“Move,” I said, low and sharp. The warning was clear, but he didn’t flinch.
“Just breathe.” His gaze locked on mine. Quiet. Unshakable. “You’re not him. You never were. Don’t let him turn you into the version of yourself he needs you to be.”
That hit harder than the punch.
I didn’t speak. Just stood there, heart pounding, jaw tight enough to crack teeth. Across the lot, Leo backed away like he’d already won—smirking, satisfied, like chaos was a gift he could leave behind and still own. That smug look stayed burned in my mind long after he disappeared into the shadows.
Christian turned slightly, tracking him for a beat, then gave a small shake of his head and pointed toward the steps ofThe Book Nook. I didn’t want to sit. I didn’t want calm. I wanted distance—or a second round. But eventually, the fire in my chest dulled just enough to move.
I sank down beside him, elbows on my knees, hands still curled tight. The silence between us settled thick and cold.
“Let it go,” he said quietly.
“I can’t.” The words left before I had time to swallow them. “He gets under my skin.”
Christian studied me. “You care about her?”
I gave the barest nod.
“Then don’t give her a man who fights ghosts. Show her the one who stayed.”
A bitter sound escaped my throat—almost a laugh, but not quite. “What if she’s better off without either of us? What if he’s right?”
Christian gave me a look—sharp, clean, final. “People get second chances,” he said, voice low but cutting, “but only if they stop looking backward.”
The words landed hard. Not loud, not fast—justtrue. They settled over me like snowfall, slow and suffocating. I shifted on the step, the cold from the concrete biting through my jeans. My hands flexed, looking for something to hold onto, but there was nothing.
“I should’ve stepped in sooner,” I said, the words dry in my mouth. “When they were together.” A pause. Then something heavier, harder. “I knew what Leo was. Knew he’d hurt her like he always does. And he did.”
“That’s not on you,” Christian replied, steady.
But it didn’t feel that simple.
“There was always something about her,” I said, quietly, almost to myself. “Something… different. I saw it. And it scared me.”
“So you backed off.”
I nodded once, eyes locked on a crack in the pavement. Nothing profound. Just a fracture—quiet, splitting the surface the way guilt split you clean down the middle. I didn’t speak again for a while. Neither did he.
“Leo leaves wreckage everywhere he goes,” I muttered eventually. Shame stirred low and deep, crawling beneath my skin like frost creeping under a locked door. “And now I’m here, trying to clean up what he broke.”
Christian leaned in slightly, just enough for our shoulders to touch. A small thing. But it helped. Anchored me.
“She keeps coming back,” I said. “And I don’t understand why.”
He looked out across the lot, expression unreadable. “Maybe she sees something worth coming back to.”
The wind pushed through town like it was chasing ghosts. It hissed through the trees lining Main Street, lifting old leaves and older memories. I stared into it, unsure of what I was trying to find.
“She deserves more than what I’ve given her,” I said into the dark, not expecting an answer.
Christian let out a quiet laugh—more breath than sound. “Then give it to her,” he said. “Don’t waste time trying to rewrite the past. You’re not that man anymore.”
And for the first time in a long time, I almost believed him.
Chapter12
Callie
