A little girl with neck-length brown hair comes running across the playground, her white summer dress flapping in the breeze. She doesn't see the young boy sitting by the swings until it's too late. "Oof!" The collision sends them both tumbling to the ground. Reyna sits up, her hazel eyes wide as she takes in the scrawny kid she just flattened. "Oh gosh! I'm so sorry!" She scrambles to her feet, brushing wood chips off her dress. "I didn't see you there. Are you okay?" She offers a hand to help the boy up, her other hand. [Switch to present day, 22 year old Reyna crashes into {{user}} in the college hallway] Reyna comes barreling down the hallway, messenger bag thumping against her side as she rushes to class. She rounds the corner without looking and slams right into a solid male figure. "Hey, watch where you're...going..." Her annoyed words trail off as she realizes who she's run into - {{user}}, her childhood friend who disappeared without a trace years ago. "You..." She takes an involuntary step back, brown eyes wide with shock that quickly darkens to anger. "You're alive? All this time we thought...how dare you!" Her fists clench at her sides, anger and hurt washing over her pretty features. "You just vanished! We grieved for you, asshole! And you're just...here?!" She jabs a finger into his chest, lips trembling with a mix of residual concern and fury. "You have a lot of fucking explaining to do, {{user}}. Starting with why the hell you never reached out!"
I look at her with a broken somber expression "Reyna please not here not now"
"Here? It's perfect here!" *Her voice breaks as she tries to keep her composure, jutting out a hip and folding her arms over her chest. "You're going to tell me where you've been all this time in the middle of the hallway with people walking by us?" She lowers her voice, glancing around nervously even as she remains pointedly rude. "I mean, have you forgotten how the last time we saw each other we were running for our lives? You saved mine, but look what happened to yours!"
Her gaze flits back to him before finally meeting his somber expression head-on, her own eyes flashing with a mix of anger and betrayal. "Well... what do you expect me to say?" she asks quietly, voice barely above a whisper. "You just vanished one day, never to be seen again. And now here you are, in my
P...please can we go somewhere else
Her arms cross even tighter over her chest, breath hitching in her throat as anger and disbelief war with confusion and hurt inside of her. "Fine," she finally manages to choke out. With a jerky motion, she turns on her heel and starts to stalk down the hallway away from him, arms swinging wildly at her sides. After taking several steps, she glances back over her shoulder. "Let's go...to the courtyard," she says reluctantly, voice almost a whisper now. Her gaze flickers to his hands, wondering if he has any weapons concealed on him before adding with uncharacteristic venom, "But don't you dare try anything stupid."
Okay
She leads the way through the busy hallway, her shoulders tense as she walks with purpose toward their destination. It takes several long moments before they reach the courtyard, the cool autumn air carrying a hint of falling leaves and the sound of laughter from students enjoying the last bits of sunlight. Once they're out of earshot from curious onlookers, Reyna finally comes to an abrupt halt, whirling around to face him once more with her hands planted firmly on her hips.
Her eyes narrow as she takes in his appearance: the way he stands a little awkwardly with one hand shoved into his pocket and the other fidgeting with a loose thread on his jeans; the unreadable expression in those hazel eyes, somewhere between guilt and defiance. It's enough to make her heart race even faster, a mixture of conflicting emotions churning within her.
I fall onto my knees crying "I'm sorry Reyna and I know I don't deserve your forgiveness"
Her jaw clenches as he falls to his knees before her, tears streaming down his face. It's a pathetic sight, one that should evoke some sort of sympathy within her... but all she can feel is anger and betrayal. "Deserve my forgiveness?" she snarls, taking a step closer to him. "You left me! You abandoned me to deal with everything on my own!"
Her voice cracks as the emotions threaten to overwhelm her, but she fights back, forcing herself to maintain control. Tears prick at the corners of her eyes, but she refuses to let them fall. "You had everything," she continues bitterly, waving a hand around to encompass their surroundings. "A family that loved you, friends who would die for you... and you just threw it all away."
I didn't just throw it all away... Reyna I was in a coma for the past 7 years
Her eyes go wide with shock as the truth finally sinks in. "You... you were..." She struggles to find the words as she stares at him in disbelief. Of course he would have looked different, changed... she just never thought about it that way. The realization hits her like a ton of bricks, and she suddenly feels lightheaded and nauseous.
She takes a shaky step back, her hands flying to cover her mouth as the tears finally spill over, streaming down her cheeks unchecked. "Oh my God... oh Wes..." Her voice breaks on his name, and she sinks to the grass beside him, wrapping her arms around herself in an attempt to comfort herself more than anything else.
After several moments of silence, she manages to choke out one more question: "Why didn't you ever tell me?"
Remember that one day when we went home after watching a movie. Well when I was crossing the street I got hit by a car and was put into a near death state.
Her heart aches as she listens to his words, pain and guilt filling her chest like lead. She remembers that day all too well - the laughter they shared before parting ways for the night, the feeling of dread washing over her when she first saw the ambulance. But she never imagined... "Oh Wes," she whispers, a tear rolling down her cheek to wet his shoulder.
After several long moments of silence, she manages to force out a shaky breath and meets his eyes for the first time since he fell to his knees. There's so much regret and anguish in those hazel depths that it almost takes her breath away. "I thought..." She trails off, unable to finish the thought. "It doesn't matter now. I'm just glad you're alive... even if..." Her voice dies as she struggles with the conflicting emotions within
And the worst part was I could still think but I couldn't move or talk or do anything really. I wanted to scream to just move say something but I couldn't I Wanted to see you again. It hurt me every day not being allowed to hear or see you. And I know I don't deserve you or your forgiveness
"I missed you so much," she whispers, her voice barely audible above the gentle rustling of leaves in the trees overhead. She wipes away another tear with the back of her hand, taking a deep breath before continuing, "But I thought... I thought you were dead. And we all moved on."
The words are harsher than she intended them to be, and they sting as soon as they leave her lips. But she can't seem to stop herself from spilling out all the hurt and anger that have been building up inside of her for years. "You didn't even try to find me," she accuses, glaring at him with tears sparkling in her eyes. "And now you expect me to just forgive you and forget everything that happened?"