{A/N: I will start aiming to update this story Monday and Friday, maybe Wesnedays. If i plan to drop, i will let you guys know. As for why i had drop stories… i don't know, i don't finish watching many by shows i start maybe because i hate goodbyes? I don't know, looks like i got personal problems.}
Alex drove home… or rather, the car drove itself, while he sat slouched in the seat, staring blankly out the window. He wasn't in any mood to focus on the road, not after hearing the truth. The weight of it sat heavy on him. He was shocked at himself—that someone had been able to pull him into the supernatural world, make him willing to accept it fully, make him accept her. To then realize he had been the only one who truly valued that bond… it cut deeper than he wanted to admit.
He had even felt relief, even comfort, when she learned about his dream—something he had never planned to share with anyone, he thought for a moment they could be completely opened with each other. But she hadn't just seen it. She had told it to someone else. That betrayal stung the deepest.
The car jolted violently, rattling as it slammed into a massive pothole. An alert immediately lit up across the dashboard, flashing a warning that the tire was flat. Without hesitation, the automated system guided the vehicle to the shoulder of the road.
Alex—already seething with exhaustion and pain—was forced to step out into the night. The air was cold, heavy, and the darkness stretched endlessly around him. The last thing he wanted was to deal with this kind of BS, but there he was, late at night, with one more problem thrown at his feet.
Alex pulled out his phone, quickly searching for instructions on how to change a car tire—something he had never done before. Following the steps on the screen, he retrieved the spare tire and a few tools from the trunk, setting them down neatly by the roadside. He was ready to get started, but instead of jumping straight in, he lowered himself onto the curb, needing a moment. His mind was still clouded, weighed down by everything that had happened, and the last thing he wanted was to fumble through this while distracted.
"Is everything alright?"
The unexpected voice cut through the night, firm yet calm. Alex's head snapped up, his eyes locking onto an older man with graying hair, walking steadily down the street toward him. The man's hands rested casually in the pockets of his black suit, his presence oddly composed against the quiet stretch of road.
He walked to Alex side, looking at the kid who looked as if he had been through better times, it reminded him a lot of himself. So, after a second of silence he spoke.
"I like to come here every night and enjoy the view," the old man said, his voice carrying a faint wistfulness. "It reminds me of my wife."
He turned his gaze briefly toward Alex's car before letting it drift out over the horizon, to the dark ocean stretching endlessly beneath the moonlight.
Only then did Alex notice the beauty before him—the shimmering water, the calm waves reflecting the pale glow of the night sky.
"Sorry for your loss," Alex said softly, unsure what else could be said.
"She's alive," the man replied after a pause, his tone heavy. "But she didn't love me the way I loved her. So I threw myself into work… neglecting my children."
"So, my children grew up broken. Many having their own problems, and in the end, they only remember they have a father when they need something. I can't be man, not when i gave more attention to work over managing their own needs." His eyes stayed fixed on the sea, the distant look in them carrying years of regret.
"That mirrors my situation a lot…" Alex said quietly, his voice carrying the weight of unspoken pain.
The old man's head turned, his tired eyes settling on Alex with a silent question. He wanted to hear more, to understand the story hidden behind those words.
Alex hesitated at first, his lips parting only to close again as he wrestled with the thought of opening up. But after everything the man had shared, after hearing his story laid bare, Alex felt compelled to speak.
"Well… my ex took something deeply personal from me," Alex said softly. "And she handed it over to people who would weaponize it."
"That sounds troublesome. If she truly knew what she was doing, then I say leave," the old man said, his tone steady, almost resigned. "When my wife and I were together, there were many… how do you kids call it? Red flags? Yes, there were plenty of those—from both her and me. We weren't perfect. We fought often, we used our secrets against each other, and we hurt one another more than we should have."
Alex listened in silence, taking in every word.
"Back then, we had no one to guide us. It was a mess," the man continued softly. "But with time, I grew. I learned. And what I've discovered in my long years is this: trust is the most important thing. Without trust, there is nothing. But equally important is sacrifice—the willingness to set aside your own interests for the sake of the other."
He lifted his head, his gaze drifting toward the vast night sky as he spoke, as though the stars themselves were witnesses to his truth.
"We both weren't capable of that," the old man admitted, his voice heavy with regret. "So we fought, we neglected our children, and in the end, we birthed a broken home. So, son, if there's one piece of wisdom I can give you from all my years, it's this—find someone who can give you those two things: trust and sacrifice. Don't go back to someone who already shattered that trust. A glass cup, once broken, can never truly be glued back together and used the same way again."
He stepped toward the car, placing his hand on the frame as if ready to work.
"Find someone else," he continued with a faint smile. "Take what you've learned from this relationship and carry it forward—but leave the distrust and red flags behind. They won't help you, and they won't help your next girlfriend, who just might be your wife."
Alex moved quickly, reaching out as if to stop him. He didn't want the old man straining himself, afraid he might blow out his back.
"I never got to teach my sons how to change a flat tire," the old man said gently, a faint smile lifting his weathered face. "So how about you give this old man the chance to live out a small fantasy of his?"
Alex hesitated for a moment before nodding. Together, the two of them worked side by side, the old man guiding him through each step with patience until the job was finished.
"Well, you should be all good now," the man said at last. Then, after a pause, his expression turned thoughtful. "Oh, before you go—you seem like the type of young man who'd try to embody the ideal image of a man. That's bullshit. In my mind, a real man doesn't let the world decide who he should be. Cry if you need to. Don't bottle it up and risk having it explode on the people you love. At least… that's what I've learned."
