The Truth Between Us

Chapter 2: Six Years Later

Alina’s POV

The next morning, I woke up to three missed calls from Talia. I stared at my phone, still half-asleep, before opening her messages.

Talia: Are you awake?

Another message appeared before I could respond.

Talia: Actually, don’t answer that. I’m coming.

I smiled.

Six years away, and somehow Talia had not changed at all.

I dragged myself out of bed and got ready, choosing something simple because I had no intention of doing anything important today. I had already decided I was not going to the Prescott estate. Not today. Maybe not tomorrow either. My mother had asked me to come home, and I had promised I would see her soon. That was enough for now. I was still trying to convince myself that returning to Westbridge was just a temporary interruption in the life I had built elsewhere. I had not come back to revisit my childhood, reconnect with old friends, or dig through memories I had spent years avoiding. I had come because my mother needed me.

That was it. At least, that was the story I was sticking with. The doorbell rang before I had even finished my coffee. I opened the door and barely had time to react before Talia threw her arms around me.

“You’re actually here.”

I laughed, hugging her back.

“You sound surprised.”

“I am surprised. I genuinely thought you were going to cancel.”

“I said I was coming.”

“You’ve said that for six years.”

I pulled back and looked at her.

She had changed, but not enough to make me feel like I was meeting a stranger. Her dark curls were longer, and there were a few subtle differences in the way she carried herself, but her eyes were still the same warm brown ones I remembered.

“You look good,” she said.

“So do you.”

“I know.”

I laughed. “You haven’t changed.”

“Neither have you.”

That made me pause.

I wasn’t sure whether she meant it as a compliment.

Talia walked inside without waiting for an invitation and looked around the apartment.

“You actually got a place.”

“Yes.”

“And you didn’t tell me where.”

“You knew I was getting an apartment.”

“I knew you were getting one. I didn’t know you were going to disappear into it like some mysterious woman hiding from society.”

“I’ve been here less than twenty-four hours.”

“Exactly. And already you’re hiding.”

I shook my head.

She dropped her bag onto the couch and turned toward me.

“So.”

I immediately knew that tone.

“So what?”

“Why are you really back?”

I picked up my coffee.

“My mother.”

Talia stared at me. I stared back.

She waited. I took a sip.

She continued staring.

“What?”

“That answer was too fast.”

“Because it’s the truth.”

“Is it?”

“Yes.”

She folded her arms. “Alina.”

“Talia.”

“Don’t Talia me.”

“I’m not.”

“You absolutely are.”

I laughed and walked toward the kitchen.

She followed.

“My mom called me,” I said. “She said she needed me. Things aren’t going well at home, and she wanted someone she trusted around.”

“And?”

“And I came.”

“That sounds reasonable.”

“It is.”

“Except…”

I looked at her.

She raised an eyebrow.

“You don’t do anything without thinking it through.”

“That is not true.”

“It is very true.”

“I came because my mother needed me.”

“Okay.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Why did you say that like that?”

“Like what?”

“Like you don’t believe me.”

“I believe that your mother is part of the reason you’re here.”

“Part of?”

She smiled. There it was. The Talia smile. The one that always meant she had already formed an opinion and was waiting for me to admit she was right.

I sighed. “You haven’t even been here for ten minutes.”

“And I’ve already figured out you’re lying.”

“I’m not lying.”

“Fine. You’re not lying. You’re just leaving out several important details.”

I shook my head and poured her a cup of coffee. She took it from me.

“Thank you.”

“You’re annoying.”

“You missed me.”

I looked at her. She smiled. I couldn’t argue with that. We spent the next few hours talking about everything and nothing. She told me about her work, the people we used to know, the places that had changed, and the ones that somehow looked exactly the same. She complained about Westbridge traffic, laughed about old university stories, and reminded me of things I had completely forgotten. For the first time since returning, I relaxed. It was strange how easy it was with her. I didn’t have to explain every silence or pretend to be someone I wasn’t. Talia knew the old me. More importantly, she knew why the old me had disappeared. She never asked me to explain it. Not once.

Eventually, we left the apartment and walked around Westbridge. I had expected the city to feel heavier in daylight, but with Talia beside me, it almost felt normal. Almost. We stopped at a café we used to visit during university. The moment we walked inside, Talia looked at me.

