ked, voice soft, tired.
She didn't look up from her phone. "Yeah. Whatever."
His name was Aiden. Hers, Mia.
They were supposed to be in love.
"You've been distant lately," he continued. "I miss when you'd talk to me… not just be around me."
She rolled her eyes. "You always make everything about you. I'm tired. Can't I just exist without entertaining your feelings 24/7?"
Aiden looked down at the table. "I didn't mean it like that. I just want to feel close to you again."
She sighed, annoyed. "Maybe you're just too clingy."
The fights were small at first. Then they got louder.
That night, he waited in the hallway. She came in past midnight, laughing over a phone call.
"Where were you?" he asked.
"At my friend's house
"You said you'd be home hours ago. I was worried."
"I'm not a child. Stop acting like my dad.she said
"No, I'm acting like someone who cares. Can't you see that?"Aiden's reply.
"You're always so emotional. It's exhausting."
He bit his lip. "I just want to matter to you."
She dropped her bag and stared at him. Cold.
"Maybe we should just break up."
It wasn't the first time she said it. But this time, it felt more real.
He stepped forward, voice cracking. "No, no, Mia. Please don't say that. Please. I love you. I'll do better. I promise. Just don't leave."
She looked away. "I need air."
And like that, she was gone.
He chased after her but he lost her
That night, he sat alone in their shared room, the lights off. He whispered into the dark:
"Why am I never enough? Why do I keep loving someone who doesn't want me back?"
He wiped out his tears. He grab the bracelet he gave her on their anniversary and a photo during their graduation.
"She didn't go far" he said.
Aiden ran through the streets. Heart pounding. Mind racing.
"She's angry. She always says things she doesn't mean. He told himself that. Over and over"
Rain poured heavily. The storm matched the weight in his chest.
He crossed the road too fast.
Headlights.
Screeching.
Then silence.
The bracelet flew from his hand.
Mia's phone buzzed.
(Unknown number.)
"Hello?"
"Are you Mia?" a voice asked. "There's been an accident. You should come."
Time slowed.
Mia ran through the rain, heart thundering, shoes soaked. When she turned the corner near the main road, flashing red and blue lights blurred her vision.
She saw him.
Aiden's Lying still on the wet road
His hoodie soaked in blood. His hand open. The bracelet she once threw away rested in his palm.
"No…" she whispered. Her knees collapsed.
She crawled toward him, trembling.
"Please... please wake up," she whispered. "Don't do this. I didn't mean it. Aiden, I didn't mean anything I said."
She kiss his cold cheek. His eyes didn't open.
"You can't leave me. Not like this. I still love you. I just… I didn't know how to show it. I was scared. Please… come back. I'll be better. I'll love you the way you deserve. Just open your eyes. Please..."
The rain drowned her cries.
In his funeral
He lay still in the casket. Aiden's face looked peaceful. As if sleep finally gave him rest.
Mia stood frozen.
Then the memories hit like bullets:
- Him waiting for her outside class with her favorite drink.
- His hands shaking while holding her crying body during finals.
- The way he said, "Even if you don't love me back the way I love you, I'll still be here."
- The night he told her, "You're the only thing that makes me feel like I belong."
Her knees buckled. Her chest caved in.
She walked toward the casket and gasped. Around his wrist the bracelet. The same one she threw in a drawer.
"I didn't mean it!" she cried. "I didn't want this! Please, come back. Aiden!"
No one moved. Just tears. And silence.
In her dorm, Mia curled up on the floor.
"You begged me to stay. And I made you feel like you were nothing," she whispered. "You looked at me like I was your whole world… and I made you feel like a burden."
She picked up his hoodie, now stained with her tears. It still smelled like himmint and laundry softener.
"You waited. You forgave me every time. I just thought you'd always be there. I thought I had more time."
- Their first date. He gave her a rose, awkwardly, smiling like a boy
- The night she was sick. He skipped classes to take care of her, holding her hand through the fever.
- The time he cried, thinking she would leave him. And she laughed.
She remembered the text he sent weeks ago:
"I know I'm not perfect. But I swear, I love you more than anyone ever will."_
And she never replied.
She walked to the road every day.
The rain poured. She sat on the sidewalk. Waiting.
Waiting for a miracle.
A car slowed beside her.
"You okay?" someone asked.
She didn't respond.
Because she wasn't.
A bright light and a speeding truck heading her way and hit her
She opened her eyes.
Breathing heavily.
Her room. Sunlight spilled through the curtains.
The sweater in her arms.
The bracelet on her wrist.
Her phone buzzed.
-Aiden: Morning, sleepyhead :)
Tears flooded her eyes.
She called him.
He answered. "Hey, Mia! You okay?"
She choked on her own breath. "I love you. I'm sorry for everything. I was so cruel. I saw you… you died, Aiden. I thought I lost you."
He laughed softly, confused. "You had a bad dream, huh? I'm not going anywhere. I promise."
She didn't wait. She ran to his dorm, barefoot, breathless.
When he opened the door, she didn't say a word.
She wrapped her arms around him, held him tight, crying into his chest.
He held her.
In silence.
No words were needed.
Because sometimes, you get to wake up before it's too late.
And this time, she wasn't going to waste it.
The End.ʘ‿ʘ