(Lizzy's POV)
The morning sunlight filtered through the curtains, painting faint gold lines across the room. Lizzy sat on her bed, her journal open but untouched. For once, she wasn't trying to write away the ache she was simply being. Breathing. Existing without needing to explain herself.
Funmi was still asleep, curled up with her blanket like a child. Her soft snoring filled the silence, and for some reason, it made Lizzy smile.
She reached for her phone, scrolling absentmindedly until she saw Ben's message.
> Ben: "The sky looks like it borrowed your mood today calm, but hiding something deep."
Ben: "Coffee later?"
She stared at the screen for a while before typing back.
> Lizzy: "Only if it's not instant coffee."
Ben: "You wound me. I make the best real coffee in this building."
Lizzy: "We'll see about that."
For a moment, her heart fluttered not in fear, but in something light and unfamiliar. Maybe this was what trust felt like, inching back one small moment at a time.
Later, at the campus café, Ben was already there, two cups waiting. He looked up when she entered, his smile slow and warm.
"Didn't think you'd come," he teased.
"I almost didn't," she admitted. "But the promise of coffee won."
He grinned. "Then my plan worked."
They sat in their familiar silence the kind that didn't demand words, just presence. Lizzy noticed how easy it had become, how natural it felt to be near him.
When she finally spoke, her voice was softer than usual. "You know what's strange? I don't feel like I'm pretending anymore."
Ben looked at her, his expression thoughtful. "Pretending?"
"For a long time, I thought I had to be fine all the time. To smile so people wouldn't ask questions. But lately…" She looked down at her cup. "It's like I can breathe without performing."
"That's what healing does," he said quietly. "It doesn't erase the pain it just teaches you how to live beside it."
She nodded, her throat tight with unspoken emotion.
After their coffee, Lizzy met up with Funmi in the library. Funmi noticed the faint glow on her face and smirked. "So, who's the reason for that smile?"
Lizzy tried to hide it, but failed miserably. "No one."
"Right," Funmi said with a grin. "You're glowing for no reason."
Lizzy laughed a sound so genuine it made even her pause. It had been so long since she'd heard herself laugh like that.
Funmi's teasing faded, replaced by something softer. "I'm proud of you, you know."
Lizzy blinked. "For what?"
"For finding little pieces of yourself again."
For a long moment, Lizzy couldn't speak. She just reached out and squeezed Funmi's hand. It was a simple gesture, but it carried all the words she couldn't say thank you for staying.
That night, as Lizzy lay in bed, she listened to the rhythm of her heartbeat. It wasn't racing with anxiety anymore; it was steady, calm almost peaceful.
And for the first time in years, the quiet didn't scare her. It felt like home.