“Oh,” I whisper.“Thank you.”
He shifts his weight, boots crunching softly in the snow.And when he looks at me, really looks, his breath stutters the tiniest bit.
And I know what he sees...Because I miss him.I know I do, and I am sure it’s written all over me.
“I miss you, Tessa.”His voice breaks on my name.“I miss you so much.”
I close my eyes.For one impossible second, I feel myself tilt, toward him, toward warmth, toward everything familiar and easy andmine.Toward the version of us that were so happy for a heartbeat.Before it all came crashing down.
But something else holds me still, the hurt Tessa, the betrayed one, the one who learned the hard way that love without truth can crush you...
When I open my eyes, he’s watching me like whatever I say next might save him.
I swallow hard.“I… miss you too,” I admit, barely above a whisper.
His inhale is sharp, almost a gasp.
“But...”
He cuts in gently; palms lifted like he’s afraid the slightest movement might scare me off.“I know.Tessa, I know.”
His voice is soft and feels honest.He doesn't seem to be defensive or on edge.
“What I did...there’s no version where I pretend it wasn’t horrible.There’s no version where I get to shrug it off or hope you just… forget.”
A snowflake melts against his cheek.Or maybe that’s a tear.I’m not sure, but I cannot take my eyes off him.
“But I want to talk to you,” he continues.“Not to fix it.Not to beg.Just to explain.You deserve that.The truth.The real truth.And I don’t expect you to forgive me.I don’t even expect you to want me again.”
His jaw tightens, but his eyes stay soft.“I just… need to try.Tessa...I.I need to know that I tried.”
My heart lurches forward, but my wounded pride pulls me back.And somewhere stuck between the two is the girl who once believed she wasn’t worth choosing, and the woman now terrified she believed the wrong person again.
“Nate…” I breathe.
He waits.He looks so patient, open and hopeful.Nate stands before me with a quiet energy about him that I have never seen before.
Something warm flickers in my chest, not hope, exactly...But maybe the memory of it.
“Okay,” I say finally.
His shoulders drop, relief washing across his entire face.
“When I’m feeling better… we can talk.”
His smile blooms instantly, bright, unguarded, the exact one I fell for.It hits me like sunlight after days of storm, and it hurts, god, it hurts.A tear slips free before I can stop it.
His smile falters.“I’m so sorry, Tessa.”
He takes a small step back, hands falling to his sides.“I didn’t mean to upset you.I wasn’t...this wasn’t to… push, or pressure you.I just...”
He swallows.“I’ll go.I just… wanted you to have the soup.And to know that if you need anything, anything at all, I’ll be here in a heartbeat.”
He turns to leave.
“Nate.”
He pauses and looks back.
