The Space Between Us Novels & Stories

Of course, when I had to stop and lean against the doorway for a breather on the way, he hovered right next to me with his arms out like he expected me to topple over. I watched him while I caught my breath. Even though I'd been unconscious the entire time I'd been with the cats, some part of me still felt like the time had passed. So it felt like there was all this awkward space and time separating me and Merrick. I hated that, and decided I was going to do something about it. "There's distance between us," I gestured in the space between our chests, since we were facing each other. Merrick's forehead wrinkled when he frowned.

The space between us was taut, charged, almost physical. His hand rested on the table. Mine hovered just inches away. Every heartbeat, every shift of his gaze, spoke in a language only we understood. The city could wait. The world could wait. For now, it was just us, and everything unsaid.

They say the worst thing about distance is we don’t know whether they miss you or forget you but what if they don’t even give a sign that they feel your presence even after looking at you everyday… I walked inside Ayesha’s room and whispered ‘Good night’ placing a small peck on her forehead and walked outside. I stood before her room after closing the door and stepped back. “Yes! I want you to stay away from her.” He replied. I glanced at his room and my room. I continued doing that for a few minutes and then walked inside my room. Distance doesn’t just refer to the miles between two persons. Because we are not living at different places far away from each other but still, there is a distanc

"We open the box." "Okay." Neither of us moved to close the distance. That was right. That was where we were now, an armed truce across a kitchen, want on one side and doubt on the other and a dead man's warning strung between us like a tripwire, a key taped inside a Bible waiting to say which of us had been lying. I didn't reach for her. She didn't come to me. Three days ago, the space between us had been ice. Now it was something more honest and more dangerous, a demilitarized zone, held open on purpose, by two people who both knew that the next thing to cross it would decide everything.

She said before walking away from me. I took a deep breath before leaning my back at one of the tables. I only have 1 more year to live and my sister knows that.

“Can you lay with me? Just until I fall asleep again. Please.” His chest tightened. “Beatrice,” he said softly. “Are you sure?” She nodded. “Yes. I don’t want to be alone.” He hesitated for half a second. Then he kicked off his shoes and got into the bed beside her, on top of the duvet at first. He left a careful space between them. “Just to keep you company,” he said quietly. She didn’t answer. She just turned on her side to face him. For a long time they just looked at each other. The room was dim. The only light was a thin line from the hallway under the door.

“I’ll walk you up.” We meet at the front of the truck, and he falls into step beside me. The night air is cool, quiet, almost peaceful. For the first time in days, I feel like I can breathe. We stop at the bottom of the porch steps. And suddenly the space between us feels charged, not heavy, not overwhelming, just… full. Like something is about to happen. His hand lifts slightly, like he’s about to brush a strand of hair behind my ear again. I lean in without meaning to. He leans in too. We’re inches apart. And then...The front door swings open. My dad stands there, holding a mug of coffee, eyebrows raised. “Lena? You’re home.” I jump back like I’ve been elect

“Remember the first two months? Y’all were like Tom and Jerry. I genuinely thought the hatred would never die.” I nodded, stomach twisting. “So when did you two decide to accept your differences?” she asked, genuinely curious. “Accommodate each other, I mean.” “Um… I really… I mean…” I shrugged, throat dry. My fingers tightened around the cup. Did she notice something? The air felt thick. Or maybe it was just the heat from the pots. The front door creaked open. Kai walked in. His hair was parted to the left, a few lazy strands shadowing his forehead. His sharp brows and dominant presence filled the room instantly. He looked like he owned every inch of space he stepped into.

God is gone. Sealed away into a different part of the universe. But Asherah has escaped. And she is free. She knows exactly what she wants to do. We're up in the air, our wings tangled as we spin in slow circles. Loss has me against his bare chest, his warmth intermingling with my own. Music doesn't play, yet we continue to sway, and Loss kisses my temple, running a hand through my hair. I smile softly, leaning up to kiss his lips, and his arms around my waist tighten.

Just letting the flickering colors wash over the room, the buzz of voices blurring into the sound of James talking beside me. He was leaning back with one leg up on the armrest, sipping a beer. “So then she told me he ‘needed space,’” James said, air-quoting with the hand that wasn’t gripping the bottle. “Like, fuck off, Mia. You literally texted me every morning for a year straight. You think I don’t know what space means?” I took a drag off my cigarette and exhaled toward the ceiling. The smoke curled lazily above me, like it had nowhere better to be. “Space means they’re already fucking someone else,” I muttered.