Waves

Chapter 3 – The Tide Pulls Us Back

The pier was quieter than usual when Eiah arrived. The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon, casting long shadows over the wooden planks. She could hear the soft lapping of the water against the shore, the familiar sound that had always been a part of her life. But today, it felt different. It felt like everything was shifting, like the world was holding its breath, waiting for something to break.

She stood at the edge of the pier, her hands gripping the weathered railing as she gazed out at the vast expanse of ocean before her. The waves were gentle tonight, a stark contrast to the storm that raged inside her. The breeze tugged at her hair, carrying with it the scent of saltwater and memories she couldn’t escape.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she pulled it out. It was a message from Dion.

Dion: “I’m here.”

She looked around, but there was no sign of him. She wasn’t sure why she was surprised. She hadn’t expected him to be on time. Dion had always been unreliable, always showing up when it was convenient for him, always leaving when things got hard.

But tonight, as the last rays of the sun dipped below the horizon, it didn’t matter. She wasn’t sure why she had agreed to meet him. Maybe it was the pull of nostalgia, the remnants of a love that had once felt so real. Or maybe it was the desperate need for closure, for answers to the questions that had haunted her for years.

She let out a slow breath and took a step forward, her feet making no sound on the wooden planks. The sound of her footsteps was swallowed by the quiet, by the weight of everything that had been left unsaid between them.

“Eiah.”

She froze, her heart skipping a beat at the sound of his voice. Dion stood at the end of the pier, his figure silhouetted against the fading light. He hadn’t changed much in the years since she had last seen him, though there was a weariness in his posture now, a heaviness that hadn’t been there before.

He took a step toward her, his eyes never leaving hers. For a moment, they just stood there, the distance between them stretching out like an ocean, vast and endless.

“I didn’t think you’d come,” Dion said, his voice quiet, almost tentative. “I thought you’d tell me to leave.”

Eiah couldn’t bring herself to respond right away. Her throat was tight, her mind racing with a thousand thoughts. She didn’t want to see him, didn’t want to feel the way his presence made everything inside her feel too much. But at the same time, she couldn’t deny the pull that had always existed between them. The way he had once made her feel alive, even when everything else in her life felt like it was falling apart.

“I almost didn’t,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. “But here we are.”

Dion nodded, his eyes softening as he took another step toward her. “I’m sorry for everything, Eiah. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I didn’t mean to leave the way I did.”

The apology felt like a weight on her chest, heavier than she could bear. She wanted to tell him it was too late, that his words didn’t matter anymore, that they could never go back to the way things had been. But as she looked at him, standing there with that same look in his eyes, she couldn’t help but feel that familiar ache. That longing for something that had been lost. Something that could never be recovered.

“You left me,” Eiah said, her voice trembling with the force of her emotions. “You left me when I needed you the most. I don’t know if I can forgive you for that.”

“I know,” Dion replied softly. “I didn’t expect you to. I don’t deserve your forgiveness. But I’m here now, and I’m not asking for your forgiveness. I just... I just want to be here. I want to be part of your life again.”

Her chest tightened at his words. Part of her wanted to scream at him, to tell him that she didn’t need him anymore, that she had learned to live without him. But another part of her — the part that still remembered the way he had loved her, the way she had loved him — wanted to believe him. Wanted to believe that there was a chance for them, even after all this time.

“I don’t know if I can have you back in my life, Dion,” she said, her voice breaking. “I don’t know if I can trust you again.”

Dion’s face fell, but he didn’t look away. He stepped closer, closing the distance between them. “You don’t have to trust me yet,” he said. “But I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. I won’t leave again.”

Eiah’s heart raced in her chest, but she couldn’t bring herself to say the words that were on the tip of her tongue. She couldn’t say that she still loved him, that a part of her still wanted him back. She couldn’t admit that, even after everything he had done, she still craved his touch, his presence, the way he had once made her feel like she mattered.

“Why did you come back?” Eiah finally asked, her voice barely more than a whisper. “Why now?”

Dion hesitated, his eyes searching hers as if looking for something. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I’ve been trying to figure that out, too. But every time I think about it, every time I think about you, I realize that I never stopped caring about you. I never stopped loving you.”

Eiah took a step back, her head spinning. She couldn’t breathe. The weight of his words was suffocating, pulling her under, drowning her in the memories of everything they had been. The love they had shared. The hurt. The loss.

“I can’t do this,” Eiah whispered, her voice breaking as the tears she had been holding back finally began to fall. “I can’t go back to this. I can’t go back to you.”

Dion’s eyes widened, a mixture of confusion and pain flashing across his face. “Eiah, please—”

“No,” she interrupted, shaking her head as the tears spilled down her cheeks. “I can’t. I can’t forgive you. I can’t forget what you did to me. I can’t forget how you left me.”

She turned away from him, her heart shattering with every step. The weight of everything she had carried for so long finally became too much. She had loved him. She still loved him, but the pain of losing him, the betrayal she had felt when he walked away, was too much for her to bear.

“Eiah, wait,” Dion called after her, but she didn’t stop. She couldn’t. Not now. Not when the storm inside her was threatening to tear her apart.

She ran down the pier, her footsteps echoing in the silence, her heart pounding with the force of everything that had been left unsaid between them.

Eiah didn’t look back.

___________________

This is Waves—

where love drowns,

and regret floats.