WHEN THE PAST WALKS IN
849 Words
The next week, something was different.
Jayden felt it the moment he walked into Bean Theory. The energy had shifted—like the room was bracing for something. Leila was already there, but this time she wasn’t alone.
Across from her sat a guy.
Tall. Sharp jawline. His clean white sneakers propped casually on the chair beside him. His body language screamed familiarity—too comfortable, too at ease in a place Jayden knew Leila usually guarded like sacred ground.
Jayden’s stomach tightened.
He almost turned around and left. Almost.
But then Leila’s eyes flicked up and found him.
Something passed over her face—relief, maybe. Or guilt. Or something she didn’t want to name.
She motioned for him to come over.
Jayden forced his legs to move.
“Hey,” Leila greeted softly when he reached them.
“Hey.” His eyes slid briefly to the stranger, then back to her. “New friend?”
The guy’s lips twitched in a smirk. “Old friend.”
Leila fidgeted with her cup. “Jayden, this is Malik. We… we used to be close.”
Malik extended a hand, his bracelets jangling softly. “Used to be?”
Leila ignored the comment. Jayden shook his hand reluctantly, the grip firm but laced with something that felt like a challenge.
Jayden took the seat beside Leila, his usual spot. She relaxed just a little when he did.
“So,” Malik drawled, “you’re the guy she’s been sketching, huh?”
Jayden blinked. “She told you that?”
“Nah,” Malik shrugged. “She’s just bad at hiding things when she cares.”
Leila shot him a warning glance.
Jayden studied Malik carefully now. There was an edge to him—something unfinished, something that didn’t sit right.
“How do you two know each other?” Jayden asked.
Leila sighed, shoulders tensing. “We grew up on the same street. He was like… family. Until he wasn’t.”
Jayden caught the weight in her words.
Until he wasn’t.
Malik’s gaze sharpened. “That’s one way to tell it.”
Leila stiffened. “Don’t start.”
“Start what? I’m just here to check in.” Malik leaned back lazily, but his eyes were anything but casual. “You’ve been hard to find, Leila.”
“On purpose.”
There it was.
Jayden’s pulse quickened, but he stayed quiet, listening.
Malik’s voice lowered. “You don’t get to vanish on people, you know. Not when they’ve—”
“I don’t owe you anything,” Leila cut in, her tone sharp.
The table went quiet, the air tense.
Jayden finally spoke. “Is there a reason you’re here, Malik? Or are you just here to stir things up?”
Malik’s gaze flicked to him, amused. “Relax, bro. I’m not the villain here. Just… unfinished business.”
Leila’s jaw clenched. “Malik and I… we had a complicated thing. He helped me through a lot. But he also—he knew things about me and used them to keep me close.”
Jayden’s chest tightened. “Used them how?”
Malik’s smirk slipped, just a little.
“Sometimes,” Leila continued, her voice brittle, “people don’t let you leave the version of you they’re comfortable with. Malik liked the broken me. The one who didn’t push back.”
Malik’s smile faltered. “That’s not fair.”
“No,” she snapped, “what’s not fair is showing up after months like nothing happened.”
Jayden’s hand found hers under the table, steady, anchoring.
“Why now?” Jayden asked, his voice low.
Malik’s eyes hardened. “Because you’re not the only one who noticed she disappeared. I came back to find her.”
Jayden’s grip on Leila’s hand tightened protectively.
“She’s not lost,” Jayden said. “She’s exactly where she wants to be.”
Malik’s tongue pressed to his cheek, annoyed but masking it with a casual shrug. “We’ll see.”
He stood, sliding his chair back slowly. “I’m staying in the city for a while. Just wanted to say hi. Catch up.”
His gaze lingered on Leila. “You know where to find me.”
And then he left.
Leila’s shoulders collapsed as if she’d been holding her breath the entire time.
Jayden squeezed her hand. “Are you okay?”
“No.” Her voice wobbled, but she didn’t let go. “I thought I’d buried that part of my life.”
Jayden’s thumb traced slow circles over her knuckles. “Do you want to tell me the rest?”
Leila’s eyes shimmered, vulnerable. “One day. Just… not today.”
“Okay.” His voice was soft. Certain. “Whenever you’re ready.”
She gripped his hand tighter. “Thank you. For staying.”
“Always,” he whispered.
But in the back of his mind, Jayden knew Malik wasn’t done.
The past never knocks just once.
And something told him this wasn’t just unfinished business.
It was a storm on the horizon.
One they’d have to face together.
- Writer
