THE SPACE BETWEEN US
388 Words
The Space Between Us
Ava didn’t sleep.She tossed,turned,stared at the ceiling until the sun bled through the curtains.Her mind was a war zone.Every word Ethan said kept replaying.His father.His silence.The so-called protection.
Was that love?Or cowardice?
By 8AM she was dressed and pacing.Her phone buzzed.Mia: “Still on for dinner?”
She replied: “Yes.7PM.”
Then,another message.
This one from an unknown number:“I know you don’t owe me anything.But if you want answers,meet me at Hyde Park.12PM.”
No name.But she knew it was him.
She should delete it.Walk away.But of course,she didn’t.
At exactly 12,she stood under a tree in Hyde Park,arms crossed,heart racing.He showed up two minutes late,holding two coffees.
“You came,”he said.
“You texted.”
He handed her the coffee.She didn’t take it.
He sipped his like he hadn’t shattered her world twice.
“I didn’t tell you everything yesterday.”
Ava narrowed her eyes.“There’s more?”
“There’s always more.”
He paused,watching a couple walk by with a dog.
“After you left,I got involved deeper than I should have.Tried to fix my father’s mess.Tried to make it right.I lost a lot.”
Ava stayed silent.
“I was working with the police.Undercover.They needed someone on the inside.The debt guys were running something bigger.Drugs.Money laundering.My father owed the wrong people.”
Ava blinked.
“You were what?A mole?”
“Yeah.Not officially.Just...useful.”
“And you never thought to say that?”
“They threatened you,Ava.I couldn’t breathe knowing you were at risk.”
Her voice cracked.“You let me hate you.”
“I preferred your hate to your funeral.”
That hit hard.
The wind moved between them.A cyclist rode past,dog barking in the distance.
She looked at him.Really looked.
He was tired.Different.Not the confident man she once loved.This one was heavier,haunted.
And somehow,more real.
She reached for the coffee in his hand.Finally took it.
“I don’t know what to do with all this,”she admitted.
“Neither do I.”
They sat on the bench,not touching,not talking for a long time.
Then she whispered,“I missed you every day.”
He didn’t look at her.“I missed you every second.”
The silence between them wasn’t empty anymore.
It was full of everything they never said.
- Writer
