Back To You;

CHAPTER 16

The weeks after our conversation seemed like a dream, everything falling back into place like the missing pieces of a puzzle. For a moment, I thought we were finally back on track. We were laughing again, making plans, and I let myself believe that maybe-just maybe-we'd found our way back to each other.

But things weren't as simple as they seemed.

Lauren had changed. He didn't say it outright, but I could see it in his eyes. The spark that had once been so bright between us was dimming, and the space between us was slowly growing again.

At first, I tried to ignore it. Maybe he was just stressed with school. Maybe he needed time to adjust. I told myself I'd give him the space he needed. But then it got worse. He started pulling away more and more, and I couldn't ignore it anymore.

I confronted him one afternoon, when it felt like the weight of everything was about to crush me.

"Hunny, what's going on? Why are you pulling away from me?" I asked, my voice trembling with both fear and hope.

He looked at me, his face unreadable, and I felt a chill run down my spine. "Marie, I... I've been thinking a lot lately. And I've realized I'm not in a place where I can keep this going. I'm tired. I can't keep juggling everything. I need to focus on myself right now. I can't give you what you deserve."

His words hit me like a punch to the gut. I tried to swallow the lump in my throat, but it was like my entire world was shattering around me.

"Hunny, no," I whispered, trying to reach for his hand. "Please, we can figure this out. We've been through so much, and I don't want to lose you. I love you."

He took a step back, his eyes avoiding mine. "I love you too, Marie. I do. But I'm exhausted. I can't sacrifice everything I need for this right now. I just can't. And I'm sorry."

I stood there, frozen, unable to process what he was saying. Was this really happening? Was I really hearing him say that he couldn't keep going?

For weeks, I begged him to reconsider. I texted him, called him, met him after class, desperate to hold on to what we had. But every time, he shut me down. He told me he needed space. He told me he needed time. And every time, I felt like I was suffocating a little more.

I watched as he began focusing on his own life, throwing himself into gym sessions, school projects, and whatever else distracted him. I saw him with his friends, his teammates, his life moving forward without me in it.

But I couldn't stop loving him. I couldn't stop wanting him.

The worst part was that I had him once, but now, I was losing him-slowly, inevitably-and no matter how much I begged, no matter how much I told him how much I needed him, he wouldn't change his mind.

Weeks passed, and the reality of what was happening set in. We barely talked anymore. The phone calls, the texts, the spontaneous hangouts-they were all gone. All that was left was the echo of what we used to have.

I stopped calling him. I stopped begging. I had to respect his space. But it didn't make the pain any easier to bear.

In those weeks, I felt like I was drowning. Every moment without him felt like a piece of me was being chipped away. I thought I could handle it. I thought maybe time would heal everything. But it didn't. Time only made it harder.

I watched him from a distance, going through the motions of his day-to-day life, and I knew deep down that he wasn't coming back to me. And the hardest part was knowing that he didn't want to anymore.

And yet, despite everything, I couldn't stop hoping. Even as my heart shattered, I clung to the small sliver of hope that maybe one day, somehow, we would find our way back to each other.

But that day never came.

I was left with the quiet, haunting ache of knowing that sometimes, love just isn't enough.

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the next following chapters will be published on the 15th of December, 2024!

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