He pulls back and searches my face, gaze sweeping over my cheeks, my mouth, then lingering on the eyepatch before moving to the messy strands of hair falling across my forehead. It feels like he’s memorizing me, noting every line, shadow, and scar like he’s taking a photograph of this exact second to carry with him.
Like he knows it might be the last.
His eyes finally settle on mine again, heavy and red-rimmed, and his voice comes out scraped raw.
“Don’t make this harder for me than it already is. I won’t survive being broken by you again.”
He leaves me there, and I let him go.
My arms fall limp, useless at my sides, because fighting now would only tear the wound wider.
Those embers of hope that had flickered back to life die in an instant, snuffed out until I’m cold again. He reaches for the door, fingers lingering on the frame as if letting go hurts more than he can stand.
“Bash?” His name tears from me, small and broken. I’m nearly doubled over, the threat of losing him for good crushing my ribs inward.
“Do you love him like you loved me?”
The words tumble out before I can stop them, desperate to hear the answer while never wanting to know.
He pauses, head bowed and shoulders rising on a shaky breath. The silence stretches until I can barely breathe through it.
“Just let me let you go, Xeni,” he says at last. “Leave. Run away like you always do. Can’t you do that for me?”
“No,” I whisper. Tears stream unchecked, carving tracks down my face. “I can’t.”
“Please,” he says, voice breaking. “Make this easier. Leave me to pick up the pieces one last time. You owe me that much.”
He walks out without looking back, and the door closes with a soft click that echoes louder than any slam in the hollow space he leaves behind. I call his name long after the lock turns, my voice cracking into raw, wrenching sobs that tear from my throat in the empty dark.
Each one is a plea for the impossible.
For him to come back.
For the years to rewind.
For the love that still consumes every part of me to be enough to fix what I broke.
But wishes aren’t always granted, and prayers go unanswered.
Maybe one last kiss is all the Fates will allow.
I press my fingers to my mouth, holding onto the ghost of his lips as I slide to the ground and cry.
Bash
“Areweheretodiscuss your problem?” Ego flops into the chair across from me, legs kicked out and arms draped over the sides like she owns the damn place.
“And what problem might that be?” I challenge with a tight smile.
“Oh, I don’t know…” She taps her chin theatrically, eyes positively gleaming with mischief. “Some tall, pretty number with majestic white hair? A little over six feet of brooding angst wrapped in a uniform that’swaytoo tight for anyone’s good?”
Her tone drips with teasing, but her gaze is razor-sharp.
I haven’t breathed a word to her about my late-night visit to Xeni, but she sees everything around here.
“No,” I chide, as my arms fold over my chest. “We’renot.”
She’s unfazed as she arches a brow, curling her lip into a slow, wicked grin. “Touchy. Methinks the lady doth protest too much.”
