PART 14:

“I used to think if I was better, she would have stayed. If I’d been less trouble, less needy, maybe she wouldn’t have run.” “That’s not how it works.” “Isn’t it?” “No. People leave because of their own damage, not because of yours.” Victoria wiped her eyes, frustrated with herself.

“I I hate that I still care, that it still hurts.” “That’s what makes you human.” “I don’t want to be human. I want to be strong.” “You are strong. Strength isn’t not feeling things. It’s feeling them and surviving anyway.” She looked at him and something in her expression broke open. “Why are you so patient with me?” “Because you need it and because I want to be.

” Victoria stood abruptly putting distance between them. “I can’t do this.” “Do what?” “This. Whatever this is, I can’t let myself need you.” Daniel stood too, careful not to crowd her. “Why not?” “Because everyone I’ve ever needed has left. My mother, you, everyone. I didn’t leave. I’m right here. You left 15 years ago.

I came back. You came back broken. That’s not the same thing. The words stung because they were true. Daniel had come back because he’d run out of other options, because the life he’d built had collapsed. Not because he’d chosen to return. But that had changed. He’d chosen to stay. That had to count for something.

“You’re right.” he said quietly. I came back broken. But I stayed because I wanted to. That’s different. Victoria crossed her arms, protective. What happens when you get bored? When small-town life stops being novel and starts being suffocating? When you realize you made a mistake? That’s not going to happen.

You don’t know that. Yeah, I do. How? Daniel closed the distance between them, gentle but deliberate. Because for the first time in 15 years, I feel like I’m where I’m supposed to be. And that has everything to do with you. Victoria’s breath caught. “Daniel, I’m not asking you to trust me completely.

I know I don’t deserve that yet. But I’m asking you to let me try. Let me prove that staying means something.” She stared at him, and he could see the war happening behind her eyes. Fear and hope battling for dominance. The part of her that wanted to believe fighting against the part that knew better. “I’m scared.” she whispered. “I know.

” “What if you break my heart?” “What if I don’t?” Victoria laughed shakily. “That’s a terrible answer.” “It’s honest.” She reached up, touched his face the way she had that night in the kitchen. But this time she didn’t pull away. Just let her hand rest there, her thumb brushing his cheek. “Okay.” she said finally.

“Try.” Daniel covered her hand with his. “Okay.” They stood there in the dusty attic, surrounded by the debris of her father’s life and something shifted between them. Not fixed, not solved, just acknowledged. When they finally went back downstairs, the sun was setting. Emma was at Mrs. Patterson’s giving them the afternoon alone.

Daniel walked Victoria to her door, hesitated. “You want to come over tomorrow?” he asked. “Emma’s doing a school project, something about the solar system. She’d love your help.” Victoria smiled. “What makes you think I know anything about the solar system?” “You’re smarter than me.” “That’s a safe bet.” “Low bar.

” “Still true.” She kissed his cheek, brief and soft. “I’ll be there.” Daniel walked home feeling lighter than he had in months, maybe years. Inside his house, he looked around at the progress they’d made, the fixed railing, the patched walls, the small improvements that added up to something livable.

It wasn’t perfect, probably never would be, but it was becoming home. His phone buzzed, a text from Victoria. “Thank you for today.” He typed back, “Anytime.” Three dots appeared, disappeared, appeared again. Then, “I’m glad you stayed.” Daniel stared at the message feeling the weight of it, the significance. “Me, too.” he replied. That night, he lay in bed and thought about the rocking chair in Victoria’s attic, about her mother leaving it behind, about all the things people abandoned when they ran.

He’d been one of those people once, had left without looking back, convinced that escape was the same as freedom. But freedom, he was learning, wasn’t about running. It was about choosing where you stood and who you stood beside. Through the window, he could see Victoria’s house. A light was on in her bedroom.

He wondered if she was thinking about the same things, if she was scared the way he was scared, if she was hoping the way he was hoping. His phone buzzed again. Still awake? Victoria. Yeah. Me too. Can’t sleep. Want company? A long pause, then yes. Daniel got up, pulled on jeans and a sweatshirt, checked on Emma, still asleep, her rabbit tucked under her chin.

Then he walked across the yard to Victoria’s house where she was waiting at the door. She changed into pajamas, her hair down, looking younger and more vulnerable than he’d ever seen her. “I didn’t think you’d actually come.” She said. “You asked.” “People ask for things they don’t expect to get.” “I’m not people.

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