Chase Wright - Wish Youd Miss Me -

Chase pulled his phone out, his thumb hovering over her name. He wanted to text her about the song the band was playing—the one they danced to in his kitchen at 2 AM. Instead, he locked the screen. He knew the routine. He’d check her Instagram and see her smiling in a crowded bar in Lincoln Park, looking lighter, freer.

"You okay, man?" the bartender asked, wiping down the counter.

He closed his eyes and could almost hear her laugh over the jukebox. He imagined her sitting in her new apartment, looking at an old hoodie he’d forgotten to take, and feeling that sharp, sudden ache of "what if." CHASE WRIGHT - Wish Youd Miss Me

It had been six months since Maya left for Chicago. Six months of silence, except for the occasional "like" on a photo—a digital breadcrumb that led nowhere.

The sting wasn't that she was gone; it was how easily she seemed to have packed him away. He didn't want her back in the "ruin-his-life" kind of way. He just wanted to know that he had left a dent. He wanted to believe that when she walked past a park that looked like theirs, her heart skipped a beat, even if just for a second. Chase pulled his phone out, his thumb hovering over her name

Chase looked up, a bittersweet smile tugging at his mouth. "Yeah," he said, finishing his drink. "Just wishing for something I probably shouldn't."

The neon sign of "The Bluebird" flickered, casting a rhythmic red glow over the wet pavement. Inside, the air smelled of stale beer and old heartbreaks, but Chase didn't mind. He leaned against the mahogany bar, his fingers tracing the condensation on his glass. He wasn't there for the drink; he was there for the ghost of a girl who used to sit on the stool next to him. He knew the routine

He stood up, tucked his chin into his jacket, and walked out into the cool night air. As he started his car, a familiar melody began to play on the radio. He sat in the driveway for a long time, letting the lyrics bridge the gap between where he was and where she might be, hoping that somewhere in the city of big shoulders, she was humming along and thinking of him.