Just a few.
Then she’d be done, free.
Free from me.
The thought made my stomach twist.
She’d walk away, and I’d have to watch her do it, pretending it didn’t feel like losing something I never even got to have.
So yeah, I went to class. But my head was already on the field. On the off chance she’d be there. Sitting at the bleachers, scribbling with that broken wrist and that stupid concentration face that made everything in me go quiet.
I’d ruined enough already.
But I couldn’t help wanting to try.
Not to fix it. I wasn’t naive enough to think I could fix what I broke, but maybe to make these last few days mean something.
To show her that I could be better. That I could be the person she thought I was before everything went to shit.
So when practice rolled around, I was already there early. Boots tied, ball at my feet, pretending to stretch while my eyes kept darting to the entrance. And every second that passed without her showing up felt heavier than the last.
Come on, Aurora.
Just today.
Let me see you one more time.
If she showed up, I’d stay calm. I’d play normal. No yelling, no coldness. Maybe even let her see that she wasn’t just a shadowing student anymore.
Maybe I couldn’t have her. But I could try to keep her, in the small, stupid way that meant watching her from the field, knowing she was there, knowing she was safe.
That had to be enough.
For now.
I was tying my laces when my phone buzzed on the bench beside me.
For the first time all day, I felt something close to relief. Maybe it was her saying I’m on my way, maybe, just maybe, she was going to show up like always.
But when I picked up the phone, that tiny bit of hope cracked.
My Princess: I finished early. Don’t look out, don’t wait. I’ve decided to wrap up my research here.
My chest tightened instantly.
For a few seconds, I just stared at the screen, waiting for another message.
Something.
A ‘see you around’or a‘thank you for letting me shadow’
Anything.
Nothing came. Just those few words. Cold. Clean. Final.
I swallowed hard and dropped the phone on the bench. It landed face down, but I could still feel the echo of it in my head. Don’t look out, don’t wait.
She really was gone.
