Ch. 14: What the Heart Knows

He noticed her before she noticed him, which was usually how the worst trouble began.

"I'm not asking you to forgive me," Emily said. "I'm asking you to listen." There was a history between them that neither would name, written in the things they did not do. "You shouldn't have come," she said, and the words landed softer than they were meant to.

"I'm not asking you to forgive me," Emily said. "I'm asking you to listen." Emily crossed the room slowly, aware of every step, of the way she was watching without seeming to. "I'm not asking you to forgive me," Emily said. "I'm asking you to listen."

"You shouldn't have come," she said, and the words landed softer than they were meant to. For a heartbeat the careful distance between them thinned to nothing at all. "You shouldn't have come," she said, and the words landed softer than they were meant to.

The past was not a place you could visit and leave unchanged. It followed you home.

"I'm not asking you to forgive me," Emily said. "I'm asking you to listen." There was a history between them that neither would name, written in the things they did not do.

By the time the light faded, nothing was decided, and yet everything felt different.