Something Begins
693 Words
Morning light filtered through the windows as Ava stepped into the shop. Everything looked the same, yet it felt different. Maybe it was the dream. Maybe it was him. Either way, the familiar silence no longer soothed her.
It hummed. Expectant.
She focused on simple tasks, sweeping the floor, opening the register, arranging the fresh bread delivered from the bakery down the street but her thoughts kept drifting to him. To his voice.
The way he looked at her was like he knew her story, even before she knew his.
Every time the bell stirred above the door, her chest tightened, waiting.
For what, she didn’t dare to name.
The bell chimed.
Her breath caught.
He stood there again.
This time, he didn’t pretend to browse.
He walked straight toward the counter, eyes trained on her as though she were the only thing in the room worth looking at.
“Good morning,” he said.
His voice was calm and warm, but beneath it, something unspoken pulsed recognition, curiosity, wanting.
Ava nodded, fingers tightening around the register.
“Good morning.”
She hated that she sounded breathless.
He studied her face for a moment too long, then asked:
“Are you free after your shift?”
Her lips parted.
“Why?”
“I’d like to talk,” he said simply.
“Somewhere… quieter.”
A flutter tugged at her chest, excitement tangled with unease.
She barely knew him. Yet every part of her felt as if she did.
“I close at five,” she heard herself answer.
He nodded once, like he had expected that.
“I’ll return.”
No hesitation.
No doubt.
Just certainty.
He left with nothing but a promise lingering in the air.
Ava exhaled slowly, pressing a hand to her chest.
Her heart felt too loud.
Xander knew he shouldn’t have asked.
Ethan would call it reckless.
Rowan would call it idiotic.
They’d both be right. He had lived by logic, strategy, and discipline. And yet, none of that had prepared him for Ava Sullivan.
He rode the elevator up to Leon Enterprises, watching his reflection blur in the mirrored walls. For once, he barely recognized himself. A man undone.
Ethan found him later in his office, staring at a blank page.
“You look like someone stole your soul,” Ethan said. “Should I call security?”
Xander didn’t respond.
Ethan took the seat across from him.
“So. Rowan’s digging quietly. We should have something later today.”
Xander nodded.
“You’re serious about this girl,” Ethan said.
Xander didn’t answer, but his silence was enough.
“Just be careful,” Ethan warned. “You don’t do feelings. Not well.”
Xander looked up, voice low.
“This feels like… remembering.”
Ethan blinked.
“Remembering from where?”
Xander had no answer only the unsettling certainty that this moment was not new.
And that terrified him more than anything.
The hours crawled for Ava. She tried distracting herself, reorganizing shelves, wiping already spotless glass, and counting inventory she’d counted yesterday. Nothing worked.
Every car outside made her look up.
Every laugh.
Every shadow.
Every chime of the door.
Her pulse jumped each time.
She hated it. She didn’t know his last name.
Didn’t know his story. Didn’t understand why her heartbeat shifted whenever she thought of him—
Yet here she was, waiting.
Five o’clock came slowly. Ava closed the register with shaking hands, removed her apron, and locked the shop door. She stood on the sidewalk, clutching her bag. For a moment, she thought he might not come.
A sharp ache pricked her chest dangerously close to disappointment.
Then a sleek black car pulled up to the curb.
A familiar figure stepped out. He hadn’t changed clothes, yet he seemed different more deliberate.
More certain.
He stopped in front of her.
“Ava.”
Just her name.
But somehow, it felt like more.
“Ready?” he asked.
She hesitated only for a breath then nodded.
He opened the passenger door for her.
She stepped inside.
The door shut.
Her world shifted.
Nothing would be the same now.
Not after this.
- Writer
