Sarah_Bch

"True love is not measured by how easily we forgive, but by how deeply we understand what needs no forgiveness. It is not in what the eyes witness, but in the quiet ache the heart feels. It is not in hearing the words, but in grasping the silence in between. And love… it is not about how we let go  it is about the strength it takes to hold on when everything else is breaking."

But what happens when a boy, shattered by the weight of his past, crosses paths with a girl who carries the sun within her?
Will her light be enough to stitch his broken pieces back together… or will the darkness in him slowly bleed into her, dimming everything she is?

Is love truly strong enough to save them both…
Or is it the very thing that will destroy them?

Two Different Worlds Meet

Two Days Before the Match

I swear I've never felt this nervous in my life and it's not even about the match. I'm standing right outside her door, palms sweaty, trying to act chill while Aidan, the rat, is practically pushing me to do this. It sounded easy when we talked about it, but now that I'm here… it's terrifying.

Before I could run away, the door opened and there she was. Sissel. Standing right in front of me, looking so effortlessly beautiful that I had to physically stop myself from grinning like an idiot. Thank god my face doesn't show half the chaos happening inside me. My heart's running a whole marathon, but outside? I'm the definition of calm.

"Hey, Sissel. I hope you're doing well," I blurted out faster than intended but kept my tone calm. "I just… I came by to ask you something."

"Yeah, sure. Go on, I'm listening," she said, her soft voice pulling me deeper into my own head. Focus, Jay. Stay chill.

"My next match is in two days… and I was wondering if you could come?" I finally asked, watching her cheeks flush pink. God, she's cute.

"Yes, of course. I'll be there," she smiled, and it felt like I could finally breathe again.

I smiled back, waved goodbye, and practically ran home where Aidan was already waiting like a hawk. All I did was give him a thumbs up, and he instantly knew. The idiot started dancing around, teasing me nonstop the entire afternoon. But honestly? I didn't even care. For once, I was too damn happy to mind.

Am I dreaming? Did Jay really come by himself and ask me to his match? Not Aidan. Not anyone else. Him. Jay.

I still can't believe how I managed to respond without my voice cracking because I swear my heart was loud enough for him to hear. But I did it I said yes. And now, I'm just lying here, replaying the whole thing like the hopeless idiot I am.

Still… I'm happy. And I don't even care if I spend the entire day thinking about him. It's Jay. My Jay.

I was just chilling at home when Jay called, asking me to join him for dinner. He said it'd be a good chance to meet his best friend Aidan and just relax. I didn't really have plans, so I agreed. Sounded fun until he said we'd meet at the mall and head to his place from there.

The walk was fine at first… until I realized where we were going. My stomach dropped the second we took a turn towards that part of the city I swore I'd never set foot in again. My chest started aching, the air got heavier, and I couldn't stop glancing around like I was being watched.

Jay kept asking if I was okay, but what could I even say? 'Hey, bro, I used to live near here and it almost destroyed me'? Yeah, no. I thought about bailing, faking an illness, anything to avoid facing that place again.

But we were already there. In front of his apartment complex. I swallowed down the nausea and forced a smile because it wasn't his fault. He had no idea.

Inside, things felt a little better. Aidan turned out to be a cool guy loud, annoying, but cool. Knew all the games I liked too, so that was a win. We hit it off faster than I expected, and for a second, I even forgot how much my chest hurt.

We were eating when the doorbell rang. Aidan got up to open it, and I didn't think much of it until I heard that voice. That painfully familiar voice that made my skin crawl.

Before I could even process it, my body moved on its own. I shot up and went straight to the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind me. No second thoughts. Just… survival.

A Step Too Close to the Past