Chapter 5 Soft Places to Fall
1450 Words
Eleanor didn’t know why she said yes when Joshua asked to meet again the next morning. Maybe it was the way he made the world feel easier, gentler, like there was still room to breathe even when her chest felt tight. Or maybe it was that she needed something familiar—something that didn’t hurt to look at.
The café smelled of cinnamon and roasted coffee beans when she stepped inside. Sunlight spilled through the large windows, bathing the wooden tables in warm gold. The quiet chatter of a few early customers created a soft backdrop, steady and soothing.
Joshua sat in their usual corner—the one beneath the window with a view of Main Street. He spotted her instantly, his grin brightening.
“There she is,” he said, standing to greet her with open arms. “Eleanor Hayes, back in my favorite booth.”
She shook her head with a small smile. “You’re ridiculous.”
“And yet you keep showing up,” he replied playfully.
There was something comforting about his teasing—something that smoothed the edges of her worry. He gestured for her to sit, and she slid into the booth across from him. The sunlight caught the warmth in his brown eyes, softening his whole expression.
“I ordered your favorite,” Joshua said proudly.
She blinked. “You remember my favorite?”
“Vanilla latte,” he said, pushing the mug toward her. “With cinnamon.”
Eleanor stared down at the drink, the exact tone of brown she’d loved as a teenager. She hadn’t even liked cinnamon before him.
Joshua had introduced her to the blend, swearing it added character. She remembered laughing at that.
She swallowed. “Thank you.”
“Of course.” He leaned back gently, studying her. “How’s your morning been?”
She hesitated. “Complicated.”
“Ah.” He took a sip of his own coffee. “Complicated Gabriel or complicated you?”
Eleanor’s breath hitched. “Joshua…”
“I’m not judging,” he said quickly. “I just want to understand.”
She rubbed her fingers over the mug. “Everything feels… heavier than I expected. Coming back here, being around familiar places. Memories everywhere.”
Joshua nodded slowly. “And then he shows up out of nowhere.”
The silence hung for a moment too long.
Eleanor exhaled. “It’s not that simple.”
“It never is with first love,” Joshua replied, voice softer now. “Especially when it ends messy.”
She flinched slightly. “I don’t want to talk about Gabriel.”
“Okay,” Joshua said gently. “Then we won’t.”
But the unspoken truth sat between them anyway—warm, brittle, raw.
Joshua tapped his fingers on the table. “So, what are your plans today?”
“I… don’t know yet.”
His lips tugged upward in amusement. “You never liked schedules. You always preferred wandering.”
She blinked. “You remember that too?”
“I remember a lot of things, Ellie.”
Her heart tripped over itself.
He watched her for a moment, his gaze warm and full of something she wasn’t quite ready to name. “Being back here… it must be a lot.”
“It is,” she whispered. “More than I thought.”
“You don’t have to deal with it alone,” he said softly.
Her eyes met his—and something quiet curled there. Something steady.
But the moment shattered when the café door opened and someone stepped inside. Eleanor didn’t even have to look to know who it was.
Gabriel.
She felt him before she saw him—like some part of her was still tuned to the sound of his presence.
Joshua’s jaw tightened. The air shifted.
Gabriel approached slowly, each step steady and deliberate. He stopped near their table, standing a few feet away, his expression unreadable but intense.
“Joshua,” Gabriel said with a nod.
“Gabriel,” Joshua returned evenly.
Eleanor felt the tension radiate across the table like heat.
Gabriel’s gaze softened when it landed on her. “Ellie… can we talk?”
Her breath caught. She wasn’t ready for this. She wasn’t ready for him. Not after the river. Not after the truth he had given her like a wound still bleeding.
Joshua leaned forward, voice firm. “She’s busy.”
Gabriel didn’t look away from Eleanor. “I won’t take long.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Joshua snapped. “You can’t just show up whenever you feel like it.”
Eleanor squeezed her eyes shut briefly, then stood slowly. “It’s okay.”
Joshua stiffened. “Ellie—”
“I need to hear what he has to say,” she whispered.
Joshua swallowed hard, hurt flickering across his eyes. “You don’t owe him anything.”
“I know,” she whispered. “But I owe myself something.”
Joshua looked down, his jaw working. “All right,” he murmured. “But don’t let him pull you back where you’ve already healed.”
Her chest tightened painfully.
She stepped out of the booth, her legs unsteady beneath her. Gabriel stepped back, giving her space, his posture careful.
“Let’s go,” she said quietly.
They walked outside, leaving Joshua behind in the dim café light. The morning air hit her first—crisp, cool, steadying. The sky was bright now, clouds drifting lazily as if unaware her entire world felt pressed between two choices she didn’t want to make.
Gabriel led her around the corner to a quieter area beside the oak tree. He paused, uncertain, hands loose at his sides.
“I’m sorry if I interrupted,” he began.
“You did,” she said honestly.
He winced. “I know. I didn’t mean to.”
Eleanor crossed her arms. “What do you want, Gabriel?”
He inhaled sharply. “A chance.”
Her pulse quickened. “A chance for what?
”
“To explain,” he whispered.
“You already did.”
“Not all of it.”
She shook her head. “Gabriel… I can’t do this back-and-forth. One moment I’m okay, and the next I’m drowning in memories I didn’t ask to relive.”
“I’m not trying to hurt you.”
“You are hurting me,” she said quietly. “Because I don’t know what to do with you.”
Gabriel stepped closer, his voice barely above a whisper. “You don’t have to know right now. Just let me be honest with you. Please.”
She looked away.
He waited—patient, quiet, like the boy who used to sit beside her under the stars and listen instead of speak.
Finally, she nodded. “Fine. Talk.”
Gabriel swallowed hard, his voice thickening. “Ellie… I didn’t just leave because of my father. I left because I was falling apart. I didn’t know how to be good for you when I wasn’t good for myself.”
Eleanor’s throat tightened.
“I thought distance would fix the mess inside me,” he continued. “But all it did was make me miss you more. Think about you more. Wonder how you were doing. Wonder if you hated me. Wonder if I had ruined the only good thing I had.”
Her heart cracked open a little.
“Coming back wasn’t easy,” he said. “But I’m here because something in me said it was time to stop running. Time to face this. Time to face you.”
Eleanor shook her head slowly. “You can’t just walk back into my life and expect everything to make sense again.”
“I don’t expect that,” he said softly. “I just want you to know I didn’t leave because I didn’t love you.”
Her breath caught, sharp and painful. “Gabriel…”
He stepped closer—close enough that she could feel the warmth radiating off him. “I left because I did. Too much. And I didn’t want you tangled in my darkness.”
Emotion hit her like a wave. She pressed her fingers against her forehead. “You can’t say things like that now. Not after everything.”
“I’m saying them because they’re true.”
Eleanor looked down, her heart unsteady. “I need space. I need clarity.”
Gabriel nodded. “Then I’ll give you both.”
His voice softened. “But I’m not disappearing this time. Wherever you are… that’s where I want to be.”
And for a moment—just one fragile, complicated moment—the world felt like it held its breath around her.
- Writer
