CHAPTER 8: What Still Belongs To Him
1388 Words
Elara didn’t go back to sleep.
Not after that.
Not after seeing him standing there again like he had nowhere else to be.
Like her life, her space, was already his.
She stayed by the window long after he left, arms wrapped around herself, staring at the empty street as if he might reappear the moment she looked away.
But he didn’t.
And somehow, that made it worse.
By morning, exhaustion settled deep into her bones.
But it didn’t quiet her thoughts.
If anything, it made them louder.
More scattered.
More dangerous.
You left with something that belongs to me.
The words replayed over and over again.
She couldn’t shake them.
Couldn’t understand them.
And that was what bothered her the most.
“What does he mean by that?” she whispered to herself.
Her voice sounded strange in the silence.
Unsteady.
She moved around her apartment slowly, like she was seeing it for the first time.
The couch.
The kitchen.
The small shelf near the wall.
Everything looked the same.
But now, everything felt like it could be hiding something.
A memory.
A mistake.
A truth she didn’t want to face.
Her eyes stopped on a small box tucked into the corner of her shelf.
She hadn’t opened it in years.
Not since she moved.
Not since she decided the past didn’t matter anymore.
Her chest tightened.
“No…”
She shouldn’t.
There was no reason to.
But her feet moved anyway.
Slowly.
Reluctantly.
Until she was standing in front of it.
Her fingers hovered over the lid.
Then, she opened it.
Dust.
Old paper.
A few small things she hadn’t thought about in a long time.
Her breath caught.
At the bottom,
A photograph.
Her hand trembled slightly as she picked it up.
It was her.
Younger.
Smiling.
Careless.
And beside her, Adrian.
Her heart skipped.
He looked different.
Less sharp.
Less controlled.
But his eyes, still the same.
Focused on her.
Not the camera.
Not anything else.
Just her.
A strange feeling twisted in her chest.
Not fear.
Something softer.
Something dangerous.
“You look like that when you’re thinking too much.”
Her breath caught.
She turned sharply.
Nothing.
The apartment was empty.
Silent.
But the voice….
It had been clear.
Too clear.
Her chest tightened.
Could it be Adrain??
She thought for a while…
“That’s not real,” she whispered.
But it felt real.
Too real.
Her phone buzzed.
She flinched again.
Unknown number.
Of course.
Her hands weren’t steady as she picked it up.
She didn’t say hello this time.
Neither did he.
Silence.
Then…
“You opened it.”
Her stomach dropped.
Of course, it's Adrain, who else would it be.
“How do you know that?”
Said Elara with a shaking voice.
A pause.
“You always kept it.”
He continued.
Her grip tightened.
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“No,” he said softly.
“It doesn’t.”
Her chest rose and fell unevenly.
“You need to stop this,” she said. “This isn’t normal.”
“It was normal once.”
Her breath caught.
“No,” she said quickly. “It wasn’t.”
Another pause.
Heavy this time, with her heart pounding hard.
“You’re trying to convince yourself of that.”
Her jaw tightened.
“I don’t need convincing.”
“Then why are you looking at that picture like that?”
Her heart slammed.
Her eyes dropped to the photo still in her hand.
“How do you know I’m”
She stopped.
Because she already knew.
Because the answer would be the same.
“I’m paying attention.”
Her chest tightened painfully.
“You’re sick!!!
Elara shouted.
“Maybe.”
That calm agreement again.
That lack of defense.
It made everything feel worse.
“Then stay away from me.”
“You don’t mean that.”
“I do.”
Silence.
Then,
“Look at the back of the picture.”
Her breath caught.
Her eyes flickered down.
She hesitated.
Then slowly she turned it over.
A date.
And something written underneath.
Her handwriting.
Her pulse quickened.
Don’t forget this moment.
Her chest tightened.
“What is this?” she whispered.
“You wrote it.”
“I don’t remember that.”
“I know.”
Her breathing became uneven again.
“Why don’t I remember?”
A pause.
“Because you chose not to.”
Her grip on the phone tightened.
“That’s not how memory works.”
“No?”
His voice dropped slightly.
“Then why do you only remember the parts where you leave?”
Her heart skipped.
“What does that mean?”
Silence.
Then….
“You always leave at the same point.”
A chill ran down her spine.
“What point?”
Another pause.
Longer this time.
Adrain continued.
“Right before you stop needing me.”
Her breath caught sharply.
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“It will.”
“I don’t want it to.”
A quiet exhale.
“You don’t get to decide that either.”
The call ended.
Elara stood there for a long time.
The phone still in her hand.
The picture still in her other
Her thoughts spinning too fast to catch.
Because something about what he said,
It didn’t feel like manipulation.
It felt like truth.
A truth she didn’t understand.
But couldn’t ignore.
Later that evening,
She went back to the cafe.
She didn’t plan to.
But she needed something normal.
Something steady.
Something that wasn’t him.
Mina looked up the moment she walked in.
“You finally decided to exist again.”
Elara managed a small smile.
“Something like that.”
Mina studied her face carefully.
“You look worse.”
“Thanks.”
“I’m serious.”
“I know.”
A pause.
“Did he come back?”
Elara hesitated.
“Yes.”
Mina groaned softly. “Of course he did.”
“And he said something.”
“Something insane, I’m guessing.”
Elara’s gaze dropped slightly.
“Something confusing.”
Mina crossed her arms. “That’s not better.”
“No,” Elara admitted.
“It’s not.”
The cafe was quieter than usual.
Late evening.
Soft lights.
Low voices.
For a moment, it almost felt normal again.
Until the bell above the door rang.
Elara froze.
She didn’t need to look.
She already knew.
But she did anyway.
Adrian stepped inside.
Calm.
Unbothered.
Like he had never left.
Her heart started racing again.
Mina noticed immediately.
“That’s him?”
Elara nodded slowly.
“Okay,” Mina said under her breath. “I officially don’t like him.”
Elara almost laughed.
Almost.
Adrian’s gaze found hers instantly.
Of course it did.
It always did.
And for a second, everything else faded again.
Just like before.
Just like always.
He walked toward her.
Slow.
Unhurried.
Like there was no question about where he belonged.
“Elara.”
Her name sounded different when he said it.
Lower.
Familiar.
Too familiar.
“What do you want?” she asked.
His gaze held hers.
“You came back here.”
“That doesn’t mean anything.”
“It does to me.”
Her chest tightened.
“You don’t get to decide that.”
“I already told you,” he said quietly.
“I don’t need to.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Unavoidable.
Then,
“You found it,” he said.
Her breath caught.
“The picture.”
Her pulse quickened.
“You already knew that.”
“Yes.”
A pause.
“But I wanted to see how you’d react.”
Her jaw tightened.
“I’m not something you observe.”
His gaze softened slightly.
“You always were.”
Her breath faltered.
Not from fear.
From something else.
Something she didn’t want to name.
“You’re remembering,” he said.
She shook her head quickly.
“No.”
“Yes.”
His voice dropped.
“Slowly.”
Her chest tightened.
“I don’t want to remember.”
A pause.
“That’s the only way this ends.”
Her heart skipped.
“Ends how?”
Another pause.
Then—
“You finally understand why you couldn’t stay away.”
Her breath caught.
Because suddenly, that idea didn’t feel impossible anymore.
And that scared her more than anything else.
- Writer
