I'm For You

-9-

As the gallery quieted down, the last few patrons trickled out, leaving behind only the faint echoes of murmured conversations and the soft shuffle of feet on the hardwood floors. Gigi remained where she was, still standing in front of their painting, her eyes tracing the familiar yet distant figures on the canvas. The words, "Forever Entangled" lingered in her mind like an unresolved chord, pulling at her heart.

The room around her grew still, the energy of the evening dissipating as the lights dimmed slightly. She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling the weight of everything, the distance, the fights, the silence, settle over her. She wanted to find Crystal, to tell him what this painting meant to her, to them. But where was he?

And then, as if answering her unspoken question, the door to the gallery opened.

The quiet creak of the hinge broke the stillness, and Gigi's pulse quickened. She didn't turn around right away, a flood of emotions holding her in place. Her fingers lightly brushed the edge of the canvas, as though grounding herself in the moment.

She heard the soft footsteps behind her and knew, even before she looked, that it was him. She could feel his presence, that same gravitational pull she had always felt whenever he was near.

Slowly, Gigi turned, her heart racing.

There he was.

Crystal stood in the doorway, his dark brown curls slightly disheveled, his deep brown eyes scanning the room before finally landing on her. He looked tired, worn out in a way that went beyond the physical exhaustion of the evening. His expression was guarded, uncertain, as if he wasn't sure how to approach her after everything that had happened between them.

For a long moment, they just stared at each other, the space between them filled with all the unspoken words and unresolved feelings that had been building for weeks. The air was thick with tension, but also something else, something softer, something familiar.

Gigi's lips parted, but the words she wanted to say caught in her throat. Instead, she took a small step toward him, her eyes searching his face for any sign of what he was feeling.

Crystal stayed where he was, his gaze shifting from her to the painting behind her. His face softened slightly as he looked at it, as though seeing it through her eyes for the first time. He swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing as he fought to find his voice.

"I didn’t think you'd come..." he said quietly, his voice rough around the edges, betraying the vulnerability he was trying to hide.

Gigi blinked, momentarily caught off guard by how much emotion was packed into that simple statement. She opened her mouth to reply but found herself at a loss. How could she explain that she had been waiting for him, that she had needed to be here, for both of them?

"I didn't know if you'd want me to..." she finally managed, her voice soft, almost tentative.

Crystal let out a long, slow breath, his eyes meeting hers again. "I wanted you here. More than anything."

His admission hung in the air between them, raw and real. It broke something inside of her, something that had been wound too tightly for too long.

Gigi took another step closer, the distance between them shrinking, but still not gone. She glanced back at the painting for a moment, then looked at Crystal again, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

"I saw it.." she whispered, her voice trembling slightly. "The painting. The letter. Crystal…why didn't you tell me sooner?"

He ran a hand through his hair, his jaw clenched, as if struggling to hold back everything he had been feeling. "I didn't know how to." he said, his voice thick with emotion. "Every time I tried to say it, we were already falling apart. I didn't know how to fix it."