Prologue
The last time Seth Moore saw Nina Mendez was at their high school graduation.
Most of what he remembered that day, all had to do with her.
He remembered how her dark brown hair was tied back into this plait that trailed down her neck, ending where her shoulder blades met. He remembered how her smile lit up the grassed field, ensnaring him from a distance.
At that point, they hadn’t spoken a word to each other for a year. To no one’s fault, except his own.
You broke her heart, after all.
It seemed only fitting thathebe the one to close the distance, to cross the grassed field and write a closure on their shared time together at high school.
Shared time.As though they shared full memories, and not fleeting moments of stolen glances and pounding hearts.
Six years of high school, gone in a flash.
Five of those years, Nina spent in love withhim.
And for every year he knew Nina, Seth had spent denying her.
She was just a classmate.
After he said his goodbye, he wondered if he’d ever see her again.
He wanted to forget her. Truly.
Wanted to forget the way her brown hair would curl as she tucked it behind her ears, forget the way she’d blush whenever he’d glance at her in between classes, or when he’d hand her a pencil to borrow. Wanted to forget the way she answered questions in class, with a half-raised arm that betrayed a half-confidence, even though she knew that the answer was right.
Nina was no one special.
She wasn’t remarkable in a way that high-school rewards remarkably smart people. Nor was she devastatingly beautiful, in a way that teenage boys would obsess their entire pubescent lives over.
She was just a girl from his class. A heart that he broke.
Forgettable.
Except, Seth Moore could not forget her.
Instead, Nina Mendez continued to exist, tucked away in the liminal spaces of his mind. Even when he hadn’t realised.
Part I
1
Now
4 years after graduation
It was all over.
The train was late, and thereforeSethwas going to be late to class. There’d been a technical disruption at a train station on his line, most likely because of the stupid thunderstorm the night before. Except, the sky betrayed no sense that there’d been a raging storm, instead flaunting a blazing sun that felt more like a January heat, rather than a March sun. Only in Australia, could you have such unpredictable weather.
Seth tapped his foot with a rebellious zeal,rightagainst the yellow line that served as a barrier between commuters and the edge of the platform.
A huff of impatience left his mouth, as if throwing his annoyance into the world would pull the train to him any faster. Hereallydidn’t want to shoulder another missed lecture. Not that his tutor cared, but it was frustrating knowing that he had a multitude of unattended lectures to catch up online. Even more frustrating, knowing it was entirely his fault for letting it all build up.
“The train on platform 24 is delayed until further notice.”
