just continuation.
I notice all the hoodies and day-old socks too,
the toothpaste blobs you somehow don’t see,
and the disappearing snacks.
I definitely notice those.
Or the endless music that killed my silence
and somehow plays in my head
when you’re gone too.
I don’t think I’m learning how to be safe.
I think I’m learning how to stay
even when I don’t need to run.
Even when I could.
Especially then.
Because love isn’t the place I disappear into now.
It’s the place I come back from.
Every time I pause to catch my breath,
you’re still there.
Not waiting like I need to catch up.
Just waiting
like you always trusted
I’d find my way beside you.”
Korie looks up then, gaze zeroing in on me through the crowd. I don’t realize I’m crying until Hattie bumps me. She wipes her face too, hugging me.
The crowd erupts into applause, and Korie finds their way back to me, slipping into the chair without a flourish, as if they hadn’t just shaken my entire world.
I pinch their chin and turn them, saying nothing—what can I even say after that? I kiss them. Korie kisses back.
No one makes it weird, even Hattie, which is kind of a miracle.
Cole scoots his chair back. “I’m gonna grab us some more drinks.”
“Want company?” Mateo asks.
“Nah, I got it.”
I watch him go, weaving through the tables toward the bar, shoulders loose but his gaze still sharp, tracking everything out of habit. Cole always walks as if ghosts are chasing him.
Korie shifts beside me, their hand finding my thigh under the table, like it’s instinct now.
