"How long?"
"As long as it takes."
Mark looked at me. In his eyes was something I hadn't seen before. Not pride, not concern. It was something simpler. Something that had maybe been there from the beginning.
"You know? When I met your mother, I waited too. She wasn't ready. She was scared. She came from a family where love was... complicated. Where words were used to hurt, not to love. And I waited. A year. Two. Until one day, she told me she wanted to be with me. That she couldn't imagine her life without me."
"And was it worth it?"
"Yes. Even though I'm still waiting for her to take me to the sea. So yes. It was worth it."
The phone vibrated. Alex: "My grandfather put on another cowboy movie. I think it's going to be all night. I'm alone on the couch with my grandfather and Gloria."
Me: "And what are you doing?"
Alex: "Watching the western. And thinking."
Me: "About what?"
Alex: "About you."
Mark saw the message, smiled, and got up from the chair.
"That girl is closer than you think," he said. "She just needs to realize it."
"And how do I make her realize it?"
"You don't do anything. You keep being you. You keep being there, waiting. And when she's ready, she'll know you were the one waiting all along."
And he left, leaving me with the phone warm and my heart beating faster than normal.
10:00 PM
Alex: "My grandfather fell asleep. Gloria too. Manny is snoring. Luke too. I'm alone in the living room with the TV on."
Me: "And what are you going to do?"
Alex: "Stay here. Watch TV."
Me: "Still thinking about me?"
Alex: "I can't stop thinking about you."
My heart was beating so hard I could barely type.
Me: "That's very cheesy."
Alex: "I know. But it's true. Ever since I met you, I can't stop thinking about you. The way you talk. The way you draw. The way you fix things no one else can fix. The way you look at me when you think I'm not looking."
Me: "You look at me?"
Alex: "All the time."
Me: "And what do you see?"
Alex: "Someone who doesn't give up. Someone who doesn't ask me to be different. Who waits. And who doesn't get angry about waiting."
Me: "I don't get angry because it's worth it."
Alex: "How do you know?"
Me: "Because when I'm with you, I don't want to be anywhere else."
A minute passed. Two. Five. The phone didn't vibrate.
And then: "I think I'm going to have to leave the bathroom. Haley came back. She told me if I didn't come out, she'd tell my grandfather I escaped to talk to you."
Me: "And is that bad?"
Alex: "My grandfather thinks phones ruin sleepovers. He says people used to talk, play, look each other in the eyes."
Me: "And what do you think?"
Alex: "I think before, there was no one I wanted to talk to all the time. Now there is."
Me: "Wow."
Alex: "I know. But I don't know how else to say it. Ever since I met you, everything is different. Books are more interesting. Equations are clearer. And silence... less empty."
Me: "Silence?"
Alex: "When you're not here, everything is louder. But it's not real noise. It's like something's missing. A note. A color. A line of code that completes the program."
Me: "I'm a line of code?"
Alex: "You're the line that makes everything work."
I didn't know how to respond. There were no words for what I felt. Just the silence, and the phone warm in my hands, and the echo of her words in my head.
11:00 PM
Alex: "My grandfather woke up. He says it's time to sleep. Haley ran off again. Manny is dreaming about fencing. Luke too. I'm in bed with the phone hidden under my pillow."
Me: "Aren't they going to find out?"
Alex: "My grandfather doesn't check. He just says he trusts us. It's his way of saying he doesn't want to know."
Me: "And do you trust him?"
Alex: "I trust that he wants what's best for us. Even if he doesn't know how to give it."
Me: "And do you know how to give it?"
Alex: "Not yet. But I'm learning."
Me: "Learning what?"
Alex: "To love. To let myself be loved. And not to be afraid of things going wrong."
Me: "And are you afraid?"
Alex: "Yes. I'm afraid that this is just a line of code that gets erased. That you'll leave, find someone better, and get tired of waiting."
Me: "I'm not going to get tired."
Alex: "How do you know?"
Me: "Because when you find something that works, you don't let it go. And this works. You and me. This works."
Alex: "How do you know it works?"
Me: "Because when I'm with you, I don't want to be anywhere else. And when I'm not, I want to go back. All the time."
A minute passed. Two. Five.
And then: "I think I'm going to sleep. My grandfather turned off the light. Gloria is snoring. Manny too. It's a concert."
Me: "Sleep well."
Alex: "You too. And Leo..."
Me: "What?"
Alex: "Thank you for waiting."
Me: "There's nothing to thank."
Alex: "There is. Because not just anyone waits. Not just anyone stays when things are hard."
Me: "I stay."
Alex: "I know. That's why..."
She didn't finish the sentence. The phone fell silent.
But it didn't matter. The words were already said.
Midnight
Mark entered my room without knocking. He found me with the phone in my hand, the screen dark, a smile I couldn't hide.
"Did you confess?" he asked, sitting on the bed.
"No. She told me thank you for waiting."
"And what did you say?"
"That there's nothing to thank."
"That's a good answer. And now what are you going to do?"
"Wait."
"How long?"
"As long as it takes."
Mark looked at me. In his eyes was something I hadn't seen before. Pride. Not for what I had done, but for what I was willing to do.
"You're going to be a good man, Leo," he said. "Better than me. And better than many."
And he left, leaving me with the phone warm and my heart full of something I didn't have a name for. But it didn't need a name. It just needed to be there. Waiting. Believing it was worth it.
Because yes.
It was worth it.
The system, which no longer recorded, recorded nothing.
But if it had, it would have noted:
Alex Dunphy: Sleeping at her grandfather's house, phone hidden under her pillow, dreaming of code and lines that complete programs.
Leo Bennett: Awake in his room, phone in hand, waiting.
Mark Bennett: Proud of a son who learned to wait without anyone teaching him.
The path continues.
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Mark told Leo he waited for love too. That he's still waiting for Susan to take him to the sea.
Leo told Alex that when he's with her, he doesn't want to be anywhere else.
Alex told him he's the line of code that makes everything work.
And Leo stayed awake until midnight, phone in hand, waiting.
What was more romantic? Mark's wait, Leo's words, or Alex comparing love to code? 💬💻❤️
Thanks to everyone who reads, supports with power stones, and follows this story. You're the line of code that makes this work! 💎🙌
Comment, follow, and support with power stones. 🏠💬✨