flight?"

"No, I only know that it's today," he said. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you, Jason."

"Thanks for trying," I replied.

I tried to smile when all I wanted to do was punch a wall. I didn't want to accept that I had let her slip through my fingers. I should have seen her yesterday. But I had been too hurt, too angry.

Too stupid.

The car honked thrice in a row again. We both looked up at the sound.

"What is that?" Zach asked.

"I don't know," I said. "Someone probably has trouble parking."

"It wouldn't be the first time," he laughed.

I gave the register back to Zach. I had to return to the café and try calling Leena again. I would try a hundred times if I had to. I thanked him again and opened the door to leave. The heat from outside blasted into the store. I turned back around when I thought of something.

"Can you take my number?" I asked Zach. "Call me if she contacts you?"

"Of course," Zach nodded.

I recited my number, and he typed it into his phone.

"I'm sorry that things worked out this way between you and Leena," he said.

"Me too," I said.

When I got back to the café, there was a new group of customers. Emily was trying to complete all the orders by herself. I ran towards the counter and apologised to her when she noticed me.

"We need a Tex-Mex, four chocolate-chip cookies, and a Frappuccino to go," she said.

I helped her fix the order, but I felt awful. It was like I was fourteen and scared all over again. But this was so much worse. I hated feeling that way and not being able to do anything about it.

Customers came and went for the rest of the afternoon. Emily zoned in and out of the present to help me serve the customers. I waited until the end of my shift for Leena to walk through that door. But she never came.

She didn't love me. She didn't change her mind.

It was too late.

I looked up when I heard Emily shouting.

"Shit, shit, shit," she said.

She rushed over to me with one of the blue cupcake boxes in her hand.

"What is it, Emily?" I asked.

"Uh, your girlfriend came in today when you were out," she said.

"What?" I yelled.

Leena was here? When?

"You weren't here," Emily said. "She was uh, crying and stuff. She said she had to be at the airport. She wanted me to give you this."

What? When?

I was in the café the entire . . .

Shit.

When I was talking to Zach at his store, searching for Leena, she was right there at the café. Waiting for me.

My blood was pumping like I had just swum twenty laps at the pool. I took the box from Emily, but I couldn't get my hands to stop shaking.

"Why didn't you tell me as soon as I came back?" I asked her.

"We were busy with the orders, and I forgot," she said. "I'm sorry, dude."

I gritted my teeth and stepped away from the counter. I sat down at one of the tables before opening the box. A folded napkin rested near one-half of a chocolate muffin.

I read the words written on the napkin again and again. Some of them were smudged by Leena's tears. I gritted my teeth again. I couldn't bear the thought of her crying.

I came to see you, but you weren't here. You probably don't want to see me again, and I guess I have to understand. I just hope that Emily remembered to give you this because you need to know the truth.

I love you, Jason Hunter. I love you more than anything. But I've lied to you, and I've hurt you. Over and over. For that, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. I just need you to know this.

She came.

But she wasn't there to tell me the truth in person. I wasn't there to listen.

She loved me.

But her words felt like goodbye.

The awful feeling that I had didn't go away completely. Because maybe, it was still too late.