What Remains

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Chapter Three: What Remains

The kiss lingered long after it ended.

Elena stood on the pier, lips tingling, her breath shallow and uneven. Adrian hadn’t moved far, his forehead resting gently against hers, both of them silent in the cold breeze. The world around them had gone still. The crashing waves, the gulls, even the wind—it all felt distant, muted by the heartbeat thudding in her chest.

She could still feel him.

The way he kissed her like he’d been holding his breath for seven years and finally exhaled. Like he was starving and she was the only thing that could feed him.

She stepped back, just slightly.

Adrian’s eyes searched hers. “Too much?”

She nodded, but not in the way he expected. “Too honest.”

His jaw clenched. “I’m tired of pretending I don’t still want you. Are you?”

She looked away. “No.”

Silence.

“But this changes everything, doesn’t it?” she whispered.

He gave a bitter laugh. “It already has.”

⸻

They walked along the edge of the harbor in quiet tension, their hands brushing but not quite touching. The old fishing boats swayed beside them, the salty air clinging to their skin.

“I used to think you’d come back,” Adrian said, not looking at her.

“I used to think I wouldn’t,” she replied.

“What happened in the city?”

She didn’t answer right away. The question was too big. Too layered.

“I chased a dream I thought would fix everything,” she said at last. “It didn’t. I was lonely. I worked too much. I dated people who didn’t know how to love me and didn’t care to learn.”

He looked at her then, really looked. “You let yourself be alone?”

“No.” Her voice cracked. “I made myself alone. I didn’t think I deserved anything else after what I did to you.”

Adrian stopped walking. “You broke me, Elena.”

“I know.”

“But I never hated you.”

Her breath caught.

“I wanted to,” he continued. “God, I tried. But every time I saw someone who looked like you, or heard your favorite song, or walked by the cliff where we first kissed—I felt like you were still mine.”

“I was never not yours,” she whispered.

“Then come back.”

She froze.

“I’m not asking you to stay forever,” he added. “I’m asking you to stay long enough to see if we still fit.”

“And if we don’t?”

“Then at least we’ll know. But if we walk away now… we’ll always wonder.”

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Later That Night

Elena stood in her father’s kitchen, the kettle hissing on the stove. She clutched the edge of the counter like it was the only thing keeping her grounded.

She was unraveling.

Her body still remembered the heat of Adrian’s mouth on hers. Her mind kept replaying every word, every look, every touch. But beneath it all was fear. Not of loving him—but of what it meant to try again. To fall, this time knowing just how much it would hurt if they broke again.

Her phone buzzed on the counter.

Adrian: I can’t sleep. I keep thinking about that kiss.

Adrian: Tell me I’m not the only one.

She stared at the message, her heart twisting.

She typed.

Elena: You’re not the only one.

Elena: But I’m scared.

His reply came fast.

Adrian: Me too. But I’d rather be terrified with you than numb without you.

She set the phone down and pressed both hands over her mouth.

Because that? That was the most honest thing either of them had said all day.

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The Past Still Lingers

She climbed the stairs to her childhood bedroom. Everything looked the same—dusty trophies from high school, faded posters, the worn-out desk where she’d written college essays and breakup letters she never sent.

She sat on the edge of her bed and opened the top drawer.

Inside was a bundle of old letters.

Letters from Adrian.

Her hands trembled as she pulled one out.

Elena,

I don’t know where you are. I don’t know if you’ll ever read this. But I miss you. Not just the version of you I used to kiss behind the lighthouse. I miss the way you made me believe in forever. I don’t believe in it anymore. Not without you.

— A.

Tears slid down her cheeks.

She’d broken him.

And now, he was offering her a chance to put them both back together.

But she didn’t know if she was strong enough to take it.