But I know I’ll have to open them eventually.
I just… can’t.
Not yet.
I’m not ready to look into the rain.
Not ready to face what’s hiding behind it.
Because what if—when I finally do, when I finallyreallylook—all I see are…
Tears?
“… and we hope you all enjoyed your evening at Gravity.”
The DJ’s voice tears through my thoughts, ripping me out of the storm in my head.
I pop my eyes open, startled. Rattled by my surroundings, like I just crash-landed back in reality.
Crash.
Plane crash.
Mom… Dad…
Rain… Tears…
“Remember to drive slow as you make your way home tonight,” the DJ adds, his voice sliding into something more deliberate. “There’s a reason for crooked roads, folks.”
My sister’s words echo in my mind as I glance up at the DJ packing up for the night.
“There’s a reason for crooked roads, baby brother.Treasures are found where few dare to wander. Take a chance, Alex.”
Elijah’s fingers gently curl around mine, pulling my hand away from his chest.
“Everything alright?” he asks, voice soft but steady.
I nod, but my chest tightens.
Because suddenly I’m seven years old again, staring out a rain-slicked window, waiting for my parents… waiting for a plane that never made it home.
Waiting.
It was the day I learned that love doesn’t always land safely.
For years, I cried nonstop. So many tears.
I remember them running into my dreams—alongside my parents—arms wide, faces blurred by my tears. But then… a faint whisper… a soft voice in my ear:love always finds a way.
“Yes,” I answer on a long-winded sigh.
Elijah squeezes my hand, his eyes searching mine—curious, steady… but above all loving. “Let’s go home, baby.”
Something inside me settles at his words. Like maybe, for the first time in a long time, I know wherehomereally is.
I deserve this kind of love.
It’s taken me longer than I care to admit to even say that, let alone believe it. But standing here, with Elijah’s hand in mine, his voice grounding me… I feel it. Not just the love, but the truth of it. He holds my heart like something worth keeping.
