JUNO (sabrina carpenter x you)

chapter 28

Y/N's POV

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I don't know where I was walking, but I just let my feet carry me. 

The sky was heavy and gray, the kind that pressed down on you, and a light drizzle fell, dampening the quiet Pennsylvania road. The countryside stretched out in muted colors—bare trees, the smell of wet earth, faint farmhouse lights glowing faintly in the distance. Dusk had settled fully now, and everything looked painted in dark blue, almost dreamlike, almost lonely.

My shoes crunched over the gravel shoulder. My coat wasn't buttoned. My breath clouded faintly in front of me.

I regretted walking out as soon as I had, but staying inside would have broken me. His words wouldn't stop circling in my head. You're a woman. You couldn't take a man. Only a man could protect my daughter. They repeated on a loop, cutting deeper each time, and I felt the sting of tears welling in my eyes. Not quite spilling over, but there—threatening.

I'd faced stares before. I'd dealt with doubt before. But from him? From her father? The weight of it had left me choking on silence.

My pace slowed. The drizzle gathered heavier, beading in my hair, dampening my sleeves. My heart was a stone in my chest.

Then—

"Y/N!"

Her voice carried through the dusk, urgent, desperate. I froze in the middle of the road, turning toward the sound. And there she was—running, her small figure cutting through the dim light, long blonde curls plastered damp against her cheeks, her eyes shining with tears even in the gloom.

I couldn't move until she reached me. And then suddenly, I was stepping forward, meeting her halfway in the road, the wet gravel crunching beneath us.

We stopped in front of each other, inches apart. She was trembling—half from anger, half from the rain. Without thinking, I shrugged out of my black dress coat and draped it over her shoulders, ignoring her protests. She was shivering, and she was infinitely more important than my own comfort.

She grabbed the lapels, her breath coming fast. "God, baby..." her voice cracked. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Sabrina—"

"No." She shook her head sharply, rain flicking from her hair. "I'm embarrassed. Mortified. That was supposed to be our intro family dinner, the easy one. Nothing compared to the chaos on Christmas Day. And he—he just—" her voice faltered—"he blindsided you. Out of nowhere. My mom, my sisters, my grandma—they all adored you, and then he..."

Her voice broke again.

I reached for her hips, steadying her. "Hey," I said softly. "Don't apologize for him. Don't carry his words like they're yours. He doesn't get to define what we have. Not ever."

She sagged against my hands, trembling. "I hate him for making you feel like you had to leave. I hate him for putting that look on your face. You didn't deserve that. You don't deserve any of it."

Her lips trembled, and I felt her shiver under my coat. She reached up and touched my face like she needed to feel that I was still here, still hers.

My chest ached, but I only shook my head. "It doesn't matter. What matters is you. Us."

"I meant everything I said," she whispered suddenly, voice rough with emotion. "I don't care what he thinks. I don't care what anyone thinks. I'm not letting you go. Not now, not ever. You're the best thing in my life. You're my anchor. My home. My person."