Lily

The night had been a whirlwind. Loud music, laughter, and Sarah’s relentless attempts to set me up with every guy who came near me. But as the party began to wind down, Leo popped up beside me, his grin as cocky as ever.

“So,” Leo said, sliding his hands into his pockets, “I’ll take you and Sarah home. My place is on the way, anyway.”

I hesitated for a second. “You don’t have to do that, Leo.”

He waved it off with a dramatic flourish. “Nonsense. What kind of gentleman would I be if I didn’t at least offer?”

“Not a very good one,” Sarah chimed in with a smirk, shooting me a wink.

“Exactly,” Leo said, grinning. “So, I’m your bodyguard  for the night.”

“I don’t think that’s how it works,” I muttered, shaking my head, but my lips twitched into a reluctant smile.

By the time we left the party, I was exhausted. We get into Leo car, the banter was easy, and Leo's humor had a way of lightening the air, even if my heart wasn’t in it. But there was an underlying tension I couldn’t shake, like a storm waiting to break. And I couldn’t tell if it was the way Leo was looking at me or the growing distance between me and my old life, but something inside me was screaming that it wasn’t the time for laughter.

**********************************

When we finally got out of the car, Sarah all but shoved me into the street. "You two go ahead. I’ll just walk behind."

I stared at her, blinking in confusion. "Seriously? You’re giving us space?"

"Yup," she said, walking away from us, leaving me with Leo. "You two have lots to talk about."

I gritted my teeth. “I swear, I’m going to kill her one day.”

Leo chuckled, obviously entertained by the whole situation. "Don’t blame her for that."

I didn't respond. I was too busy mentally calculating how many ways I could throw Sarah into the nearest river.

As we walked down the street, Leo kept up his light-hearted conversation, but I was barely listening. His jokes and quick remarks about things I wasn’t interested in were just noise in the back of my mind. I kept feeling the weight of something pressing in on me, something I couldn't quite place.

"Hey, you okay? You seem off," Leo said, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah, just... I don’t know," I muttered. “I just feel like I’m being watched.”

He glanced around, his brow furrowing. "Are you sure?"

I scanned the street, the shadows of the trees stretching long across the sidewalk. A cool breeze swept through, but there was something else in the air—something electric. And I knew that feeling.

"Someone’s definitely watching," I said softly, my heart starting to race.

As we walked, I noticed that the streets, though busy, seemed quieter somehow. A strange feeling crawled up my spine, a prickling sensation as though someone was watching me. I glanced around, half-expecting someone to jump out from the shadows. But no, everything seemed normal.

"It's am fine,i am just exhausted"i said.

I shook it off, but that nagging feeling refused to leave. My footsteps quickened.

**********************************

And then, just as I was about to dismiss the sensation, I saw him.

There, standing across the street, almost blurred by the night’s haze, was a figure that sent my heart into overdrive. My breath caught in my throat, my pulse pounding as I took a step forward, my eyes straining to make sense of what I was seeing or else i started hallucinating now..

But It was him.

Callan.

I froze, my chest tightening as I stared at him in disbelief. Was this real? After everything—after a year of silence, of pretending I would never see him again—he was standing there, looking just as I remembered, but somehow… more.

His eyes met mine, and in that moment, everything around us seemed to disappear. My breath hitched, my hand instinctively flying to my mouth as I gasped, the shock flooding my veins like ice water.

I couldn’t process it. I didn’t know how to react.

Without thinking, I started walking faster, my legs moving almost on their own, propelling me forward until I was practically running towards him. I didn’t care that I was in public, or that Leo and Sarah were staring. None of that mattered.

When I reached him, I didn’t hesitate. I threw myself into his arms, my body colliding with his with such force that for a second, I thought I might knock him over.

He caught me effortlessly, his arms wrapping around me, pulling me so close that I could feel the heat of his body seeping into my skin. He buried his face in my neck, and I felt him shake with what I could only describe as emotion—pure, unrestrained emotion.

“You’re real,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “You’re real, Callan.”

He lifted me off the ground, his strength like iron bands around me as he held me, swaying slightly as though he couldn’t believe I was in his arms. His face was buried in my neck, and I felt his body tremble with a mixture of laughter and sobs.

“Lily,” he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. “I thought I’d never see you again. I thought I lost you.”

I didn’t care that we were in the middle of the street, that Leo and Sarah were staring, mouths hanging open, as if they’d never seen anything like it. I didn’t care that the world was watching us. All that mattered was that Callan was holding me again.

And that was enough.