The Distance Between Us
1999 Words
# Chapter 2 — The Distance Between Us
For several seconds after Max said the word *abroad*, Lia didn't move.
She stared at the coffee cup in front of her, watching the small circle of foam slowly disappear.
“At least a year?” she finally asked.
Max nodded.
“That's what they offered.”
“And when would you leave?”
“Six weeks.”
Lia looked at him.
Six weeks.
The words felt strange.
Six weeks sounded like a long time when you said them casually. But now, sitting across from the person she loved, six weeks suddenly felt terrifyingly short.
“Do you want to go?” she asked.
Max looked down at the table.
“Yes.”
The answer hurt.
Not because she didn't understand.
She did.
She knew how important his career was. She knew how hard he had worked to reach this point. She knew this was exactly the kind of opportunity he had talked about before they even met.
Still, hearing him say it made something inside her tighten.
“I thought you might,” she whispered.
“I haven't accepted yet.”
Lia looked up.
“Why not?”
“Because of you.”
She shook her head.
“Max, don't do that.”
“Do what?”
“Don't make me the reason you stay.”
He frowned.
“I didn't say you were the reason.”
“You didn't have to.”
Max leaned back in his chair.
“I just need to know what you think.”
Lia took a slow breath.
“I think you should go.”
He looked surprised.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“But you're upset.”
“Of course I'm upset.”
Her eyes became wet.
“I don't want you to leave.”
Max reached across the table and took her hand.
“Then why are you telling me to go?”
“Because I love you.”
He looked at her silently.
“And because loving someone doesn't mean you should stop them from becoming who they want to be.”
Max squeezed her hand.
“I don't want to become someone without you.”
Lia smiled sadly.
“You won't.”
“You don't know that.”
“No,” she admitted. “I don't.”
She looked toward the window.
“But I know that if you stay because you're afraid of losing me, one day you might wonder what could have happened if you'd gone.”
Max didn't answer.
The café around them continued as normal. Cups clinked against saucers. People talked quietly. A waiter carried plates between tables.
But for Lia and Max, everything felt suspended.
Finally, Max said, “I'm scared.”
Lia looked back at him.
“Me too.”
“What if the distance changes us?”
“It might.”
He swallowed.
“What if you meet someone else?”
Lia's expression softened.
“Then we'd deal with it if it happened.”
“I don't like that answer.”
“I know.”
She smiled weakly.
“But I can't promise you something I can't control.”
Max looked at their hands.
“You always have to be realistic.”
“Someone has to be.”
He laughed quietly.
For a moment, the tension disappeared.
Then Lia leaned closer.
“Just promise me one thing.”
“What?”
“Don't disappear.”
Max looked directly into her eyes.
“I won't.”
---
The following days were complicated.
They tried not to let the upcoming separation dominate their relationship, but it was always there.
Sometimes they talked about it.
Sometimes they deliberately avoided the subject.
They continued their normal routines.
Coffee in the morning.
Dinner together.
Movies on Friday nights.
Soccer on weekends.
But everything felt slightly different.
One evening, they were walking through the city when Max suddenly stopped.
“What?”
Lia looked at him.
“Nothing.”
“You stopped walking.”
“I know.”
“Why?”
He looked around.
“This is the street where we had our first real conversation.”
Lia smiled.
“It was raining.”
“You were complaining about my umbrella.”
“It was too small.”
“You still stayed under it.”
“Because I didn't have one.”
“You could have run.”
She laughed.
“I wasn't going to run away from you.”
The smile on Max's face faded slightly.
“Don't say things like that.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to believe them forever.”
Lia stepped closer.
“You can.”
He pulled her gently into his arms.
They stood there for several minutes.
No promises about forever.
No dramatic declarations.
Just two people holding each other because neither wanted to let go.
---
The weeks passed.
Max began preparing for his move.
There were documents to organize, an apartment to arrange, meetings at work, and countless small things that needed to be done.
Lia helped him whenever she could.
She went shopping with him.
She helped him pack.
She reminded him about things he forgot.
At one point, she found him trying to fit far too many clothes into one suitcase.
“You're doing this wrong.”
“I know what I'm doing.”
“You clearly don't.”
“I've packed before.”
“When?”
“School trips.”
Lia stared at him.
“How old were you?”
“Fourteen.”
She laughed.
“Exactly.”
She took half the clothes out.
“You don't need five jackets.”
“I might.”
“You're going somewhere with normal weather.”
“You don't know that.”
“I checked.”
Max smiled.
“You checked the weather?”
“Of course.”
He walked over and hugged her from behind.
“You're going to miss me.”
“Obviously.”
“I'll miss you too.”
She turned around in his arms.
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
---
One night, they sat on the floor surrounded by half-packed boxes.
