After that night… he disappeared.
No warning.
No goodbye.
No explanation.
Just silence.
---
At first, I told myself it was a good thing.
That I should feel relieved.
That whatever was happening between us was getting too strange anyway.
---
But the relief never came.
Instead… there was this emptiness I couldn't explain.
Like something I didn't know I needed had suddenly been taken away.
---
Days passed.
Normal life tried to return.
People laughed.
Talked.
Moved on like nothing ever happened.
---
But I didn't.
---
Every night, I found myself thinking about him.
Adrian.
His voice.
His eyes.
The way he looked at me like I was dangerous to him… and yet important.
---
I hated that I remembered so much.
And I hated even more that I wanted him to come back.
---
One evening, I finally stepped outside again.
I told myself it was just fresh air.
But deep down, I already knew.
I was hoping.
---
The street was quiet.
Same place.
Same darkness.
Same feeling.
---
But he wasn't there.
---
I laughed to myself quietly.
"What are you even doing?" I whispered.
---
And then I turned to go back inside.
---
"Still pretending you don't wait for me?"
---
I froze.
---
That voice.
---
Slowly, I turned back.
And there he was.
Standing under the dim light like he had always been there.
Adrian.
---
My heart jumped instantly.
Anger. Relief. Confusion.
All at once.
---
"You disappeared," I said.
---
He didn't move closer.
Didn't smile.
Just watched me.
---
"I had to," he replied calmly.
---
"That's all you're going to say?"
---
Silence.
---
Then he finally spoke again.
---
"Being near you makes things harder."
---
My chest tightened slightly.
"Harder how?"
---
He hesitated.
Just for a second.
---
"Harder to control myself."
---
That line hung in the air between us.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Real.
---
I should have stepped back.
I should have asked more questions.
I should have done something logical.
---
But instead…
I stayed.
---
"You always talk like I'm a problem," I said softly.
---
His eyes shifted slightly.
Like that hurt more than I expected.
---
"You are," he admitted.
Then paused.
"…and I still can't stay away."
---
That hit differently.
---
For the first time, his words didn't sound like warning.
They sounded like confession.
---
We stood there in silence.
Neither of us moving.
Neither of us leaving.
---
And in that moment…
I realized something I didn't want to accept.
---
Distance didn't fix anything.
---
If anything…
it made it worse.