Anomaly; Stranded The Series (bxb)

Chapter 19: Resolution

Eli stood at the edge of his balcony, the cool night air brushing against his face, carrying with it the faint scent of saltwater. He'd never quite gotten over the way the smell of the ocean haunted him now, no matter how far from the shore he seemed to be. Everything reminded him of the island. The crash, the isolation, the terror. But more than anything, it reminded him of Jonah.

He inhaled deeply, trying to steady himself. Tonight was the night. The night he'd finally stop hiding, finally make the choice he'd been running from since the moment they were rescued. It wasn't going to be easy—hell, it felt impossible—but Eli had spent too long letting fear control his life. The fear of being seen, of being known. The fear of losing everything if people found out the truth.

But what terrified him more now, what gnawed at him with every sleepless night, wasn't the fear of being outed—it was the fear of losing Jonah.

The thought of Jonah walking out of his life for good had haunted Eli since the day Jonah had left his apartment, his voice breaking as he'd said he couldn't wait forever. That moment had been a wake-up call, a punch to the gut that Eli desperately needed.

He couldn't lose Jonah. Not like this. Not because he was too afraid to face himself.

But it wasn't just about Jonah. It was about Eli finally living his life, really living it, for the first time. He was done pretending, done trying to fit into a version of himself that didn't exist anymore—if it ever had. He had been through hell and come back, but what was the point of surviving if he wasn't truly living?

Eli's phone buzzed in his hand, and his stomach flipped. Jonah's name flashed on the screen, the same name that had been haunting his thoughts and dreams for weeks. This was it.

He swallowed hard, his heart pounding as he opened the message.

"Are you sure about this?"

Simple. Straightforward. So very Jonah.

Eli stared at the text for a long moment, his chest tightening with a mix of fear and determination. He could back out now, pretend like he wasn't ready, like it wasn't the right time. He could keep Jonah waiting in limbo, and maybe—just maybe—Jonah wouldn't leave. Maybe Jonah would stay just a little longer, wait until Eli was ready to be brave.

But Eli knew that wasn't fair. Not to Jonah, and not to himself.

He typed out his response before he could second-guess it.

"Yes. I'm sure."

He hit send, his hands shaking as he set the phone down on the railing in front of him. His breath came in short, shallow bursts as the reality of what he was about to do settled over him. This was the biggest decision of his life. There was no going back once he crossed this line. But that was the point, wasn't it?

No more hiding.

Eli grabbed his jacket from the back of the chair and slipped it on, his heart racing as he stepped inside. The living room felt strangely empty, the quiet too loud in his ears. He was going to do this. Tonight.

His parents had invited him to dinner. Just a normal family thing, the kind of gathering that used to be simple, used to be easy. But now, after everything that had happened, nothing felt simple anymore. Not his family, not his life, not the space he used to fit so neatly into. He didn't fit anywhere anymore.

But tonight, he was going to carve out a place for himself.

Eli's parents lived in the same house he'd grown up in—a modest, comfortable home with worn-in couches and framed photos on every wall. The kind of place that felt safe, that held memories of family dinners and lazy Sunday afternoons. The kind of place that Eli used to think of as home.