You're Dead to Me

Beep.

"Miley, please pick up the phone. Please."

His voice came from the answering machine and echoed through the house. But Miley didn't move from her spot on the couch where she was huddled underneath the blanket as if he could see her. Dried tears caked her face and her eyes were red and puffy. She wouldn't talk to him. He had made her feel this way, like she was broken. She had heard how bad it hurts, but she had never imagined it to be this painful.

"I'm sorry Miley," he sounded broken too. She tried to feel triumphant that he felt the same way she did. She wasn't the only one suffering from what he had done, but she loved him too much. Hearing him beg like that was torture that pulled at her heart. "Please pick up the phone."

Miley quickly wiped away another tear that had leaked from her eye. "Please talk to me, Miley."

"It hurts," Miley said even though she knew he couldn't hear her. She let a weak sob escape her throat as a fresh wave of tears filled her eyes and started spilling down her cheeks. She felt stupid for crying over a guy who would do this to her, who would break her heart like he had. "I hate you."

"Miley, I need to talk to you. I have to see you. I know there's no excuse for what I did, and I'm sorry. Please, Miley. I… I… I love you."

There it was. The three words she had said to him so many times. The three words he never returned. She had been hoping to hear them come from his lips for so many weeks. Now that she finally got what she wanted it made the blow so much worse. She couldn't trust him anymore. Not after what he had done.

Miley closed her eyes, trying to control her breathing and stop from hiccupping. She was tired and it felt good to let her eyes close.

That last thing she heard before falling asleep was his voice. "I'm coming over. I have to see you."

She didn't know how long she had been asleep before the phone rang again. Her eyes snapped open, still feeling heavy from all the crying. She hadn't moved from the position she had fallen asleep in and she realized that he still hadn't shown up.

"Hey, you've reached Miley Stewart. Leave a message and I'll get back to you ASAP."

Beep

"Miley, honey, it's Mrs. Oken." Miley lifted her head, listening hard. Oliver's mother sounded like she was crying. "I'm calling from the hospital. It's Oliver. He… um…" her voice cracked and Miley's heart sank, "He was in a car accident. He's in critical condition…"

But Miley didn't hear the rest as she grabbed her keys and raced to her car. She felt like she couldn't breathe.

The rest of Mrs. Oken's message echoed through the empty apartment. "The doctor says he probably won't make it. You might want to get down here as soon as possible."