Our eyes held, soft smiles lingering. In that quiet moment, everything between us was clear—that we still cared, and the feelings hadn’t faded. We’d been through a lot, hurt each other so much, but we were healing and trying to move on.
The hesitation was still there, but she was learning to trust me again, and I was still trying to believe I deserved her. But tonight felt different, like we had finally taken the first step toward something better. Something that felt like a future.
“Okay, I want to finish this first,” she said, taking a big bite. “Then we’re getting that ice cream.”
We started walking again after finishing the tacos, and I decided to take a chance.
I reached for her hand and held it as we walked. It made me feel like a teenager on his first real date.
And she let me. She didn’t pull away. She even gave my hand a small squeeze.
God, I was so fucking happy I couldn’t stop grinning.
We bought the ice cream served over a warm brownie, but the tacos had filled us up, so we shared it. We used to do this all the time on our good days, sitting side by side, splitting meals or desserts as if it were just something we did without thinking.
It hit me then, a wave of melancholy. There were many happy moments between us, and we let the bad ones overshadow them all.
“Thank you,” I said, looking at her. She glanced up at me. “For being here tonight. I don’t remember the last time I felt this happy.”
“Me too,” she said softly. “We spent so many years being miserable, Cam. I don’t want that anymore.”
She paused for a moment, like she was sorting through her thoughts.
“I want to be better for you and Harper. I’m doing this therapy for both of you. But I’m still not fully confident I won’t slip back into who I used to be. Tonight helped, though. It gave me a small push, a bit of belief in myself again.”
“I’ll always be beside you, Sloane. From now on, we’ll show up for each other and do our best to avoid causing more pain. I won’t hurt you like that again, I promise. And I hope you can see I’ve been trying.”
“I know,” she said softly. “I see it.”
The night had been good to us. I held her hand as we strolled through the fair, stopping at nearly every stall. She picked out bracelets and hairpins for Harper, homemade candles for herself, smiling easily, talking to vendors like the weight of the world had finally lifted from her shoulders.
At one point, she stood laughing with an older woman selling jam, her voice light. But then she glanced at me, and her expression shifted.
“You look worn out,” she said.
I was. The day had drained me, but I didn’t care. Not when she was beside me.
“I’m alright,” I said. “Don’t worry.”
She pulled out some cash and paid the vendor. “Come on. Let’s go. I’ll stay at your mom’s tonight so you don’t have to drive me. You look like you’re about to pass out.”
“I’m fine, really.”
She gave me a look, unconvinced, but let it go. “We can always come back here another time.”
She paused at the sound of her phone buzzing inside her purse. Slowly, she opened it and reached for her phone. Her hand stilled when she saw the screen.
She just stared at it.
“What is it?” I asked.
She looked up slowly, and her face was pale.
“It’s my father. He’s in the hospital. There was an accident.”
At that moment, I could see it in her.
How her body stilled, and the warmth she’d shown all night vanished, like it had never been there.
