“Yeah, Mom, he texted me to tell me. He was really sorry, but he couldn’t miss an opportunity so big. I just wish I could catch him before he goes and say goodbye in person.”

“Oh, he took a cab to the train station only fifteen minutes ago. If you hurry, you should get to him in time.”

“Thank you, Mom!” I pull her into a bone-crushing hug and kiss the top of her head. “You’re the best.”

I let her go and rush back outside. I need to get to the station before Diego leaves.

After ten minutes of frantic driving, I skid to a halt in the Amtrak parking lot, not caring that my car is strewn halfway through two parking spots, or that I could get fined for leaving it like that. There’s only one thing on my mind. Only one man.

Inside the station, I stare at the departure board and see that the next train to New York is at 5:15 pm. The big, round clock dangling from the ceiling says it’s only a quarter to four. I’ve made it with plenty of time to spare. Now I just have to find him.

Slightly less panicked than before, I search around the station. The place is almost deserted. There’s no one near the tracks, or in the waiting room, or in the area near the vending machines. I even go as far as checking the men’s room. When I come up empty-handed again, I walk back to the main entrance and up to the ticket booth.

“Excuse me,” I say to the man behind the thick glass.

“Where would you like to go, miss?”

“Oh, no. I’m not here to buy a ticket. I was wondering if you sold one to New York to a friend of mine; he must’ve come here only minutes ago.”

“Tall guy, dark hair, leather jacket?”

My chest swells with hope. “Yes, him. Did you see him?”

“Hard to miss; it was my only sale of the day.”

“You know where he went?”

“He left with the 3:32 train to New York, darling.”

My heart sinks. “Oh. Oh. Thank you.”

“It was nothing, dear. And happy holidays.”

Yeah, happy indeed. Holly jolly merry freaking bright!

“To you, too.”

I walk away and collapse on the nearest bench, staring blankly at the empty tracks. Diego left. He’s gone. He wants nothing else to do with me. I was too late. I lost him…

***

I sit on the bench for the longest time. The snowstorm eventually gives way to a timid, pallid sun that starts disappearing under the horizon soon afterward. When it’s all gone, the chill of the station becomes unbearable, and I find the strength to get up from this frozen bench and go back to my car.

On the drive home, my head goes strangely blank. It’s empty. As empty as my chest feels. When I walk into the house, I lie to my mother and tell her I managed to catch up with Diego and say goodbye. And that, no, I’m not hungry, I just want to rest a little. Thankfully, she doesn’t ask questions about the kitchen fight, or what happened with Julia. I have no idea what Paul told her, and right now I don’t care.