“You remember this place?”

“Of course.”

“You used to order the same thing every time.”

“I had good taste.”

“You had boring taste.”

“You’re the one who used to steal half of my food.”

“Because you always ordered too much.”

“That is not why.”

“It is exactly why.”

I laughed.

We took a table near the window, and for a while, we simply talked. Then Talia’s expression changed.

“You’ve really thought about coming back, haven’t you?”

I looked down at my drink.

“Not really.”

“That’s another lie.”

I sighed.

“I thought about it sometimes.”

“Six years is a long time.”

“I know.”

“Were you ever planning to come back?”

“I don’t know.”

She studied me quietly.

“Do you regret leaving?”

The question caught me off guard.

I looked out the window.

“No.”

It was the easiest answer.

The honest one was harder.

“I don’t regret leaving,” I said again. “I just didn’t expect it to become permanent.”

Talia nodded slowly.

“I understand.”

“I needed the distance.”

“I know.”

“And I needed to become someone outside of all this.”

Her eyes softened.

“I know that too.”

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Then she said, “But you’re here now.”

“Yes.”

“And you know what that means.”

I looked at her.

“It means my mother gets to complain that I don’t visit enough.”

Talia laughed.

“No. It means you’re finally going to have to stop pretending you don’t remember anything.”

My smile disappeared slightly.

“Talia.”

“I didn’t say you have to tell me anything. I’m just saying you can’t erase six years by moving back into the same city.”

“I know.”

“And you’re going to see them.”

I knew exactly who she meant.

“I haven’t even seen my parents yet.”

“Your parents aren’t the only people you’re avoiding.”

I looked at her. She held my gaze.

“Asher is not part of my life anymore.”

“I didn’t say he was.”

“You were thinking it.”

“I was absolutely thinking it.”

I groaned. She laughed.

“I knew this was going to happen.”

“What?”

“You’re going to spend the next few weeks telling yourself you’re here because of your mother while secretly wondering whether he’s still the same.”

“I am not wondering that.”

“You’re wondering right now.”

“No, I’m not.”

She leaned back in her chair, looking entirely too pleased with herself.

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

“Then if you see him, you’ll walk away.”

“Obviously.”

“And you won’t care.”

“I won’t.”

“And you definitely won’t think about what he might say to you.”

“I won’t.”

“And you won’t wonder if he ever…”

“Talia.”

She stopped.

I stared at her.

She smiled innocently.

“Okay. I’m done.”

“You’re impossible.”

“You love me.”

“Unfortunately.”

We both laughed.

Later that afternoon, we walked through a small park near the university. The sun was beginning to set, and people were slowly leaving. Talia bumped her shoulder against mine.

“You know you can stay with me whenever you want.”

“I know.”

“You don’t have to hide in that apartment.”

“I’m not hiding.”

“You’re avoiding.”

“There’s a difference.”

“Barely.”

I smiled.

She was right, but I wasn’t going to tell her that. When we finally returned to my apartment, she stood by the door and looked at me.

“You’ll go see your mum?”

“Soon.”

“Alina.”

“I will.”

“When?”

“I don’t know.”

She gave me a suspicious look.

“Tomorrow?”

“Maybe.”

“That means no.”

“It means maybe.”

She laughed.

“Fine. I’ll let you breathe.”

She hugged me before leaving.

At the door, she turned around.

“And Alina?”

“Yes?”

“Whatever reason you came back for, you don’t have to figure everything out at once.”

I nodded.

“I know.”

She smiled before walking away. I closed the door and leaned against it. The apartment was quiet again. But it didn’t feel as lonely as it had the night before. Talia had brought something back with her that I hadn’t realized I’d missed. A piece of the person I used to be. I walked toward the window and looked out at Westbridge. My mother needed me. That was why I had returned. At least, that was what I kept telling myself.

But somewhere beneath that explanation was a truth I wasn’t ready to examine. Coming back meant more than seeing my mother. More than helping my family. More than settling into an apartment. It meant eventually facing the life I had walked away from. And six years later, I wasn’t sure I was ready for what might still be waiting for me there.