SPACE

It was a quiet afternoon when the message from Tobias arrived. Ann had been expecting it, but still, her heart skipped a beat when she saw his name on her phone.

She had spent the last few weeks pulling away, carefully creating space between them. But as she read his words, the weight of the situation hit her hardly again.

"Hey Ann, can we meet for coffee? I feel like there's some distance between us, and I don't want to lose touch with you. Can we talk?"

She stared at the screen for a long time. A part of her wanted to ignore the message, to pretend like everything was fine. But that wasn't fair to him.

He deserved more than that.

With a sigh, she put her phone down. She had been avoiding this moment, the conversation where she would have to explain herself, where she would have to admit that she just want to have some time to sort things alone .

No matter how much she cared about him, she needed to be alone right now. It was the last thing she wanted to do, but it was the only thing that felt right.

After a few minutes of thinking, Ann typed a quick reply.

"Sure, let's meet. How about 3 PM?"

It wasn't long before Tobias confirmed. The nerves in her stomach tightened.

She had been preparing for this conversation in her head, but no amount of preparation could have softened what was to come.

Three hours later, Ann stood in front of the café, watching as the afternoon light began to fade into evening. Her heart thudded in her chest, her hands tightened with the strap of her bag.

She spotted Tobias a few feet away, pacing slightly as he looked down at his phone. His face softened when he saw her approach.

"Ann," he said, his voice warm but with an underlying uncertainty, as if he wasn't sure how to act.

"Hey," she replied offering him a small smile. They both walked inside, and he led her to a corner booth, their usual spot.

The café was quiet, with the soft hum of conversation around them, but there was an undeniable tension between them now. The easy flow of their interactions had vanished, replaced by something heavier.

They sat down, and Tobias immediately leaned forward, his brow furrowed. He didn't waste any time.

"Ann, I'm gonna be honest. I don't know what's going on,"

he began, his eyes searching hers for an answer. "You've been distant lately. I've been trying to understand if I did something wrong, but I don't know. I feel like I'm losing touch with you. Did I say something? Did I do something that pushed you away?"

Ann's stomach twisted. She had been afraid of this— of the pain in his eyes, the confusion in his voice.

She hated that she was the cause of it. But she couldn't deny the truth any longer. She had to say it, even if it meant hurting him.

She swallowed hard, her fingers tapping nervously on the table as she looked at him, the words struggling to come out.

"It's not you, Tobias," she said quietly, her voice steady despite the emotions swirling inside her.

"It's me.

I... l've been thinking a lot, and I realized that I need space. I need to figure things out on my own." Tobias blinked, his eyes searching hers for any hint that she was joking. But there was no trace of humor in her expression.

"Space?" He repeated, his voice tinged with disbelief. "Ann, I don't understand. What do you mean by 'space'? Are you saying you don't want to see me anymore?"

The question stung more than she expected. It was not that she didn't want to see him it was that she couldn't keep leaning on him the way she had been. She needed to be alone. She needed to learn how to stand on her own, without relying on anyone else, especially him.

"I do want to see you," she said softly, meeting his gaze with a mixture of guilt and determination. "But not in the way we have been. I'm just... I'm not ready for this. Not right now. I need to figure out who I am, what I want, without feeling like I'm depending on someone else to help me with that. I can't keep using you as a way to escape everything else in my life."

She could feel the weight of her words hanging between them. Tobias was silent for a long moment, processing what she had said.

Ann held her breath, her heart aching with every passing second.

Finally, he spoke, his voice quieter now, almost distant.

"I don't understand," he said, shaking his head slightly.

"I thought we were building something.

Something real. Why now? Why after everything?*

Ann's heart cracked. She wanted to tell him how much he meant to her, how he had helped her in ways no one else had. But she also knew that this was not about him. This was about her.

"I know it might not make sense, Tobias," she said her voice wavering slightly.

"But I have to do this. I have to do it for me. I've been so caught up in what's has been happening between us, I have taken a step back to think about who I am when I'm not with you. I'm...

I'm learning to be okay on my own."

Tobias stared at her, a mixture of hurt and understanding crossing his face. She could see that he was struggling to accept it, but a small part of him seemed to understand.

"I don't want to lose you," he said quietly, his voice low. "But I get it. I just... I didn't expect this. I thought we were in a good place."

Ann looked at him, her heart breaking. "I don't want to lose you either," she whispered. "But I have to do this. I have to find myself first. I need to know that I can stand on my own before I can be with anyone, including you."

Tobias nodded slowly, his face softening with resignation.

"Okay," he said, his voice almost a whisper.

"I will give you the space you need. But I hope that.…..

one day..….we can figure this out."

Ann felt tears prick at the corner of her eyes. "I hope so too," she said softly.

They sat in silence for a few moments, the weight of their conversation hanging between them like a thick fog.

Ann wasn't sure if she had made the right decision, but she knew that she had to follow her heart, even if it meant taking a painful step away from Tobias.

As they stood to leave, Tobias pulled her into a brief, tight hug. She rested her head against his shoulder, savoring the comfort of his presence, but knowing that it was time to let go.

"Take care of yourself, Ann," he murmured, pulling away.

" You too, Tobias,"

she whispered, her voice breaking.

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