Unpredictable Connection

32.The Passenger Seat

3rd Person's POV:

For a moment, time stood still—thick, heavy, stretched like a held breath between two hearts too afraid to speak.

Engfa's eyes lingered on Char for just a second longer before she let out a hollow laugh and rolled her eyes, the weight of her own disappointment curling the corners of her lips into a bitter smile.

"Right," she muttered, her voice low, sharp like a blade wrapped in silk. "You're too weak to even speak your heart."

And then she turned.

No hesitation.

Her fingers wrapped around the cold metal handle of the council room door, and she opened it without looking back.

Char stood frozen, the weight of everything crashing down on her at once. The fear of this being the last time she'd see Engfa—of watching someone else take the place beside her—pulled at her chest like a chain. And yet, her fear of love, of betrayal, of repeating her past... that fear had gripped her for so long it almost felt like protection.

Until now.

Until she saw Engfa walk away.

Something inside her snapped.

"Engfa!" she called out, her voice breathless as she started to run.

The corridor was nearly empty. Engfa walked fast—furious and wounded, her pace sharp, her back rigid. She didn't look back. Her heels echoed down the stairs as she descended quickly, not daring to stop.

Char chased her, her legs barely keeping up with the panic rising in her chest. "Engfa, wait—please!"

Engfa moved quicker, ignoring her completely. Her pride was wounded. Her trust—so fragile, so cautiously offered—had been thrown back at her, and now all she could think of was putting distance between them before she let herself feel too much.

Downstairs, a few students looked up from their conversations as the sound of footsteps grew louder. Some raised their brows as Char's desperate voice echoed through the corridor, trailing behind Engfa. But no one intervened. No one stopped to ask why.

The world didn't pause for broken hearts.

By the time Engfa stepped into the college parking lot, dusk had begun to spread across the sky—soft hues of purple and orange stretching like fading promises. The air was cooler, but Engfa's skin burned. She reached into her pocket, clicked her car key, and the familiar beep of unlocking doors echoed into the silence.

But before she could open it, a hand caught her wrist.

"Please," Char gasped, chest heaving. Her breaths were shallow, like she'd just outrun her own fear. "Please... just hear me out."

Engfa froze.

Her fingers tightened around the car handle, but she didn't pull away just yet.

"Hear you out?" she said slowly, turning her head just enough to glance at her. "Like last time? Stand there while you stare at the floor and pretend like none of this matters?" 

She yanked her hand back, her voice sharper now, laced with something cold and distant.

"I regret telling you," she said.

Char's heart stilled.

"I wish I never shared a damn thing. I was a fool to open up to someone I've only known for a few weeks."

Char flinched. The words landed like slaps, harder than either of them expected.

The tears slipped down Char's cheeks anyway.