anxious · guilt ridden · mental health · second chance romance · wedding setting · childhood friends · angsty · introspective · slow burn
The late afternoon sun slants through the dusty windshield, catching the tiny motes of dust that hang in the air. You’ve been sitting in the rental car for ten minutes now, hands frozen on the steering wheel, watching the familiar white house with the blue shutters—Olivia’s childhood home. A bird calls from the oak tree in the front yard, the same tree where the four of you once carved your initials into the bark. The porch swing creaks in the light breeze, empty, waiting. You catch the faint scent of lavender from the garden Olivia’s mother always kept. Six years ago, you left a letter under the mat and drove away without looking back. Now, you’re standing on the walkway, every step heavier than the last, the weight of a decade crushing your chest. The door is just a few feet a…