CHAPTER 13
1315 Words
GHOST AT THE GYM**
Jane zipped up the last of her suitcases and dragged them toward the door, her ponytail bouncing as she moved. "Finally," she said with a grin. "If I stayed one more night with that prick Fredy, I'd have lost my mind."
Amara let out a soft laugh as she arranged the kitchen towels on the rack. Her movements were slower these days, not lazy—just heavy, as though her heart weighed more than her body could carry.
"Well, you're officially stuck with me now," Jane teased, flopping onto the couch. "A heartbreak support system that comes with great snacks and savage advice."
Amara smiled faintly. "Thanks for coming."
"I wouldn't be anywhere else."
The two had grown inseparable over the past week. Jane's presence brought something steady. Familiar. Needed. The kind of grounding Amara didn't know she'd missed.
Later that evening, both girls dressed in silence, readying themselves for the gym.
Jane wore black biker shorts with a neon orange sports bra, her cropped jacket tied around her waist. Her hair was braided up into a high puff, and she slid her AirPods in as she grabbed a water bottle.
Amara, on the other hand, wore deep wine-red leggings and a fitted black tank top with mesh cutouts on the sides. Her hair was up in a messy bun, with a few strands framing her face. She threw a hoodie over it, more for hiding than for warmth.
They arrived at the gym just before 5 PM. It was crowded, filled with the usual evening warriors. Music thumped in the background, dumbbells clanked, and treadmills hummed with the beat.
Amara had just finished stretching when her eyes caught a familiar figure near the cable machine.
Kai.
He wore dark joggers and a charcoal tank top that hugged his torso, veins visible down his forearms. His head turned slowly—and his eyes locked on her.
Her heart faltered. She quickly looked away.
"Ama," he called, his voice deeper, quieter. Her name dropped from his lips like a memory.
Jane glanced at Amara, eyebrow raised.
"Keep walking," Amara said through her teeth, her gaze fixed ahead.
Kai took a step forward.
"Ama, wait. Please."
She didn't.
But before she could make it past the elliptical section, she felt his hand wrap gently around her wrist.
Her body tensed.
"Let go," she said coldly, not even turning to face him.
"Just listen—"
"No," she snapped, spinning to face him now. "You don't get to just show up and act like nothing happened."
The gym noise faded into the background as their eyes met, tension crackling between them.
Kai's voice was low, almost pleading. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I swear I didn't."
Amara's jaw clenched. "Then why did you leave me like that? After everything?"
Kai looked down, his hand still gently on her wrist. His lips parted slightly—like he wanted to say something. But he didn't. His throat bobbed with a swallow.
"I had to settle something … I can't explain it," he muttered.
"You had to settle something more important than what we shared?" Her voice was firm, eyes burning. "You ran. You left me alone. And you expect what? That I'll smile at you and you'll just show up like always?"
Kai hesitated, a shadow flitting across his expression. He opened his mouth again—then stopped.
His silence screamed louder than any confession.
Amara yanked her hand free. "Your in sane."
Jane walked up behind her, arms folded across her chest.
"Time to go?" she asked, not even sparing Kai a glance.
Amara nodded and walked past him, her shoulder brushing his arm slightly. Jane followed, but not without tossing Kai a long, unreadable smirk. Like she knew something and was happy at whatever going on.
Kai stood there, pulse hammering in his ears, breath shaky.
---
That night, Kai sat on his balcony, legs propped on the rail, a bottle of untouched beer by his side. The city shimmered below, indifferent and alive.
He'd tried. Tried texting. Calling. Apologizing.
All shut down.
Jane was living with her now. She never answered the door alone anymore.
And when she did? Her expression held no trace of what they shared.
But Kai couldn't stop.
Because he couldn't stop seeing her face beneath him. The way she whispered his name. The way she trembled, open and soft, like she'd finally let him in.
She hadn't just given him her body.
She had let him into something far more dangerous—her heart.
And he broke it. What was wrong with him?
He thought.
He gripped the railing, knuckles pale.
She was slipping from his hands, and it scared him. Not just fear—panic.
He was losing the one thing that ever made him feel… seen finally.
And the truth?
He'd do anything to get her back.
Even if it meant becoming something else entirely.
Even if it meant risking her hating him more before she could love him again.
His mind flashed to the smirk Jane had given him earlier. The way she stood beside Amara was like a guard dog.
He didn't trust her. He never had.
But now wasn't the time for that.
Now was the time to fight.
Even if it broke him.
Even if it scared her.
Because the silence in Amara's eyes hurt more than any slap could.
And he wasn't done.
Not even close.
---
One More Try
Three days later, Kai tried again.
He waited outside the studio where Amara had her elective classes. He stood by the exit, hoodie pulled low, hands tucked into his pockets. When she finally walked out—with Jane, of course—he straightened.
Amara froze when she saw him.
Kai took a cautious step forward.
"Ama… please," he said softly. "Just five minutes."
Jane stepped in front of her protectively. "She doesn't need to hear anything from you."
"I'm not talking to you."
"Well, I'm talking to you," Jane snapped. "And I'm saying step away."
Amara placed a hand on Jane's arm, calming her. "It's okay."
She stepped forward. "Five minutes."
Jane reluctantly stepped aside, eyes narrowed.
Kai pulled her gently toward a quieter corner of the hallway.
"I'm sorry," he started. "I know I've said that already. But it doesn't change what I did."
Amara crossed her arms. "So why are you here again?"
His voice cracked slightly. "Because I don't know how to stop missing you. Even when I try. I go to work. I come home. I open the fridge and expect to hear your voice. I walk past your room—and forget you're gone."
Amara looked down.
"I don't know how to make it right," he said. "But I'd do anything. Anything, Ama, to fix this. Even if you hate me first."
The desperation in his voice wasn't loud—but it echoed.
It wasn't just love.
It was an obsession.
That terrified her.
"Kai…" she began, but her throat was tight. "You left me. Like I meant nothing. That's not something flowers or apologies fix."
"I know." He stepped closer. "But I'd burn my pride. I'd swallow my shame. I'd take every door you slam in my face, every insult, every silence—if it meant I'd get a second chance to matter to you again."
There was something unhinged in his sincerity. Something that made Amara's chest tighten.
She stepped back. "Don't wait for me, Kai. You might not like who I become after this."
He gave a half-smile. "Then I'll love her too."
Jane appeared instantly, as though on cue.
"Let's go, Ama."
Amara nodded.
She turned, walking away—again.
And Kai stood there, hands trembling, as the girl he'd destroy himself to protect kept slipping further out of reach.
But he wasn't done.
He couldn't be.
Not yet.
Not ever.
- Writer
