Walked Away
1190 Words
Clara
“I don’t think happiness is part of the plan anymore.”
And for the first time that morning
Reig stopped smiling.
Not dramatically.
Not in an obvious way.
But something shifted in his expression.
Something quieter.
He leaned back slightly against his chair, studying me carefully like he was trying to understand how I could say something like that so casually.
“That’s a sad way to live.”
I forced a small shrug.
“It’s realistic.”
“No,” he said calmly. “It’s surrender.”
My fingers paused above the keyboard.
There it was.
That irritating thing he kept doing.
Looking directly at the parts of me I tried hardest to ignore.
I laughed softly without humor.
“You make everything sound so easy.”
“It’s not easy.”
“Really?” I looked up finally. “Because from where I’m sitting, your life looks pretty perfect.”
Reig frowned slightly.
“You think my life is perfect?”
“You graduated magna c*m laude,” I started counting bitterly on my fingers. “You became a pilot. You lived in New York. You’re rich. Attractive for absolutely no reason. Your biggest struggle is probably deciding what watch to wear.”
A quiet breath escaped him.
“Rabbit...”
“No seriously,” I continued before he could interrupt. “You have choices. People like you always do.”
His gaze sharpened slightly.
“People like me?”
“Yes.”
“Successful?”
“Certain.”
“That’s what you think I am?”
I stared at him blankly.
Because what else was he supposed to be?
Meanwhile my life looked like a half-finished sketch someone abandoned halfway through.
Reig leaned forward slightly.
“You think I came back because my life in New York suddenly became empty?”
I frowned.
“I don’t know why you came back.”
“I came back because I wanted to.”
“That’s different.”
“How?”
“Because you had the freedom to choose.”
The words came out sharper than I intended.
But they were true.
Reig didn’t understand what it felt like to live your entire life trying to become the version your parents wanted.
To wake up every day already carrying expectations that were never yours to begin with.
“You can’t just tell me to choose myself like it’s easy,” I muttered quietly.
“I didn’t say it was easy.”
“You make it sound easy.”
“Because you keep talking like your life belongs to everyone except you.”
That hit too close.
Immediately my chest tightened.
I looked away quickly.
“You don’t understand.”
“Then help me understand.”
God.
Why did he always say things like that?
Like he genuinely wanted to carry pieces of me too.
It made me angry.
Because I didn’t know what to do with that kind of care.
“You know what the problem is?” I asked quietly.
Reig stayed silent.
Waiting.
“You still see me as that little girl from before.”
His eyebrows frowned slightly.
“The Clara you liked years ago.”
“Rabbit...”
“She’s gone.”
The café suddenly felt smaller.
Too warm.
Too quiet.
“I’m not that person anymore,” I continued. “People change. Time changes people.”
His jaw tightened slightly.
“And maybe that’s what this really is.”
“What?”
“You miss the old me.”
Silence.
Heavy silence.
I laughed softly.
“Maybe seeing me again just brought back old feelings and now you’re confusing nostalgia for love.”
Reig stared at me for so long that I almost looked away first.
Then quietly
“You really believe that?”
“Yes.”
His expression shifted again.
Not angry.
Worse.
Hurt.
“You think I crossed oceans for nostalgia?”
The words landed heavily inside my chest.
But I forced myself to stay firm.
Because if I softened now, I would lose.
And maybe I was already losing.
“You don’t know me anymore, Reig.”
“I’m trying to.”
“That’s the problem.”
My voice came out shakier this time.
Because finally
Finally
I was saying the thing that truly terrified me.
“You make everything harder.”
His eyes stayed on mine.
Steady.
Patient.
That somehow made it worse.
“I already know my life is a mess,” I whispered. “I already know I’m disappointing everyone around me.”
My throat tightened painfully.
“So why are you here making me feel things I can’t even afford right now?”
For the first time since we started talking
Reig looked affected.
Not defensive.
Not upset.
Just quietly devastated.
And suddenly I hated myself for it.
But I kept going anyway.
Because pushing him away felt safer than letting him stay.
“You should stop doing this.”
“Doing what?”
“This.” I gestured weakly between us. “Showing up. Looking at me like that. Acting like”
“Like what?”
“Like I’m still someone worth choosing.”
The moment the words left my mouth, regret followed immediately after.
Because something in Reig’s face softened painfully.
Like hearing me say that genuinely hurt him.
“You really don’t see yourself clearly at all,” he said quietly.
I looked away immediately.
“I think you should forget about me.”
Silence.
Then softer
“Forget the feelings you had before.”
Nothing.
No interruption.
No argument.
So I forced myself to finish it.
“Please stop seeing me.”
The café suddenly became unbearably quiet after that.
Even the sound of cups clinking somewhere behind the counter felt distant.
For a second, I almost expected Reig to fight me on it.
To argue.
To insist.
Because that was what he’d been doing since the reunion.
Staying.
Persisting.
Choosing me anyway.
But instead
Reig simply looked at me quietly.
And nodded once.
“Okay.”
That was it.
Just one word.
No hesitation.
No dramatic reaction.
Just...
Okay.
And somehow
Somehow that hurt more than if he had begged me to stay.
My chest tightened instantly.
Painfully.
Because suddenly the possibility of him actually leaving became real.
The warmth across the table disappeared first.
Then his teasing.
Then his persistence.
And for the first time since seeing him again
I realized I had gotten used to it frighteningly fast.
Reig looked down briefly before standing from his seat.
Calm.
Composed.
Like I hadn’t just cracked something open between us.
“I’ll stop,” he said quietly.
And God.
Why did that sound so final?
I swallowed hard.
Suddenly unable to breathe properly.
This was what I wanted.
Wasn’t it?
Distance.
Space.
An end to whatever dangerous thing was growing between us again.
So why did it feel like something inside me was panicking?
Reig picked up his car keys slowly.
Then finally looked at me one last time.
No smile this time.
Just something unbearably soft in his eyes.
“Take care of yourself, Clara.”
Then he walked away.
- Writer
