071
1277 Words
~ Alice
Two Weeks Later
Two weeks is not a long time.
It’s fourteen days.
Three hundred and thirty-six hours.
Just enough time for the world to pretend nothing dramatic ever happened.
And somehow… that’s exactly what it did.
Prom photos were still circulating. People were already talking about midterms. Life moved forward like my heart hadn’t been cracked open in a hallway under fairy lights.
Iris and I
We were “fine.”
That’s the word everyone used.
Fine.
We texted.
We studied together.
We laughed sometimes.
And at night… she still came over.
Best friends cuddle.
That’s what we called it.
The first time it happened after the breakup, I thought it was a mistake. She knocked on my door around midnight, hair messy, hoodie too big for her frame.
“Can I stay?” she asked.
I didn’t even hesitate.
She lay beside me like she always had. One arm around my waist. My back against her chest. Breathing steady.
Nothing inappropriate.
Nothing romantic.
Just warmth.
It should have felt safe.
Instead, it felt like trying to sleep beside something you once owned but no longer had rights to.
I’d heard she was spending more time with Ky.
Not from gossip.
From her.
“I had lunch with Ky,” she’d say casually.
“Ky helped me with a thing today.”
“Ky thinks you’re avoiding her.”
I never reacted.
I trained myself not to.
Rownan, however, reacted for me.
“She’s bold,” he said one afternoon as we sat on the bleachers. “I respect it.”
“Respect what?” I muttered.
“She’s not hiding.”
That part was true.
Ky wasn’t hiding.
She’d look at me directly in the hallway. Calm. Unapologetic. Not smug. Just… present.
Like she wasn’t the villain in this story.
And maybe she wasn’t.
Maybe none of us were.
That was the worst part.
Two weeks later, it was Friday.
Game night at Rownan’s place.
“Please tell me Iris isn’t coming,” he said casually while setting up cards.
“She is,” I replied.
He paused.
“And Ky?”
“…Probably.”
He sighed dramatically. “This is why I don’t believe in love.”
“You’re literally dating me,” I said dryly.
“Exactly.”
I smacked his arm.
He grinned. “Relax. I’ve got this. I’m emotionally stable.”
“You cry during dog commercials.”
“They’re manipulative.”
When Iris walked in, my breath still hitched.
It always did.
She wore black tonight. Simple. Effortless. Beautiful.
And Ky walked in behind her.
Not touching.
Not holding hands.
But close enough that I noticed.
Ky’s eyes found mine immediately.
Not challenging.
Not guilty.
Just aware.
Rownan clapped loudly. “Okay! Chaos squad, assemble!”
We played cards.
We laughed.
We argued over rules.
At one point, Iris leaned against my shoulder the way she used to when she was bored.
My body reacted before my brain did.
Ky noticed.
I saw it in the way her jaw tightened just slightly.
Interesting.
Later that night, people filtered out.
Rownan disappeared to get drinks.
And suddenly it was just the three of us in the living room.
Again.
Like the universe enjoyed this configuration.
Ky broke the silence.
“She told you I’m traveling, right?”
My eyes flicked to Iris.
“You didn’t,” I said quietly.
Iris looked guilty.
“I was going to.”
“When?” I asked.
Ky answered instead.
“Tomorrow.”
Tomorrow.
That word hit differently.
“For how long?” I asked.
“A few weeks.”
The irony made my chest ache.
Two weeks without clarity.
Now a few more weeks of distance.
“Work?” I asked.
“Yes.”
I nodded.
Silence stretched.
Then Iris spoke softly. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want it to sound like I was choosing anything.”
“You’re allowed to have a life,” I said.
Ky watched me carefully.
“Are we?” she asked.
That wasn’t sarcasm.
It was genuine.
I met her gaze.
“You are.”
Ky nodded once.
“Good.”
Rownan returned with drinks, tension immediately evaporating into awkward jokes.
But something had shifted.
Later, outside on the porch, I found Iris alone.
“You okay?” I asked.
She smiled faintly. “Define okay.”
I leaned against the railing beside her.
The night air was cool.
“She’s leaving tomorrow,” she said quietly.
“I know.”
“She said she loves me again.”
My chest tightened.
“And?” I asked.
“I told her I love her too.”
There it was.
I didn’t flinch.
Progress.
“But,” she added quickly, “I also told her I’m not in a place to make decisions.”
I looked at her profile in the dim light.
“Are you in love with her?” I asked.
She hesitated.
“Yes.”
“Are you in love with me?”
Her answer was immediate.
“Yes.”
That hurt and healed at the same time.
“I don’t want to lose either of you,” she whispered.
“You can’t keep both forever,” I said gently.
She swallowed.
“I know.”
For a moment, we just stood there.
Then she did something reckless.
She reached for my hand.
Not best-friend.
Not casual.
Intentional.
“I miss you,” she said.
“I’m right here.”
“Not like before.”
I looked at our hands.
“We can’t go back,” I said softly.
Her thumb brushed over my knuckles.
“I don’t know how to stop loving you,” she admitted.
My heart stuttered.
“That’s not something you stop,” I said. “It’s something you grow around.”
She turned toward me fully now.
“And what if I don’t want to grow around it?”
Before I could answer..
The front door opened.
Ky stepped out.
She took in the scene instantly.
Our hands.
Our proximity.
Her expression didn’t explode.
It dimmed.
Something quiet and wounded flickered across her face.
“Am I interrupting?” she asked.
The words were calm.
But loaded.
I slowly pulled my hand back.
Iris noticed.
Ky noticed that too.
“No,” Iris said quickly. “We were just talking.”
Ky nodded.
“Good.”
The air thickened.
Then Ky stepped closer.
“I leave at six,” she said to Iris. “I won’t wake you.”
“I’ll be up,” Iris replied.
Ky looked at me.
“You were right,” she said quietly.
“About what?” I asked.
“Some endings don’t need hope attached.”
Then she smiled slightly.
“But some distances do.”
She stepped forward.
And to my surprise..
She hugged me.
Brief. Tight.
Unexpected.
“Take care of her,” she whispered.
Then she pulled back.
“I always do,” I replied.
She nodded once.
Then turned to Iris.
And this time….
She kissed her.
Damn!
Not hidden.
Not rushed.
Not dramatic.
Just real.
I felt it in my ribs.
But I didn’t look away.
When they pulled apart, Iris looked shaken.
Ky rested her forehead briefly against hers.
“I love you,” she murmured.
“I love you too,” Iris replied.
Ouch!
And then Ky stepped back.
“See you in a few weeks.”
She walked inside.
Leaving the night heavy and charged.
Iris didn’t move.
Neither did I.
“ She's always leaving..” she said.
“ She will come back this time. And for long. “ I assured her.
- Writer
