Still Us

Uncovering The Past

The seminar leader’s voice faded into the background as Maya struggled to steady her breathing. She kept her gaze fixed on the notepad in front of her, pen in hand, pretending to take notes. But she wasn’t listening. Not really.

How could she, when Ethan was sitting just a few feet away?

He hadn’t tried to speak to her yet, but she could feel his presence like a storm cloud hanging over her. Every fiber of her being told her to run—to escape before she had to hear his voice, before she had to look him in the eye again. But she wasn’t that girl anymore. The one who let her emotions dictate her actions.

No, she was here to heal. And she refused to let Ethan take that away from her.

“Now,” the facilitator’s voice pulled her back to the present. “We’re going to start with a small exercise. I want each of you to turn to the person next to you and share, in a few words, what brought you here.”

Maya’s stomach twisted.

No.

Please, no.

Slowly, as if the universe was playing some cruel joke, she turned her head—to find Ethan already looking at her.

Their eyes met again, and this time, she couldn’t look away fast enough. His expression was unreadable, but there was something there—something that made her chest tighten.

Regret.

Of course, it would be him. Of all the people in this room, fate had paired her with the one person she wasn’t ready to face.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. The sounds of murmured conversations filled the space around them, but all Maya could hear was the blood rushing in her ears.

Ethan cleared his throat. “Maya…”

Her spine stiffened at the way he said her name. Soft, careful. As if he were afraid she might shatter at the sound of it.

“We don’t have to do this,” he added, voice low. “If you’d rather switch partners—”

“No,” she cut in, surprising herself.

His brows lifted slightly.

“I mean…” She swallowed. “It’s fine. Let’s just get this over with.”

She hated how defensive she sounded, how her voice wavered just slightly. But if Ethan noticed, he didn’t call her out on it. Instead, he exhaled and nodded.

“Okay,” he said. “I’ll go first.”

Maya clenched her fists in her lap, bracing herself.

“I came here,” Ethan began, his voice steady but quiet, “because I needed to face something I should have dealt with a long time ago. I let fear control me. I hurt someone I never meant to hurt. And I’ve spent every day since wishing I had done things differently.”

The weight of his words hung between them like a heavy curtain.

Maya sucked in a slow breath.

He wasn’t looking at her anymore. His gaze had dropped to his hands, fingers intertwined tightly. He looked… remorseful. Older, in a way. Worn down by whatever guilt he had been carrying all these years.

It didn’t make the pain go away. But it made her wonder.

Maybe she wasn’t the only one who had suffered.

“Your turn,” he said, glancing up at her.

Maya hesitated. Her mind screamed at her to be vague, to keep her walls up. But something in Ethan’s expression—some quiet vulnerability she had never seen before—made her falter.

“I came here to move on,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. “To finally let go of the past.”

Ethan’s jaw tensed slightly, and for a fleeting second, she thought she saw something flicker across his face. Pain? Regret? But before she could place it, the seminar leader spoke up again, moving them on to the next activity.

Maya let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding.

She wasn’t sure what had just happened between them. But one thing was certain—

The past wasn’t as buried as she thought.

---

The session continued, but Maya barely absorbed any of it. Her thoughts spun, circling back to Ethan’s words. He had admitted to hurting someone—her. That much was clear. But his words carried weight, a depth she hadn’t expected. He wasn’t just here for general self-improvement. He was here because of what happened between them.

The idea unsettled her.

“Maya?”

She looked up, startled to find the facilitator watching her expectantly. Around her, the other participants had turned toward their new task. Heat crept up her neck. She had no idea what had just been asked.

“I—”

“You’ll be working in small groups for this next exercise,” the facilitator said, thankfully sparing her from embarrassment. “We’re focusing on the power of honesty. Each of you will write down a personal truth you’ve never spoken aloud, something that has weighed on you. You don’t have to share it, but the act of writing it down is a step toward release.”

A murmur of agreement rippled through the group as papers and pens were passed around. Maya took hers with hesitant fingers.

A personal truth she had never spoken aloud.

Her chest tightened as a million thoughts surfaced, but one stood out.

She hadn’t moved on. Not really.

She stared at the blank paper, the words sitting heavy on the tip of her tongue. A confession she wasn’t ready to admit—not to herself, and definitely not to Ethan.

Across from her, Ethan tapped his pen against the page, lost in thought. What would he write?

Maya shook her head, exhaling slowly. It didn’t matter. Whatever truth he held, it wouldn’t change what had already been broken.

Would it?