With those final words, the old man turned away, walking slowly across the road toward the trees. He made his way closer to the sea, settling into the quiet beauty of the night's view.
Alex said his goodbye, then slipped back into the driver's seat, the quiet hum of the car greeting him. Sitting there, he replayed everything the old man had told him. The weight of those words pressed deep, and as he let out a long breath, he couldn't deny the truth in them. Trust—once broken—wasn't something he could see himself giving back to Raven. She had been his first love… but also his first betrayal. Trying to bury it all inside would only eat away at him, and he had heard too many stories of people who lashed out at the ones closest to them.
With a weary sigh, he unlocked his phone and blocked Raven's number, the simple act heavier than he expected. Switching apps, he pulled up his car's system and retrieved the recording from the moment he hit the pothole. The city would pay for the damages—that much he would make sure of.
Once everything was handled, Alex started the car and pulled back onto the road, the night stretching ahead as he finally set off toward home.
When Alex returned home, he found Diana locked in an intense battle on her video game. Her eyes were sharp with focus, fingers moving quickly over the keyboard. The moment she noticed him step inside, she quickly paused the game and turned, curiosity written on her face.
"So… how was the movie?" she asked.
"Me and Rachel broke up," Alex said bluntly as he dropped onto the couch beside her. "Since when did you start playing God of War?"
But Diana didn't even process the second part. Her head shook slowly, eyes wide, struggling to grasp the weight of what she had just heard.
"She broke my trust. I can't forgive how she took something personal and handed it to the Justice League," Alex said softly, his tone heavy, as if he wanted to close the subject before it even began.
Diana opened her mouth, then shut it again, unsure of what words could possibly help. Silence hung between them, until Alex shifted, pulling out his phone.
"I'll order something. You want anything?" he asked, his voice casual, almost too casual.
Diana sighed, slipping a card from her pocket and placing it in his hand. She took it upon herself to order food, then uncorked a bottle of wine and set it down on the table. Before long, the two of them were laughing through the hours, sitting before their screens, losing themselves in a sea of games as the night slipped quietly by.
With the wine flowing, Alex found himself talking far more than he intended, letting details slip about the breakup that he hadn't planned on sharing. Diana, though normally resistant to alcohol, wasn't immune; after enough drinks, even she grew unsteady, her laughter louder, her cheeks flushed with heat.
The hours melted away, game after game, until the night had completely vanished. By morning, Alex's head throbbed mercilessly, punishment for daring to stay awake all night without a moment of rest.
That was when a sharp knock rattled the door. Alex winced, his face twisting in pain at the sound. He turned toward Diana, only to find her slumped on the couch, half-asleep. Her stomach bulged unnaturally, as if she were pregnant—but in truth, she had simply drunk far too much. If she wasn't a meta human, he would have been worried for her.
"I'll get it," Alex said weakly, pushing himself to his feet. His body swayed, his balance nearly giving out as he stumbled forward, but step by step he forced himself toward the door. His head pounded with each movement, the weight of exhaustion and alcohol dragging on him.
He pulled the door open—and froze.
Sitting there was a woman who looked like a mummy, her body battered and broken, struggling to keep herself upright on her wheel chair. In her remaining hand, she held out a bouquet of flowers, trembling from the effort.
'How did she even knock on the door?' Alex thought, his eyes narrowing. She could barely hold the flowers, missing a hand entirely, yet somehow she had managed to summon the strength to reach him.
"You are…?" Alex asked cautiously as he reached out and took the flowers from her trembling hand. His eyes lingered on her broken form, a part of him wondering if this was some kind of prank. It reminded him of the staged videos he'd seen online, and with his head pounding from the night before, he was in no mood to deal with something like that.
"I'm… Sarah," she said weakly, her voice barely above a whisper. "I came to apologize."
Alex blinked, confusion washing over him. Sarah who? And why would she be apologizing to him?
"I don't know a Sarah. You've got the wrong house," Alex said flatly, trying to hand the flowers back to her. He would have helped her normally, but his head was killing him and wasn't in the mood to be so nice.
But she shook her head stubbornly, her body trembling as the motion sent pain rippling through her.
"Alex… I just got my butt kicked by a demonic girl who I'm sure was Raven—just to get here," she cried, her voice cracking as tears welled in her eyes.
Alex's breath caught. Her words hit harder than he expected, leaving him unsettled. He had just been with Raven… but would she really do this to someone? Did she have a reason to do this? Why would she attack someone because they wanted to come here? But this was one side of the story… still, it looked like there was a version of Raven he didn't know.
"If that's true, then you shouldn't be here," Diana said firmly, stepping forward. She had recovered enough from her daze to hear Sarah's words, and the weight of them demanded her attention. With steady force, she moved Alex aside, slipping into the space between him and the broken woman at the door.
She gave Alex a gentle shove back inside, her eyes never leaving Sarah.
Alex exhaled a quiet breath of relief, silently thanking Diana for taking charge. His head was still pounding, the ache too much for him to handle while dealing with a stranger who, for reasons he couldn't understand, seemed to know him.
Yes—Alex had erased Sarah from his mind. She simply wasn't worth the space anymore. To him she had always been just a friend , once that friendship was over, and Rachel… Raven came into his life, there was no room in his head for useless information.