Max found an old photograph from before they had met.
It was a picture of him and his friends at a soccer match.
He handed it to Lia.
“You look so young.”
“I was.”
“You look happy.”
“I was.”
She studied the photograph.
“Do you ever think about how many people you meet in your life without realizing one of them might become important?”
“All the time now.”
“What do you mean?”
“If I hadn't gone to that game…”
He stopped.
Lia finished the sentence.
“If I hadn't gone, we wouldn't have met.”
“Exactly.”
She smiled.
“Maybe that's why I don't regret anything.”
“Even the umbrella?”
“Especially the umbrella.”
He laughed.
Then his expression became serious.
“I don't want this to end.”
“It doesn't have to.”
“But things will change.”
“Yes.”
“Maybe we'll have bad days.”
“We already do.”
“Maybe we'll argue.”
“We definitely will.”
“Maybe there will be days when you hate me.”
Lia smiled.
“I've already had those.”
Max laughed.
She rested her head against his shoulder.
“But none of that means we have to give up.”
He kissed her forehead.
“I love you.”
Lia looked at him.
“I love you too.”
It was the first time they had both said it without hesitation.
The words didn't feel dramatic.
They felt natural.
Like something they had known for a long time.
---
The night before Max left, neither of them slept much.
They lay beside each other in silence.
Lia stared at the ceiling.
“Are you awake?”
“Yes.”
“Are you scared?”
“Yes.”
“So am I.”
Max reached for her hand beneath the blanket.
Their fingers intertwined.
“Do you think we're going to be okay?” he asked.
Lia thought about it.
“I think we're going to have to work at it.”
“That's not exactly what I wanted to hear.”
She laughed softly.
“I know.”
Then she turned toward him.
“But I think we're worth the effort.”
Max smiled.
“That I believe.”
They stayed awake until almost sunrise, talking about everything.
Places they wanted to visit.
Things they wanted to accomplish.
The possibility of living together someday.
The kind of home they imagined.
Even the possibility of getting a dog, which led to a twenty-minute argument about what kind of dog they would choose.
“You'd want a huge dog.”
“Of course.”
“I want a small one.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Why?”
“Because small dogs think they're bigger than they are.”
Lia laughed.
“You've clearly thought about this.”
“I have.”
Eventually, the conversation became quieter.
Lia moved closer to him.
“Max?”
“Yeah?”
“Whatever happens…”
He waited.
“Don't forget the night we met.”
He kissed her forehead.
“Never.”
---
The next morning arrived too quickly.
Max's suitcase stood beside the front door.
Lia hated the sight of it.
They had breakfast together, though neither ate much.
Afterward, Max checked his phone.
“The taxi will be here soon.”
Lia nodded.
“Okay.”
She looked around the apartment.
It suddenly seemed smaller than usual.
Every object reminded her of him.
The coffee machine.
The television.
The blanket they always fought over.
The little plant she had bought for him because he kept forgetting to water it.
She walked over and hugged him.
He held her tightly.
“I don't want to let go.”
“Neither do I.”
“But you have to.”
“I know.”
The taxi arrived downstairs.
Neither moved.
Eventually, Max picked up his suitcase.
Lia followed him to the door.
He turned around.
“I'll call you when I arrive.”
“Okay.”
“And I'll message you when I land.”
“Okay.”
“And I'll…”
Lia interrupted him.
“Max.”
“Yeah?”
“Go.”
He smiled sadly.
“Okay.”
He stepped outside.
Lia watched him walk toward the elevator.
Just before the doors closed, he turned around.
Their eyes met.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then the elevator doors closed.
Lia stood there alone.
She had known this moment was coming.
She had prepared for it.
But nothing could have prepared her for the silence afterward.
---
Three hours later, Max was sitting at the airport waiting for his flight.
He looked at his phone.
A message from Lia was waiting.
**Lia:** *I already miss you.*
He smiled.
**Max:** *I'm still in the same country.*
**Lia:** *It doesn't matter.*
He laughed quietly.
Then he typed:
**Max:** *I'll come back.*
She replied:
**Lia:** *I know.*
The announcement for his flight came over the speakers.
Max stood.
Before putting his phone away, he sent one final message.
**Max:** *This isn't goodbye.*
Lia stared at the screen when she received it.
She smiled through her tears.
**Lia:** *No. It's just the beginning of something harder.*
Max read the message and smiled.
She was right.
Their love had begun with something simple.
A soccer game.
A rainy walk.
A shared umbrella.
But now it was entering a completely different chapter.
One where love couldn't depend on being physically close.
One where trust would matter more than ever.
And neither Lia nor Max knew exactly what the distance would bring.
But as Max walked toward the departure gate, he carried one thought with him.
No matter how far away he went, there was someone waiting for him.
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