Lara ran. Not like running for exercise, not like running for fun, but running with every ounce of fear and hope and anger tangled together in her chest. The rain had started again, heavier this time, soaking through her jacket, sticking her hair to her face, blinding her a little. But she didn't care. She needed to see him. Needed to see Ethan.
She reached the café where they had first met after months. The door was slightly open, the little bell above tinkling as she pushed it. And there he was. Ethan. Standing there, like he'd been waiting, looking like he hadn't slept in days, hair sticking to his forehead, eyes wide when he saw her.
"Lara…" he started, but she cut him off.
"Why didn't you tell me?!" Her voice cracked, almost like she couldn't control it. "All this time… all the lies… were you even thinking about me at all?"
Ethan flinched. "Lara, wait… you don't understand—"
"No, you don't get it, Ethan! I was—" She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, but the rain outside was loud, the wind shaking the windows, like the world was echoing her own chaos. "…I was thinking maybe you just didn't care, that I didn't mean anything to you. And now… now I find out there was something… some… some danger?!" She stomped her foot, almost slipping on the wet floor.
Ethan's shoulders sagged. He ran his hands over his face, frustrated, desperate. "I swear… I never stopped caring! I left because I had to, Lara. Not because I didn't love you, not because you weren't everything I've ever wanted!"
Lara's eyes narrowed. "Had to… had to? That's it? You leave me with nothing, no explanation, just… gone?"
"I didn't know how to tell you!" Ethan shouted, the rain pounding outside like it was keeping time with his heart. "I thought if I told you… if you knew… you'd be in danger too! I couldn't risk you!"
Her chest heaved. She wanted to scream, to cry, to hit him—she wanted everything all at once. "Danger?!" she said, almost laughing in disbelief, though it was hollow. "So I'm just supposed to sit here, wondering if you care, while you're out there… hiding secrets?!"
"I know!" His voice broke. "I know I hurt you. Every day since I left I've been dying inside knowing I caused you pain. I tried… I tried to stay away to protect you, and I failed. I failed, Lara. I…" He stopped, because even his words were failing him.
Lara's eyes softened for a split second, a small crack in the walls she'd built around her heart. But then anger flared again. "And you think I just… I just… forgive that? Like it's nothing?"
"I'm not asking you to forgive me right now," Ethan said quietly, taking a step closer. "I just… I need you to know the truth. I need you to see that I… I didn't leave because I stopped loving you."
She looked at him, really looked at him. The rain dripping off his hair, the raw desperation in his eyes, the trembling in his jaw. And for the first time in months… she felt something flicker. Something she had tried to deny.
Her voice softened, barely audible over the storm. "Then… why didn't you fight for me?"
"I… I thought leaving was fighting for you," he admitted, voice breaking. "I thought staying would put you in danger, but… maybe I was wrong. Maybe the only way to fight was to be here, to face it with you. I can't promise it'll be easy. I can't promise no more mistakes. But I can promise… I'll never stop trying."
Lara stared at him. The rain plastered hair, soaked clothes, the ache in his eyes… it was all so raw, so human, so real. And she realized… maybe love was never meant to be easy. Maybe it was meant to be this—messy, painful, terrifying… and beautiful.
She took a shaky breath. "I… I don't know if I'm ready. I don't know if I can… trust it again."
He reached out slowly, hand trembling, offering her something she hadn't realized she was starving for: hope. "Then I'll wait. I'll wait for as long as it takes. But please… let me in. Let me fight for us."
And in that moment, Lara felt the storm inside her chest quiet just enough to hear the possibility of something… second chances.