Page 7 of You've Found Oliver

There’s a silence before the voice answers.

“No…This isn’t him.”

My heart drops, realizing the mistake. “Sorry, wrong number—”

I hang up immediately. My hands are shaking as I shoot up from the bed.

What’s wrong with you? Of course that wasn’t Sam.

I should have known his number would have been given to someone else by now.

I swear, I’m losing my head. As I’m pacing the room, trying to collect myself, I get a text message notification. It’s from Sam’s number.

I’m sorry about your friend

I stare at the message, confused. How does he know about Sam?

I’m about to freak out when it suddenly hits me.

All the messages I’ve been sending. This stranger must have been reading them the whole time.

I can feel my heart pounding in my chest. Those messages were never meant for anyone else to see.

I should just block his number, delete the messages, and pretend none of this happened.

He probably thinks I’m some crazy person. Maybe I should just explain myself.

Sorry for all the text messages. I didn’t realize someone else had this number

I won’t bother you again

I think that’s the end of it. But I get a text back, almost instantly.

Don’t worry about it

Sam sounds like he was a great guy

I can’t believe how much this stranger knows about me. I’m so embarrassed of this. I shouldn’t respond again, but I can’t help myself.

yeah he was

I didn’t mean to call you btw. It was an accident

No worries. I was surprised to see your call

I was surprised someone picked up

I can imagine lol

This makes me smile a little. At least he has a sense of humor. I send him another text.

How long have you had this number? If you don’t mind me asking

since last summer

That was over seven months ago. How many texts of mine has he read?

It must have been hundreds at this point.

I think back to all the things I’ve said.

I’ve been talking to Sam as if he was still alive.

Wishing him happy birthday. Telling him how much I miss him.

All the words I never got to say in person.

god that’s so embarrassing

I can’t believe I’ve been texting you this whole time

Don’t be embarrassed

I get it

Thanks for being so understanding. And sorry for the way I hung up too

You sort of sounded like him tbh

oh really?

Maybe I shouldn’t have said that.

Just a little bit. It’s been a minute since I heard his voice

How old was he? If that’s okay to ask

he would have turned nineteen this year

We’re the same age then

He must be a freshman, too.

Where are you from?

I go to school in Seattle. But I’m from Bellevue

wbu?

Bellevue is about an hour away from here. At first, I think that’s too many coincidences. Then I remember we share the same area code, so it makes sense that he would live nearby.

I’m in Ellensburg

Central Washington university?

Yup. The Harvard of the Pacific Northwest

Is that right?

You know what they say, if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere

Thought that was nyc

New York is overrated

Agreed

This is such a surreal conversation, seeing Sam’s name pop up on my phone again.

Of course, I know it’s not him. I sit back on the bed, watching the three dots move as he’s typing.

To my surprise, we talk for a while. He goes to the University of Washington, which is admittedly the better school.

We ask each other about the different classes we’re taking.

How the quarter is going so far. He’s majoring in astronomy, and possibly minoring in math, making me question my work ethic.

I want to get to know him more. But eventually, he has to head off to dinner with some friends.

Have to go soon. It was nice to finally talk though

Yeah same

I should probably leave it there. But I want to say one more thing.

Thanks for picking up the phone btw

He takes a few minutes to respond. Then the text notification chimes again.

I’m glad you called

I know I already said this. But I’m sorry about your loss

I can tell you really cared about him

For a second, I forgot that he knows about Sam. About me, too. Yet I know so little of him.

I appreciate that. Have a great night

You too

The conversation ends. I lie in bed thinking about him for the rest of the night. I can’t help but read over our messages. I wonder if we’ll ever talk again. Every time I texted Sam’s number, I always imagined getting a response one day. But I never expected it to be from someone else.