Nik answers, plain and direct. “Yes.”
Axel nods beside him. “We never broke up. We just… broke.”
I stare at them. My breath catches.
“You’re still…” I trail off. Still what? Lovers? Partners? Home? I don’t even know anymore. But they nod. Warmth blooms in my chest for them. Even when we were young and naïve, I knew what they shared was special.
Axel leans forward. “Look, we didn’t come here to argue about the past. We came because we never stopped thinking about you. Wondering about you. Wanting to know the woman you became.”
Their eyes meet. Something unspoken communicatedbetween them.
Nik turns to me fully. “We were kids back then. Now? We want to get to know you again. As adults.”
I should be careful. Or cynical. Or something more guarded than this ache rising in my throat.
Instead, I whisper, “I saw you.”
They both look confused. Of course they do.
“Once. At UT,” I clarify. “It was years ago. You were on campus, and you were with… some girl. Blonde. Tiny. She was laughing, touching Axel’s chest, and you—” I glance at Nik, “—you kissed her. Both of you. Right there in the quad. It was like I didn’t exist anymore.”
It comes out sounding more accusatory than I mean it too, but fuck it. It was painful. It’sstillpainful.
Their eyes widen.
“I don’t think you saw me,” I continue. “But I sawyou. And I know I had no right to feel anything. We were already over. I left. I disappeared. But it—” My voice cracks. “It still hurt.”
Just like that, the dam breaks. Tears rise and spill, and I can’t stop them. My arms cross tight over my chest like I can hold myself together if I just try hard enough.
“I’ve never said it out loud,” I whisper. “But it broke me, seeing that. I told myself I didn’t care. That I was better off. But I did. I cared. So much.”
There’s no immediate response. Just the heavy quiet around us.
Then, they move. Axel’s arms come around me pulling me out of the chair. A second later, Nik joins. There’s no hesitation, no awkwardness, just them. The familiar weight of both of them holding me like I’m something worth keeping.
Axel speaks into my hair. “No one ever took your place.”
Nik’s voice is low. “No one ever came close.”
I want to argue. Want to shield the parts of me that still feel fragile, but I can’t. I bury my face in Axel’s chest and breathe him in. It’s like I’ve been underwater for years and just found air.
They don’t rush me. They don’t try to fix it. They just hold me and let me cry.
Eventually, I pull back, wiping my eyes.
“I don’t know what this means,” I admit. “Or what happens now.”
Nik nods. “That’s okay. We’re not asking for answers. Just… a chance.”
Axel runs a knuckle over my cheek, catching a tear. “Can we do that? Start over. Try again?”
I nod slowly. “Yeah. We can try. Iwantto try. I want to know you.”
“And we want to know you,” Nik murmurs from behind, arms still wrapped around my waist.
∞∞∞
I leave them and find Sean, sitting on my bed waiting for me, legs stretched out like he owns the place. Which, honestly, he kind of does.
