Before the Storm
707 Words
The knock came just after midnight.
Soft. Hesitant. As if the one behind the door feared the sound might shatter the quiet peace he’d built for himself.
Liam froze, coffee mug in hand, its warmth forgotten against his skin. No one ever came here. Not anymore. Not since he moved far enough from the city, far enough from her.
But when he opened the door, he saw the one face he’d spent years trying to forget.
Sofia.
Barefoot. Pale. Drenched in rain. Her lips trembled, and her eyes — once the safest place he'd ever known — were now wild with something close to panic. Or maybe regret.
Blood stained the side of her face, trailing from a cut just beneath her brow. Her dress was torn at the shoulder, clinging to her like it had survived something brutal.
Liam’s breath caught in his throat. A hundred memories crashed into him all at once — her laugh in the summer air, her voice whispering secrets at 2 a.m., the way her hand used to find his without needing to ask.
The same hand that let go when she chose someone else.
Her lips parted.
"Help me," she whispered.
And then she collapsed into his arms.
The rain hadn’t stopped since she arrived.
Liam sat on the edge of the couch, elbows resting on his knees, eyes never leaving the hallway where she lay in his bed. Wrapped in an old quilt, unconscious, breathing shallow but steady.
He hadn’t called the police.
He should have.
But he didn’t.
Instead, he sat there like a fool, heart hammering like the past ten years hadn’t passed, like she hadn’t broken him with three words: I’m marrying Matteo.
[FLASHBACK – 8 Years Ago]
“Promise me something,” Sofia said, legs swinging over the dock, feet dipping into the lake. The sun was setting behind her, casting gold in her dark hair.
Liam leaned back on his elbows, stealing a glance. “Depends.”
“Promise me we’ll still talk, no matter what happens.”
He smirked. “You say that like we’re not going to end up together anyway.”
She laughed — that laugh. That cruel, beautiful laugh. “You think you know everything.”
“I know I love you,” he said, quieter now. “That’s not changing.”
Her smile faltered. “Even if I choose someone else?”
The silence stretched too long before he answered.
“Yeah,” he said. “Even then.”
[PRESENT]
A low groan snapped him back.
She stirred, turning her head on the pillow. Her brow was furrowed like she was stuck between sleep and a nightmare.
Liam stood immediately.
He didn’t touch her — couldn’t.
Not after everything.
But God, he wanted to.
She looked thinner. Fragile. Like something had hollowed her out and left only a shell. The blood on her face had dried, cracked against her cheek. He’d cleaned what he could, hands shaking the entire time.
What the hell had she gotten herself into?
What did he get away from?
[FLASHBACK – 6 Years Ago]
He didn’t go to the wedding.
He got the invitation. Handwritten. White and gold.
He read it once and ripped it in half. Then into quarters. Then into dust.
The next time he saw her, it was accidental. Grocery store. Her hand on the arm of a man in uniform. Smiling. Perfect on the outside.
He ducked out before she could see him. Before his heart could do something stupid like hope.
[PRESENT]
A sharp breath — she was awake.
“Liam…” her voice was hoarse, like her throat had been screaming for days. “Where… am I?”
He stepped into the room. “My place. You came to my door.”
She blinked at the ceiling, then slowly looked at him. For a moment, the weight of years disappeared — and they were just two people on a dock again.
“I didn’t know where else to go,” she whispered. Her eyes glistened. “He was going to kill me.”
Liam felt something break inside.
Not his heart — that had shattered long ago.
But whatever wall he built around it?
That was cracking fast.
- Writer
