"Sometimes accidents are just meaningless mistakes, Noah. Everyone messes up."
He slid his sunglasses off, revealing those warm golden-brown irises that had always seen straight through every lie and wall she built around herself. "I remember telling you those exact same words after… that day with the car."
She shot him a dry, bitter smile, and he let out a hollow, joyless laugh. "It doesn’t fix anything, does it? Empty, meaningless comfort phrases."
"Nope."
They stood locked in each other’s gaze, the space between them thick with old grudges, lingering hurt, and for Olive, a mountain of unspoken regrets.
"You’re not the same girl I knew," he said quietly.
"If you mean I traded thrifted hand-me-downs for nicer clothes, then yeah, I’ve changed."
He shook his head firmly. "It’s never been about what you wear. None of the people who loved you cared about your outfits. You’ve shifted somewhere deeper," he repeated. "On the inside."
"I grew up."
"Funny, you still can’t avoid nearly running people over, so—"
She narrowed her eyes sharply. "That’s not funny in the slightest."
"I wasn’t joking. Did you bring this ‘Matt’ of yours along for the visit?"
"No. Did you come with anyone?"
"I don’t have anyone to bring."
She nodded stiffly, then forced a bright, hollow smile onto her lips. "Well, this chat’s been absolutely riveting, but I’ve got somewhere I need to be."
"Of course you do."
She spun halfway back toward the house, pausing. "Was that comment meant to carry some hidden jab?"
"When things get hard, you always run off."
The sting of his words hit hard because they were entirely true. She drew in a shaky deep breath, searching for calm that refused to settle in her chest—not with a heavy, football-sized lump clogging her throat. This man had shaped every critical part of her teenage years, his whole family wrapping her up in their care and giving her the sense of belonging she’d spent her whole life craving. But the cold, guarded look in his eyes reminded her she’d thrown all that away herself. Still, the question slipped out before she could hold it back.
"Have you ever wondered what things could be like between us now, as fully grown adults?"
He studied her for a long, heavy beat of silence. "Some chapters of the past are better left closed and untouched."
She plastered on another thin, fake smile. "That’s one thing we can finally agree on."
Leave a Reply