Chapter 3
1366 Words
Isla’s POV
I almost didn’t go.
That was the first thought that crossed my mind when I saw the message from Noelle again.
Sunset. The beach where we first met.
It was only five words.
Five simple words that somehow managed to bring back ten years of memories I had spent trying to bury.
I stared at my phone longer than I should have.
A part of me wanted to ignore her.
A part of me wanted to tell her that she didn’t get to disappear for ten years and suddenly ask for a conversation as if nothing happened.
But another part of me—the part I hated admitting existed—still wanted answers.
I wanted to know why.
Why she left.
Why she never called.
Why she never came back.
Why she made me believe I wasn’t worth staying for.
“Are you really going?”
Amara’s voice pulled me away from my thoughts.
I looked up and saw her leaning against the café counter, watching me carefully.
She didn’t need to ask who the message was from.
She already knew.
“No.”
The answer came out too quickly.
Amara raised an eyebrow.
“Isla.”
“I’m not going.”
“You’re lying.”
I frowned. “I’m not.”
She crossed her arms.
“You always tap your fingers against the counter when you’re nervous.”
I immediately looked down.
My fingers were tapping.
I stopped.
Amara gave me a knowing look.
I sighed.
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”
The truth was, I didn’t.
Ten years ago, I knew exactly what I wanted.
I wanted Noelle.
I wanted a future with her.
I wanted every sunset, every dream, every promise.
But now?
Now I was standing in front of the same person who broke my heart, and I didn’t know if I wanted closure or if I wanted another chance.
Maybe that was the worst part.
She still had the ability to confuse me.
“She owes you an explanation,” Amara said softly.
I looked away.
“What if the explanation hurts more?”
Amara’s expression softened.
“Then at least you won’t spend another ten years wondering.”
I hated that she was right.
Because that was the thing about unanswered questions.
They don’t disappear.
They follow you.
They sit beside you during quiet nights.
They appear when you see something that reminds you of someone.
They become a part of you.
And I was tired of carrying questions that belonged to the past.
So I went.
⸻
The beach looked exactly the same.
That was the first thing I noticed.
The waves still moved gently against the shore.
The wind still carried the same salty air.
The sky still turned into shades of orange and pink when the sun began to disappear.
It was beautiful.
And it hurt.
Because this place held the happiest memories of my life.
And the most painful one.
I stood near the water, staring at the horizon.
This was where Noelle first held my hand.
Where she told me about her dreams.
Where she promised she would always come back.
A promise she broke.
“You came.”
Her voice froze me.
I didn’t turn around immediately.
Because for a second, I wanted to pretend.
Pretend we were still seventeen.
Pretend she was still the girl who loved me.
Pretend nothing ever happened.
But pretending was what got me hurt in the first place.
So I turned around.
Noelle stood a few steps away from me.
She looked nervous.
Good.
For once, she was the one who didn’t know what to say.
“I almost didn’t come.” I admitted.
Her face fell slightly.
“I know.”
I looked at her.
“How?”
“Because I know you.”
The answer surprised me.
After ten years, she still said things like she knew me.
Like she still had the right.
“You don’t know me anymore, Noelle.”
The words came out colder than I intended.
But they were true.
A lot could happen in ten years.
People changed.
People healed.
People learned how to survive without the person they thought they couldn’t live without.
Noelle looked down.
“You’re right.”
For some reason, hearing her agree hurt more.
We stood there quietly.
The same beach.
The same sunset.
Two people who used to know everything about each other.
And now we were strangers.
“I’m sorry.”
I looked at her.
She had said that word before.
But this time, it sounded different.
This time, she sounded broken.
“I don’t want your apology.”
Her eyes met mine.
“I want the truth.”
She nodded slowly.
“I know.”
She took a deep breath.
“I never stopped loving you, Isla.”
My chest tightened.
I hated how easily those words affected me.
“You don’t get to say that.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“I know.”
You don’t get to disappear for ten years and tell me you loved me.”
“I know.”
“You don’t get to leave me wondering if I did something wrong.”
Her expression changed.
And that was the first time I saw something I had never seen before.
Guilt.
Deep, painful guilt.
“You thought you weren’t enough?”
I laughed bitterly.
“What else was I supposed to think?”
Noelle looked away.
And for a moment, she wasn’t the confident girl I remembered.
She looked like someone carrying a weight too heavy to hold.
“I was scared.”
I frowned.
“Scared?”
She nodded.
“Not of leaving you.”
Her voice cracked.
“Scared of what would happen if I stayed.”
I didn’t understand.
“What does that mean?”
Noelle looked at the ocean.
“After my father found out about us..”
My heart stopped.
I hadn’t expected that.
“What?”
She swallowed.
“He told me things would get worse if I didn’t leave.”
The wind suddenly felt colder.
I stared at her.
“Your father knew?”
She nodded.
“He knew about us. He knew about you.”
My hands curled into fists.
“And you left me because of him?”
“No.”
Her answer was immediate.
“I left because I was afraid you would get hurt because of me.”
I shook my head.
“Noelle, you don’t get to decide that alone.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
My voice broke.
“Because you took away my choice.”
She looked at me with tears running down her face.
“I know.”
And there it was.
The sentence I had waited ten years to hear.
Not an excuse.
Not a reason to make herself look better.
Just an acknowledgment that she hurt me.
“I wanted to come back.”
I stayed silent.
“Every year.”
She wiped her tears.
“Every birthday. Every holiday. Every time I saw a sunset, I thought about you.”
I looked away.
Because I believed her.
And I hated myself for believing her.
“Then why didn’t you?”
Noelle was quiet.
Too quiet.
And that silence told me there was something she still wasn’t saying.
“There’s more,” I whispered.
She looked at me.
“Yes.”
My heart sank.
“What else?”
She took a shaky breath.
“The reason I left wasn’t because of my father.”
I waited.
“The night before I disappeared..”
Her voice became softer.
“I found out something that changed everything.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
Noelle looked at me.
And for the first time, I saw fear in her eyes.
“I was told you were the reason everything was falling apart.”
My eyebrows furrowed.
“What are you talking about?”
She looked down.
“Someone lied to me, Isla.”
The sunset disappeared behind the ocean.
And suddenly, I realized something.
Maybe the past wasn’t just painful.
Maybe it was hiding something.
Something that could change everything we thought we knew.
- Writer
