sweet surrender | pulisic ✓

fifteenth

"Chris, wait!"

He didn't even let her speak. He simply turned on his heel and walked away from the bakery. Alex had to shake off the shock that had overcome her, and hurriedly ran after him.

"Christian, I didn't mean that!" She called after him, tears already brimming in her eyes. Relief washed over her for a second when he stopped, turning around to face her.

They both stood on the road, which at that timing was empty, a few meters apart as they stared at each other in silence. Seeing the expression on his face, it was enough to banish the feeling of relief she had merely seconds ago.

"I get it," he began, neither of them moving a single step, "you'd do anything to make your mom proud of you." As he spoke, he looked at her directly in the eye, his tone neither condemning nor irritated.

But she could see it in his eyes, the disappointment. She had let him down. And just looking at him, she was already regretting almost everything.

"I guess she'll be proud of you now," he continued, chuckling softly. It wasn't an amused chuckle, but only a chuckle in an attempt to mask the sadness in his voice. Still, Alex could hear it loud and clear.

That only made the lump in her throat rise. She tried to speak, but nothing seemed to come out. Christian, I'm – I'm so sorry.

All she could do was gape at him, her mouth open trying to find her voice and failing each time. He sighed, slipping his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. "I really thought we had something," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

And that was all it took for the floodgates to open. Alex could only watch as he turned his back on her, and slowly walked away. She couldn't find the strength to chase after him, as her knees almost buckled feebly.

The tears seemed to flow endlessly, and she had to hug herself for support. Standing there in the middle of the chilly night, Alex cried her heart out. She pressed a hand to her mouth to muffle the sobbing, but it in no way changed the way she was feeling.

All she had wanted back then, was a way out. A way to help herself, and prove to her mother how capable she was. Yet after meeting Christian, things had changed. It wasn't just about proving herself anymore.

It became a journey; taking a leap of faith every now and then, and putting love and belief into everything she did. With Christian by her side, she was beginning to believe she could actually do it. But now, she may have just lost it all.

⦁⦁⦁

Lea had just finished serving a customer when she felt the phone in her pocket vibrate. She called onto her co-worker to take her place before hurrying into the backroom.

"Hello?" She breathed, bracing herself for the abundance of questions he was going to aim at her.

"What the hell happened to her? Why won't she tell me?" Erik almost screamed into the phone. As he spoke, he kept his eyes fixated on his sleeping sister.

After crying for another hour or so, Lea had driven an exhausted Alex to her brother's place. Alex had insisted she would be fine facing Erik herself, and so Lea had left her there. But from the looks of it, Alex must have skipped the whole telling her brother part.

"Uh," Lea began, unsure of how to break it to him. "Maybe you should wait for her to tell you." Erik frowned at the other end, pacing around the house anxiously. "She's been crying hasn't she? What's going on, Lea?"

A small sigh escaped her lips. She was extremely hesitant to tell him; because what could she say? Well, Alex may or may not have used Christian to get to his recipe, and may or may not have fallen in love with him.

She gazed out the open door as she pondered on an answer, when suddenly, she noticed something new. "Talk to her, Erik," Lea said before hanging up. Slipping her phone back into her pocket, she hastily exited the room.

"Mrs. Durm?" Lea spoke carefully, surprised to see Alex's mother, who never comes to the bakery. Greta spun around, and for the first time, Lea saw her smile a genuine smile. "Is Alex here?" She asked.

Lea shook her head, "she's at Erik's actually."

"Oh," Greta said coolly, but Lea knew there was a tinge of discontent there. Lea watched as Greta looked around the bakery, her eyes studying every nook and cranny. "I see you have quite a wide array of sweets," she stated.

"We're actually having our monthly bake sale today," Lea clarified, "normally it's a smaller variety." Greta raised her eyebrows curiously, prompting Lea to continue.

"We work with some local charities to get these varieties, and all proceeds will go to them eventually," she said, a warm smile etched across her face. "It was all Alex's idea," she quickly added.

Greta nodded slowly. The previous night had been filled with regret for her; she couldn't erase Alex's expression off her mind. Her daughter looked so upset, and she never liked seeing her that way.

But that night Alex's words finally hit home, and suddenly, she regretted everything she had said. "That's... nice," she muttered, more to herself than to Lea.

And maybe, just maybe, Greta had a change of heart.

—

well.