Finding Us (Interracial Romance)

Words Like Wounds

Cecilia

It's a Wednesday afternoon and the sky over Griffith Park is blue, crisp as pre-winter slowly rolls in, the soft rustle of wind echoing through the trees. My hands shake as I walk toward the meeting spot—near the old oak tree. I don't want to be here, but somehow, here I am, about to face Jeremy after all these years. Three years. Three years since my world shattered, and he was holding the hammer.

Griffith Park was supposed to be a sanctuary for us once. A place where Jeremy, Sylvia, Noah, Jacqueline, Brock, and I played as kids, running wild with scraped knees and big dreams. Now, it's just a reminder of what was broken, of trust betrayed. My throat tightens as I clutch my phone in my hand, the last message from Jeremy glowing on the screen. "I owe you an apology, Ceci. Please, meet me." Part of me wishes I could delete it, erase everything. But here I am, stupidly agreeing to this meeting, because maybe—just maybe—there's something left to salvage.

I see him before he sees me. His face is drawn, darker circles under his eyes than I remember. Jeremy used to have this youthful, cocky energy, like the world would bend for him. But now... now he just looks tired. And yet, even in this moment, I can't help the bitterness that rises in me. Bitterness mixed with hurt that feels like an open wound that never healed.

I stop a few feet away, not ready to cross the distance between us just yet. "You wanted to talk, so talk," I say, voice sharper than I intend, but there's no softness left for him.

Jeremy turns to face me, and for a second, his expression flickers with something I can't quite place—regret, maybe? "Cecilia, I—"

"Don't." I cut him off, taking a step back. "Don't start with some rehearsed line. Just tell me why you dragged me here."

He rubs the back of his neck, looking away before meeting my eyes again. "I know I fucked up, Ceci. I know I believed the wrong person."

"Yeah," I snap, crossing my arms defensively. "You believed Hannah's lies. You believed her when she said Athena and I came onto her. When she spread rumors that I slept with the casting director to get the role in Voices in the Skyline. And you—" My voice breaks, but I hold on to the anger. It's safer than the pain. "You didn't even ask me. You didn't give me the benefit of the doubt. You just—"

"I was stupid," he cuts in, his voice raw. "I was blind, and I let her manipulate me. But I see it now. I know she—"

"What? You see it now? It took you three fucking years to figure it out?" I throw my hands in the air, disbelief and rage bubbling over. "Me and Athena told you back then, Jeremy. We told you she was lying, but you looked at us like we were some kind of homewreckers." Tears sting my eyes, but I blink them away furiously. "I was your best friend. We grew up together. And you threw us away for her."

Jeremy swallows hard, taking a step closer, but I raise a hand, stopping him. "Ceci, I was an idiot. She... she left me, okay?" His voice cracks, and for a second, I can see the boy I used to know, lost and broken. "Two weeks ago, she left me for my acting coach. Cindy."

I raise an eyebrow, the sarcasm dripping from my words. "Wow. Shocking. Who could've seen that coming?"

"Cecilia, please," he pleads, but the desperation in his voice doesn't move me. Not anymore.

"Now you want sympathy? You want me to feel bad for you?" I shake my head, laughing bitterly. "After everything, you think that's gonna make me forgive you? She didn't just ruin us, Jeremy. You ruined us." I feel the floodgates opening, and there's no stopping the torrent of emotions now. "That was the worst time of my life. I lost you. I lost my great-grandmother a month later." My voice breaks and the tears come despite my best efforts to keep them at bay. "Do you even know what that did to me?"