When He Let Her In
226 Words
CHAPTER 20: When He Let Her In
It was almost midnight when Lena wandered upstairs, drawn by the faint sound of footsteps above. She found Jay on the rooftop, standing still under the pale light of the moon. The city stretched beneath him, quiet and vast, like a memory too large to hold.
He didn’t turn when she stepped closer. He didn’t have to.
“You don’t sleep much,” she said softly, her arms wrapped around herself to fight the chill.
Jay’s voice was low. “Sleep’s for people who don’t remember things.”
Lena moved beside him, not touching, but close. “And what do you remember?”
Jay’s jaw tensed. “Too much. Not enough.”
For a while, they said nothing. The wind whispered between them, brushing her hair across her face. Jay reached out slowly, tucking the strand behind her ear, his fingers grazing her skin like a secret he couldn’t voice.
“You don’t have to carry it alone,” she whispered.
He looked at her—really looked. “Don’t offer yourself to someone like me, Lena. You’ll lose yourself.”
“Maybe I want to be lost... if it’s with you.”
And then—finally—he pulled her into his arms. No words. No kisses. Just the raw ache of two people trying not to break.
- Writer
