Between two shadows
1322 Words
Laura’s mind couldn’t catch up with her surroundings. One moment she was capturing joy through her camera lens, and the next she was frozen in place, staring at the man who once shattered her from the inside out. Her breath lodged in her throat, the air suddenly too heavy, too sharp.
Before she could process anything—before she could even confirm whether her eyes were deceiving her—she felt a hand gently settle on her shoulder.
Her body reacted first; she spun around quickly, almost too fast, prepared to defend herself from a memory that had suddenly taken form. But instead of danger, she saw Cole.
Cole.
The man she’d been trying to avoid for days… the man she’d run from after her panic overcame her in the car. The man who, despite her efforts, had lingered in her chest like a stubborn warmth she wasn’t ready for.
He stood right in front of her, concern softening his features, gaze warm and steady—as though her sudden disappearance days ago hadn’t created a hurricane inside him.
Laura didn’t know how to feel.
Her past stood behind her, grinning with that arrogant confidence she once mistook for affection…
And her present stood before her, a man she was terrified to hope for, terrified to trust, yet drawn to in ways she couldn’t deny.
Her breath trembled.
Jonathan—her ex, her ghost, her mistake, her trauma—was here… smiling, thriving, living happily as though the pieces he broke never belonged to anyone. And now Cole—this gentle force she wasn’t ready for—appeared at the exact moment her world tilted off its axis.
She had no idea who she was supposed to face first.
Meanwhile, from the far end of the decorated venue, Jonathan had gone completely still. His eyes locked on Laura the moment he turned. At first, shock spread across his face, as though he’d seen something impossible.
Then he saw Cole’s hand on her shoulder.
The shift in him was instantaneous—a flash of something dark, sharp, and territorial sliced across his expression. It lasted barely a second, but it was enough to reveal everything Laura spent years trying to unlearn:
Jonathan Hardin didn’t understand love.
He only understood ownership.
He forgot where he was. Forgot the crowd. Forgot the fiancée who stood beside him.
The only thing that existed for him in that moment was Laura—and the fact that another man touched her.
He clenched his jaw. Hard.
He didn’t even register that the man was Cole—until Cole lifted his head.
Recognition hit Jonathan like a punch to the chest.
Cole.
His friend.
The man he shared drinks with, laughed with, confided in.
Jonathan swallowed the sudden bitterness in his throat.
What the hell was Cole’s hand doing on Laura?
But they were no longer together. She was no longer his. He had no right to react this way. Yet the emotion burned through him anyway—irrational, unwarranted, but uncontrollable.
Back with Laura, Cole’s face softened into a smile the moment she met his gaze.
“Hey,” he said gently, as though aware that she was holding herself together with threads. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
His tone was warm, steady, careful—so carefully balanced she felt her shoulders drop slightly. For the first time since entering the event, she found a tiny pocket of calm.
“I—” She cleared her throat, forcing the choke back. “I’m here to work… I’m photographing the engagement.”
Cole nodded, understanding without asking for explanations she couldn’t give.
“That makes sense,” he said. “You’re really good at what you do.”
She felt her chest flutter with something both comforting and terrifying.
She steadied herself. “Who did you come for?”
“My friend,” Cole replied. “The groom-to-be.”
Her heart nearly stopped.
Her eyes widened so sharply it hurt.
Cole… came for Jonathan?
“You okay?” Cole asked, noticing the change in her expression.
Laura forced a smile—too stiff, too quick. “Yeah. Just… surprised.”
She couldn’t explain that her soul had just collided with her worst nightmare while she stood wearing a smile meant to blend into happiness.
Cole continued, “Do you know any of them?”
“No,” Laura replied quickly. “I’m just here for work.”
“Alright then,” he said kindly. “I won’t distract you too much.”
He stepped back with a gentle nod. “But… after the event, can we talk for a bit?”
Her heart knocked against her chest—hope and fear clashing violently.
She hesitated…
Then nodded. “Yes.”
He smiled—a simple, disarming smile that eased something inside her.
Then he turned around.
Laura watched him walk toward the stage—and toward Jonathan.
Jonathan’s posture straightened when he saw Cole approaching. He extended his hand, and Cole accepted it with the warm friendliness of someone greeting a brother.
They exchanged a brief hug.
But during that hug, Jonathan’s eyes remained locked on Laura over Cole’s shoulder—steady, predatory, familiar. The kind of stare that once rewired her thoughts, drained her confidence, and molded her into a version of herself she no longer recognized.
His smirk made her skin crawl.
He remembered what she was.
He remembered what he made her.
And now he was smirking because he could see she still felt something—fear.
Laura turned away quickly, clutching her camera tightly, her knuckles turning white. She forced herself to breathe evenly, but her lungs constricted.
Every inhale felt shallow.
Every exhale felt insufficient.
She whispered to herself, “Breathe… please breathe…”
But the room felt smaller.
The lights felt brighter.
The sounds felt louder.
She stepped back, needing distance, needing space, needing anything that didn’t involve Jonathan’s eyes burning into her from across the room.
Her hands shook slightly, and she tucked the camera close to her chest, grounding herself with the familiar weight.
Her thoughts spiraled:
Why is he here? Why now? Why like this? How many more hits do I have to take today?
She swallowed hard and looked around, grasping desperately at normalcy.
People were smiling… clapping… laughing… celebrating love.
But her world was unraveling quietly in the middle of their happiness.
She hadn’t felt this level of anxiety—not even when she stood frozen in the middle of the ocean while Jonathan smirked down at her sinking form.
Her pulse raced.
Her palms felt cold.
Her chest tightened.
She closed her eyes for a second, then opened them again, grounding herself.
She whispered again, voice trembling, “Just get through this. Just get through today.”
She inhaled deeply.
Exhaled shakily.
Then she whispered the only thing she felt deeply enough to form into words:
“Please ....... just let me make it through this day without falling apart.”
- Writer
