unfinished Business

For a second, neither of them moved.

The street was quiet, the air sharp against her skin, but Alexa barely felt it. She was too busy trying to push down the feeling curling inside her, the one Zaiyo always seemed to drag out of her no matter how hard she fought it.

She needed to leave. She needed to want to leave.

But then—

"Alexa?"

Her body locked up.

That voice.

It hit her before she even turned around. A voice she hadn't heard in months, one she had spent too much time pretending didn't matter anymore.

Ethan.

Her stomach twisted as she forced herself to look.

There he was, standing a few feet away, hands in his pockets, expression unreadable. He still looked the same—messy dark hair, sharp jaw, a presence that had once felt familiar. Safe, even. But now, under the weight of Zaiyo's gaze, he felt like something else entirely. A past that wasn't quite dead yet.

Zaiyo exhaled slowly beside her, his smirk barely there.

"Well. That's interesting."

Her pulse kicked up.

Ethan's eyes flicked to Zaiyo, then back to her. "You didn't answer my texts."

Her throat felt tight. He had texted her? She barely remembered.

Zaiyo, of course, didn't miss a thing. He shifted slightly, his presence loud even in silence.

Ethan stepped closer. "We should talk."

It wasn't a request.

Alexa's fingers twitched at her sides. She felt caught, like a trap had been set and she had walked straight into it.

She could feel Zaiyo watching her, waiting. Not stepping in, not yet. Just letting the moment stretch, letting her decide.

And that was the worst part—because for a split second, she didn't know what to do.

She hated that she hesitated.