Chapter 14: A Storm Within
432 Words
Thunder rolled in the distance as the night deepened. Tinah stood at her window, arms crossed tightly over her chest, watching the rain beat against the glass. Everything felt louder when your heart was restless—every drop, every gust of wind, every echo of a man’s words that wouldn’t stop playing in your mind.
“I think I might be falling for you anyway.”
She wanted to believe he meant it. She really did. But the scars life had etched into her made belief hard. People always said things in the moment. It was what they did after that revealed the truth.
A soft knock came at her door.
She didn’t answer, but Rowland stepped in anyway.
“Couldn’t sleep either?” he asked, his voice softer than usual.
She didn’t turn. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“But I am.”
Silence fell between them. The storm outside grew louder.
“I meant what I said,” Rowland added. “I didn’t plan on feeling anything for you. But the way you look at me… the way you speak your mind without fear… I haven’t met anyone like you before.”
Tinah finally turned to him, her eyes searching. “I’m not someone you fall for, Rowland. I’m not perfect. I’m scarred. Messy. Difficult.”
“I know,” he said simply. “So am I.”
She stared at him, heart pounding. “This wasn’t supposed to be real.”
He took a step closer. “It wasn’t. But somehow, it is.”
His hand reached out, brushing a strand of hair from her face. She didn’t move. Didn’t flinch. Just watched him, her walls trembling under the weight of his honesty.
“I don’t know what this is yet,” she whispered, “but I’m scared of it.”
“So am I,” he replied. “But maybe we don’t have to figure it out all at once. Maybe… we just stop pretending we feel nothing.”
Tinah’s eyes stung, but she blinked the tears back. Her voice was barely a whisper. “You still haven’t told me what happened in your past.”
Rowland’s expression shifted, a shadow crossing his face. “One day, I will. I promise. But not tonight.”
She nodded. That was enough—for now.
He didn’t kiss her. Didn’t touch her again. Just stood there with her in the storm’s soft glow, two broken people learning how to let someone in.
It was fragile. It was real.
And for the first time, neither of them wanted to run.
- Writer
