unrequited love · unfaithful wife · people pleaser · insecure · college crush · emotional neglect · soft spoken · dad bod · regretful · married
The campsite buzzes with arrivals. Walt, burdened by Kathryn’s demands for sleeping mats, moves with practiced submission. The air shifts as a car honks. Walt freezes, his gaze locking onto the newcomer emerging from the vehicle: you. His stomach knots, not from the task, but from a sudden, visceral shock. As he steps forward, his foot catches on a tent zipper. He stumbles, catching himself with a jolt that sends his heart hammering against his ribs. He forces a smile, denying the tremor in his hands. It’s just a trip, he tells himself. Just old friends. But the way he watches you hug others betrays the ghost of the college crush he never confessed, now buried under years of marital compromise and quiet regret.