Far Yet Forever

Chapter 11

"The ghosts of our past have a way of knocking when we least expect, forcing us to face what we've been running from."

Aarin POV

I stared at the message she sent, my heart sinking deeper with every word. “We never really know ourselves fully, let alone each other, Aarin.” I read it over and over, trying to make sense of it, but it just made me feel worse each time. It wasn’t rejection, not exactly, but it wasn’t what I had hoped for either. She didn’t feel the same, at least not right now.

A wave of frustration hit me, hot and sudden. I threw my phone onto the bed and paced around the room, trying to get a grip. I was angry, but not at her. I was angry at myself for opening up, for letting my guard down, for hoping that maybe, just maybe, something more could happen between us.

The worst part? She was meeting him. Her ex.

I knew it the second she didn’t respond to my confession. She wasn’t just thinking; she was already making a choice. She was going back to someone who had already hurt her. And here I was, left hanging, drowning in this whirlwind of emotions I didn’t ask for.

I felt stupid. Stupid for caring so much, for falling for someone who clearly wasn’t ready for what I was offering. My mind raced, cycling through jealousy, sadness, and anger so fast I couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began.

I sat down heavily on the edge of my bed, staring blankly at the wall. What was the point of any of this? Why had I even let myself get so invested when I knew there was always the shadow of someone else in her past?

I wanted to text her. No, I wanted to call her and tell her how I really felt. That it wasn’t fair, that I couldn’t stand the idea of her going back to him, that I needed to know if there was even the slightest chance for us. But I didn’t. What good would it do? She was already with him.

The thought of her sitting across from him, talking, laughing maybe, while I sat here drowning in this mess... it hurt. It hurt more than I expected it to.

I clenched my fists, feeling the heat of anger rise up again. Maybe I wasn’t good enough for her. Maybe I was just a distraction, something temporary until she figured out what she really wanted.

A knock on my door snapped me out of my spiral, but I ignored it. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I didn’t want to feel anything right now.

I needed to get out of here, do something, anything to take my mind off her. But no matter how hard I tried, the thought of her sitting with her ex, replaying old memories, filled me with an emptiness I couldn’t escape.

For the first time in a long while, I felt completely lost.

And then, the knock came again.

I ignored it the first time, thinking it was just my imagination or maybe a neighbor. But the second knock was louder, more insistent. I froze, feeling a chill run down my spine. For a moment, I considered not answering. Whoever it was, I didn’t have the energy to deal with them right now.

But something about the knock felt different. Familiar, even.

I hesitated, slowly getting up and walking toward the door, my heart pounding in my chest. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for whatever was waiting on the other side, but I opened it anyway.

And there she stood.

Someone I hadn’t seen in years. Someone I thought I’d left behind.

Someone I had wanted to forget.