Page 6 of Bound By Crimson
She passed the places that once felt like pieces of her—the narrow bookstore with its crooked shelves, the church steps where she’d once shared a slushie and secrets, the bakery with the pink awning that always smelled like cinnamon and second chances.
And then she saw them.
Through the window of the bakery, framed by sunlit glass and lace, Rowan and Eric sat side by side.
They were laughing.
Rowan leaned in just a little too close. Eric said something—probably dumb—and Rowan tilted her head and smiled that slow, curated smile that always looked good in pictures. Her hand brushed his arm.
Lyric’s stomach twisted. Not with anger, but with that hollow, echoing ache that lived just behind the ribs.
Eric noticed her first.
He stiffened, guilt flickering across his face like he’d been caught stealing something that was never really his. Rowan looked confused—until she followed his gaze.
Her smile faltered. “Lyric?”
Lyric turned instinctively. Her pulse spiked in her throat. She didn’t want this. Not here. Not today.
She made it halfway down the sidewalk when she heard the footsteps.
“Lyric, please wait!” Rowan’s voice cracked behind her. “Can we just talk?”
Lyric stopped—but didn’t turn around. Her throat burned. Her vision swam. She was barely holding the thread of herself.
Rowan came into view, breathless, eyes wide. “I’ve been trying to reach you. I didn’t know what to say. I still don’t. But I miss you. I’m sorry. For everything.”
Lyric’s lips parted. Nothing came out.
She wanted to scream. To collapse. To press her face into Rowan’s shoulder and sob like the girl she used to be.
She wanted to say:My parents are gone. I found adoption papers in a closet. I don’t even know who I am anymore.
For a moment—just a breath—she wasn’t angry. She was just so tired.
Rowan continued, voice shaking. “I’m sorry I hurt you. And… I’m sorry I wasn’t there after your parents—” Her throat caught. “We wanted to come to the funeral. Eric and I. But we thought it would only make things worse. We didn’t want to add drama to a day like that.”
Lyric blinked fast, the edges of the street blurring.
“I thought losing you was the worst thing that could ever happen to me.”
Rowan opened her mouth, tears welling in her eyes.
“But I know better now.” Lyric’s voice cracked on the last word, brittle as frost underfoot.
“That pain?” she whispered. “It doesn’t even come close.”
Rowan started to reach for her but stopped, arms trembling at her sides.
If one more word was spoken, Lyric would break. Right here. On the sidewalk.
She turned and stepped into the street—
And collided with someone.
Lyric gasped, stumbling back a step.
A man stood before her.
