Page 19 of The Hang Up
“Yeah.” I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, glancing at the counter. My order isn’t ready yet, and there’s nowhere to hide. I shift on my feet, desperately wishing I could disappear.
“Me, too,” he says softly, stepping closer. “Maybe… maybe we could eat together?”
The offer hangs in the air between us, fragile and tempting. I want to say no. Every instinct tells me to turn him down, to protect myself. But when I look up into his hopeful eyes, the refusal dies on my tongue.
“Okay,” I whisper, surprising myself.
We take a booth in the back corner, and Elsie delivers our orders. She gives me a knowing smile, patting my shoulder softly. It feels like encouragement and caution all at once.
“It’s nice,” Holden says quietly once we’re alone. “Sitting here with you. It feels… right.”
My chest aches at his words because he’s right. It does feel good. Familiar. Too familiar. Like finding a well-worn book and remembering every dog-eared page.
We talk about easy things at first: his woodworking projects, the upcoming town festival, Auden and Wade’s engagement. It’s effortless, like old times, and that scares me more than anything. My defenses start to slip as my heart dares to hope.
Then reality crashes back in, swift and brutal.
“This isn’t fair,” I whisper suddenly, my fork trembling slightly in my hand. “This, us sitting here laughing, acting like nothing happened. It isn’t fair, Holden.”
He sets down his fork, his gaze earnest. “Lena, talk to me. Please, don’t shut me out again. Tell me how you feel, how you’ve felt all these years.”
His sincerity unravels me, loosening all the carefully tied knots around my heart. Words rush to the surface, raw and unstoppable.
“You broke me,” I choke out, tears already threatening. “I loved you, Holden. More than anything. I saw forever with you. We had plans, dreams, and… you just left. Without a word. Without a goodbye.”
His face falls, and pain flashes across his features, but I’m too far gone to stop now.
“You abandoned me,” I continue, my voice trembling. “And you did it when I needed you most. Do you even know how scared I was? How lost? My mom was sick, Holden. She needed me, and I needed someone. But you were gone, and I was alone.”
I swipe at the tears now streaming down my cheeks. “All I did was work and take care of her. For years, that was my life. I was exhausted, miserable, and so burned out, but I kept going. I didn’t have a choice. I had to keep things running."
“Lena—"
“No.” I shake my head sharply. “Let me finish. I finally started to move on, to breathe again. Auden and Arlowe came into my life, and for the first time in forever, I had fun. I felt alive again. But then you came back, and everything’s messed up again. I don’t know what to do. I don’t even know if I can trust you.”
My breath hitches, my chest heaving with emotion. “I don’t know what kind of relationship we could have now, Holden. There’s too much pain, too much history.”
My words finally trail off, leaving a heavy silence in their wake. My heart pounds painfully in my chest, every emotion laid bare on the table between us.
Holden’s mouth opens, ready to respond, but I don’t want to hear it. I can’t handle anything else tonight.
I push to my feet, grabbing my purse.
“Lena, wait?—”
But I don’t. I flee from the diner into the chilly night air. The tears fall freely as I run toward home, away from the man who still holds my shattered heart.
TEN
Holden
I’m out of my seat before I can think, heart pounding furiously in my chest as I chase after Lena. Her retreating figure disappears around the corner, and I break into a run, desperate not to lose her again.
“Lena!” I shout, my voice echoing in the quiet night. “Please, wait!”
She slows enough for me to catch up, turning to face me with tears streaming down her cheeks. The sight nearly breaks me. Her eyes are filled with pain I know I caused.
“What, Holden?” she demands, her voice trembling. “What more could you possibly say?”
