“Why?”
“Because.” She gestured vaguely. “In my family, I’m the fearless one. The one who dives into frozen lakes for fun and climbs things nobody asked me to climb. Fear isn’t my brand.”
“You’re allowed to feel it.” I knelt.
She grimaced like the idea personally offended her. “Unacceptable.”
I shook my head and leaned back on my hands.
“I also wanted to talk about… earlier,” I said, trying again to steer us toward something resembling clarity.
“Earlier, earlier? Or ten minutes ago? Because there were about five embarrassing situations, and I need you to be specific before I spiral.”
“The part where I,” I hesitated. “Where I moved away from you.”
“Oh.” She straightened. The humor in her expression faded. “That.”
“You noticed,” I said quietly.
“Hard not to,” she said. “I thought maybe I’d said something weird or done something wrong.”
“No.”
“Or that you secretly hate me.” She paused. “I would accept that. It feels very on-brand for my life.”
I frowned. “I don’t hate you.”
“I know.” She toyed with the zipper of her coat. “Okay, fine, I know you don’t hate me. I just… I don’t know. Things felt different for a second. And I thought maybe I imagined it.”
“You didn’t imagine it.”
Her breath caught faintly.
I didn’t allow myself to look at her fully. I kept my eyes on her sleeping bag instead.
“It’s not you,” I said.
“Well, it’s definitely not the bear,” she muttered.
I exhaled. “I stepped back because I needed space.”
“From me?”
“Yes.” I paused. “Not in a bad way. Just… space.”
She let that sit for a moment. The wind creaked through the high branches overhead. I could hear her shifting slightly in her sleeping bag, trying to find some meaning in my non-answer.
“So, you don’t want proximity,” she said finally. “Got it. Easy fix. I have lots of space. I am made of space. Consider me the night sky.”
“Sienna.”
She looked over, eyes bright and frustrated. “What?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Well then, maybe use actual words because I’m trying not to overthink this and failing spectacularly.”
Her honesty startled me, but not in a bad way.
