*Chapter 12: In Daylight*
431 Words
The diner was loud in the good way.
Plates clanking. Music from the 90s. Waitresses who called you "hon."
Lily slid into a booth by the window. Adrian sat across from her.
For the first time in six months, they could see each other in sunlight.
“Coffee?” the waitress asked.
“Two,” Lily said. Then to Adrian: “You still take it black?”
“Yeah.”
Small things. That was what this was about now.
They talked for two hours.
About the new job. About the dog — his name was Milo. About how her sister talks too loud. About his terrible apartment and the leak in the bathroom.
They didn’t talk about Ethan.
They didn’t talk about the house.
Not yet.
When they got up, Lily paid before he could argue.
“I live ten minutes from here,” she said, keys in her hand. “You can follow me. There’s a motel on my street if you need a place.”
He nodded. Didn’t ask to stay with her.
_Slow._
---
The next three days looked like this:
Morning: Coffee at her kitchen table. Milo at their feet.
Afternoon: Walk by the lake. Groceries. Fixing the wobbly chair in her apartment.
Night: She walked him to his motel door at 9pm. Hug. Then she went home.
No 1am knocks.
No pretending.
Just daylight.
On day four, it rained.
Adrian showed up with takeout and two umbrellas.
They ate on her floor because she didn’t own a table yet.
Milo stole a piece of chicken.
“I’m scared,” Lily said suddenly, halfway through.
Adrian set his container down. “Of what?”
“Of messing this up. Of you leaving. Of me wanting too much.”
He reached across and took her hand. First time.
“I’m scared too,” he said. “But I’m more scared of not trying.”
She squeezed back. Didn’t let go.
They watched the rain until it stopped.
---
A month later.
Adrian’s lease was up in his city.
Lily helped him look at apartments on her side of town. Not together. Just... close.
They had rules now:
1. Talk before assuming.
2. No secrets.
3. Home by 10pm unless they both agreed to stay later.
It felt weird. And right.
One Thursday at 1:03am, Adrian woke up.
Habit.
He looked at the ceiling. Then at his phone.
No notification.
He smiled, rolled over, and went back to sleep.
The next morning there was a text from Lily:
*Milo misses you. Pancakes at 9?*
He replied: *On my way.
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