Chapter 16
864 Words
Friday – 7:12 AM – Dorm Lobby
“Big weekend?” Calix asked, leaning against the column near the lobby exit.
Aira, holding her reusable coffee cup, raised a brow. “Not really. Why?”
“Just wondering if I should make time.”
She smiled. “Why not just say ‘I want to see you’?”
He looked sheepish. “I want to see you.”
Her grin widened.
10:18 AM – Classroom (Lit 213)
Mid-lecture, Aira found herself doodling in the margin of her notebook.
Not hearts. Not flowers.
But small things: a cup of coffee, a broken chain, a loaf of banana bread, a soft rain cloud.
> “It’s strange how healing looks quiet. Sometimes it looks like sitting beside someone who never asks you to be louder than your scars.”
2:32 PM – Library
Calix joined her at the back table. They weren’t even studying the same subject.
“Need help?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Just company.”
He smiled and took the seat beside her.
That was enough.
4:47 PM – Hallway Break
They sat on the tiled floor, backs against the wall.
“I talked to Camille again,” Aira mentioned suddenly.
Calix blinked. “How did it go?”
“She apologized. Said she didn’t know how to handle who I became after everything.”
“Do you forgive her?”
“I think I’m starting to.”
Then she added, “You’re part of the reason I can.”
He didn’t say anything.
Just reached over and squeezed her hand.
Flashback – Aira, 20 Years Old
“Love doesn’t scare me,” she once said. “What scares me is needing it again.”
But now… needing didn’t feel weak.
It felt brave.
Saturday – 11:00 AM – Off-Campus Park Picnic
Calix surprised her with a packed lunch.
“Don’t expect gourmet,” he warned. “Pero I tried.”
Inside: egg salad sandwiches, sweet corn, and a small container of grapes.
“You remembered my favorite,” she whispered.
“Of course.”
They sat on the checkered cloth, sunlight breaking through the trees.
She watched him pour juice into two cups like it was the most normal thing.
But for her—it wasn’t.
It was new. Soft. Real.
2:14 PM – Slight Tension
As they cleaned up, a call came in.
From Aira’s phone.
Name: “Daryl”
She stared at it. Calix did too.
She declined it. Silently.
But the air shifted.
“You still talk?” Calix asked carefully.
“No. He called once. I never saved the number. Maybe he wants to stir things up.”
“You didn’t answer,” he said.
“I didn’t need to,” she replied.
Still, the silence that followed lasted longer than expected.
4:36 PM – Dorm Rooftop (Aira’s POV)
> “Do I owe him constant reassurance?
Or is this just… part of growing close—knowing we’ll get scared, and staying anyway?”
She hugged her knees, waiting for the wind to clear her thoughts.
6:50 PM – Calix’s Room
Knock. Knock.
Aira.
“Can we talk?” she asked.
He let her in.
She didn’t sit. She just stood there.
“Are you mad?”
“No,” Calix replied. “But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel something when I saw his name.”
“I understand.”
Then, quieter, “Do you still want to be here?”
He looked up. “Of course.”
“Even if I still carry echoes of things I didn’t choose?”
He stood, walked over, and said, “I don’t want you without your story. I want the you who’s here, right now.”
8:08 PM – Dorm Balcony
They shared one chair.
She leaned on him.
He placed his chin on top of her head.
Nothing big was said.
But she whispered, “Thank you.”
And he replied, “For what?”
“For staying soft. Even when it’s easier to shut down.”
He didn’t answer. He just stayed.
Flashback – Calix, 21 Years Old
He once promised himself he’d never chase someone who hesitated.
But he realized:
> “There’s a difference between someone unsure of you—and someone learning how to be sure of themselves.”
And he would stay. Not to prove his worth, but to walk beside her as she proved hers.
Sunday – 9:30 AM – Aira’s Room
She sat at her desk, finally writing a poem for her workshop.
Title: Choosing Isn’t Always Loud
Lines like:
> “I didn’t fall in fireworks.
I fell in the way you asked if I was okay
when no one else noticed I wasn’t.”
And:
> “I used to think love meant being saved.
Now I know—it means being seen.
And staying seen even on the days I want to disappear.”
Midnight – Aira’s Journal Entry
> “I’m not afraid of needing anymore.
Because the version of me that’s allowed to need…
is also learning how to give.
Not just love.
But trust.
And calm.
And joy.”
- Writer
