The Unanswered Text

Ines sends Tobias a long message on Tuesday night. She explains why she can't make it to his sister's birthday dinner. She waits for a reply. None comes.

By Wednesday morning, the message still shows only one gray checkmark. Tobias hasn't opened it at all, as far as she can tell. Ines starts imagining reasons why. Maybe he's angry, maybe he's decided her explanation wasn't good enough, maybe he's pulling away.

She almost texts again, just to ask if everything is okay. But she stops herself. If she sends another message and he still doesn't answer, she'll feel even worse than she does now.

Instead, she goes through her day distracted, replaying the message in her head. Did it sound like an excuse? Did she explain herself clearly, or did it come across as cold?

That evening, her phone finally buzzes. It's Tobias, calling instead of texting.

"Sorry," he says, before she can even say hello. "My phone died Tuesday night, and I only got it charged an hour ago. I've had zero signal all day at work."

Ines lets out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "I thought you were upset with me," she admits. "I've been assuming the worst since yesterday."

"I wasn't even close to my phone," Tobias says. "I had no idea you were waiting on anything."

"I should have just called instead of guessing," Ines says. "It felt easier to wait than to ask directly."

"Let's make a deal," Tobias says. "If either of us doesn't hear back within a day, we call. No more guessing games."

Ines agrees, relieved that the whole thing turned out to be nothing more than a dead battery. They talk for another twenty minutes. By the end of the call, she has already forgotten what she was so worried about.