The Absence Between Us
809 Words
Alina stopped checking her phone after the fifth day.
There were no more messages.
No visits.
No bookshop moments.
Just... silence.
It filled every corner of her life — her walks to class, her shifts at the bookstore, even her dreams. Adrian had slipped away like smoke, leaving behind nothing but memories that echoed louder in his absence.
She told herself not to overthink it.
He said he needed space.
Maybe he was dealing with something heavy.
But deep down, her heart kept whispering the one fear she didn’t want to say out loud:
Maybe he didn’t come back because I got too close.
And that thought haunted her.
---
Mia noticed.
“You’ve been weird lately,” she said one afternoon as they walked back from class. “And not your usual book-girl weird. I mean like… sad weird.”
Alina offered a weak smile. “Just tired.”
Mia studied her for a second. “This about Adrian?”
Alina paused mid-step.
Mia’s voice softened. “You think I didn’t notice the way he looked at you? The way you smiled after he left the bookstore that night? Something changed.”
Alina looked away. “It doesn’t matter now. He’s gone.”
Mia touched her shoulder gently. “If he comes back, are you going to let him walk in and out again like you’re a hallway?”
The words hit like a punch — because they were true.
Alina had spent so much of her life being the quiet girl, the safe girl, the girl people leaned on but never chose. And when Adrian had finally seen her… really seen her… she thought maybe she’d finally be more than a side note in someone else’s story.
But now? She wasn’t sure she was even in his anymore.
---
On the seventh night, she couldn’t sleep.
The rain was soft, steady. It reminded her too much of him.
She got up, pulled on a sweater, and walked.
She didn’t know where she was going — until she was standing in front of his house.
The lights were off, the curtains drawn.
She didn’t knock.
Didn’t ring.
She just stood there, staring up at the second-story window, wondering if he was behind it, awake like her, missing her like she missed him.
Then, footsteps.
Not his.
Someone walking their dog across the street.
She startled, turned, and started walking away — fast.
What was she even doing?
This wasn’t a movie. This wasn’t a love story. This was her being stupid, and soft, and heartbreakingly human.
---
The next morning, there was a knock at the bookstore door.
Before hours.
She thought it was the delivery guy.
She opened it half-asleep, hair in a messy bun, sweater slipping off her shoulder.
It was Adrian.
Looking like he hadn’t slept in days.
“Hey,” he said, voice hoarse.
She froze.
For a second, she didn’t know whether to hug him or close the door in his face.
But then she saw the look in his eyes — the same look he wore the night he said, “You feel like peace.”
She stepped aside.
He walked in.
They stood in silence, the door slowly closing behind them.
Finally, she whispered, “You left.”
He nodded. “I know.”
“Why?”
He looked down. “Because I was scared.”
Her throat tightened.
“Of what?” she asked.
“Of how much I need you.”
Silence.
“I’ve never let anyone see the parts of me I showed you,” he continued, voice shaking. “And when I did… it was like I couldn’t breathe. Like if I let myself fall for you, I’d break the rest of the way.”
Tears stung her eyes.
“So you left instead?”
“I thought I was protecting you.”
She looked away. “You weren’t. You were protecting yourself.”
He stepped closer. “I know. And I was wrong.”
She didn’t move.
Didn’t speak.
He took another step.
“I don’t want to run anymore,” he said. “Not from you. Not from what I feel.”
Alina’s heart slammed against her chest.
“You hurt me,” she whispered.
“I know,” he said again, more quietly. “And I’ll spend as long as it takes proving I can do better — if you’ll let me.”
She looked up at him then, really looked.
He wasn’t perfect.
He was a mess of contradictions — vulnerable and distant, soft and scared.
But he was here.
Finally.
And maybe that was enough to begin again.
“I’m not asking for promises,” she said softly. “But if you come back… mean it.”
He nodded.
And this time, when he reached for her hand, she didn’t pull away.
- Writer
