Silence consumed the car like a heavy fog while Katrina toyed with her gold tipped nails. As she peered out the window, hoping the serene countryside—painted in hues of warm orange and dark yellow would ease her raddled nerves. She didn't know why tension swelled within her. She knew where he was navigating the car. It was a place that she planned to call home. Unfortunately, some plans don't prosper and that was one of them. The realization of that stung as Keir took a smooth right and the pavement morphed into gravel.

The miniscule pebbles crunching underneath the weight of the car was oddly soothing like a greeting from an old friend. She yanked her sight from the passenger window and peered ahead. Inching nearer to the five bedroom, two-story home with its wraparound porch and emerald green shutters reaped a pressure to her chest that prevented her to intake the air her oxygen needed. Breathing morphed into hyperventilation. Sadness and fear intertwined into one and blurred her vision.

"Breathe." Keir calmly told, easing the sedan to a stop. He slipped his hand between hers and linked his fingers with hers. She gripped his hand as if her life depended on it. He raised her hand up and sat it against his chest. As their interlocked hands rose and fell at the steady inhalations of his breathing he continued, "This is our place of sanctuary. Where nothing exists but us and the love we share. You are safe here."

As his words fluttered to her ears, her breathing calmed. But when her eyes opened a flood of tears poured down her face.

She shook her head, repeatedly, "I knew this would happen. This is why I didn't want to do this."

"Do what?" He clung tighter to her hand.

"This." She gestured around then turned to him witnessing the anguish marring his features. "Us. Be an us. I knew we should've stayed friends but now..." Her breathing hitched and she shook her head again refusing to let more words escape from her mouth. She opened the door, exiting the car needing fresh air.

Keir was out of the car and in front of her in mere seconds, "But now, what?"

"What?" She inquired, rubbing her hand across her face.

"What?" He let out an audible breath, with a nod of his head. "You're too intelligent to play dumb."

"Don't call me dumb." She snapped.

"Then stop with the friend shit." He shot back. "We were never friends. You used that title to soothe the ego of your cheating ass of an ex. I was up front with you. Since day one on that campus, I knew I wanted you but you were married so I backed off because we both have integrity."

Keir took a step back, letting his white sneakers sink into the grass but he didn't stop speaking, "Then at the literary department's Christmas party and saw you and your husband and I realized from the way he spoke to you and his body language, you loved him more than he loved you. Then that day I saw you without your ring and you told me it was being cleaned..." He airquoted. "I knew you were lying because I knew he was bound to fuck up because I saw a man that didn't understand how great of a woman he had."

"Keir..." It was the only thing she could utter when the stars made their debut in the sky and he closed the space between them.

"What we have is not friendship." He caressed her face, his touch called her body toward him like a siren's call. "You are my heart. I love you with every ounce of my soul. Moving on is impossible. I tried. But these years have been torture. My body aches for you. My mind yearns for you."

She leaned away from his embrace and gestured to the sign staked in the grass, "Then why is our house up for sale?"

He glanced at the sign as if it was irrelevant. "Because I tried to do what you told me to do; live my life."

"And you fell in love with someone else. You proposed to someone else." She walked away from him, further the day the driveway then she abruptly turned back to him. "While I'm in California still loving you. Still wanting you. You're here..." She gestured to him. "Making a lifelong commitment to another woman but you want me to believe you helplessly, hopelessly love me. You're just like him...lying to me to get what you want." Her voice broke.

"I did not cheat on you. I don't belittle you. Or control you. Nor do I gaslight you." He walked over to her with urgency. "He and I are not the same. All I did was love and protect you. Things got messy and you cut me off."

"My drama shouldn't be yours!" She shouted. "If I didn't put distance between us, break up with you, those assault charges wouldn't have been dropped. I was thinking about your future, what was best for you."

He nodded and silence swelled around them as a gentle breeze brushed over them. He peered at her as she stared at him with the same intensity and then he said, "This is a waste of time."

Katrina's head slightly tilted as tears started to return to the wells of her eyes. She shouldn't have listened to Imani and went with the warnings her brain spewed.

"We're wasting time bickering about people and instances that hold no importance. Past bullshit. You're still wearing my necklace and I've already told you how I feel.."

He gestured between them. "It's me and you. It's always been us. It's why our other relationships failed. And if we deny that, go our separate ways all we'll do is leave a trail of broken hearts because the only one for me is you and the only man for you is me."

"So...what is it going to be?" He began. "Are we getting back in the car or going into our house?"

Katrina held her temples with her guard fully activated and a multitude of emotions, memories, and hurt swarmed her mind.

"We should–" She paused as her eyes went to the front door then shifted to the car. She swallowed hard trying to push down the anxiety disturbing her stomach. She didn't know which was right; the fears her brain whispered or the hopes her heart promised.

What do you think Katrina is going to pick: get back in the car or go in the house?

Is Keir right, arguing about the incidents and people in the past are a waste of time?

Why do you think Katrina's guard activated?