Chapter 15: He Comes Back When I’m Okay
It's always when you start breathing right again.
When your skin doesn't itch for their touch.
When you wake up and don't check your phone.
That's when they come back.
Like clockwork.
Like karma in reverse.
And him?
He walked back into my life like he hadn't burned it down.
---
It had been weeks.
Weeks since his voice.
Weeks since his silence.
Weeks since I let go of the idea that maybe he'd care enough to notice I stopped trying.
But just when the ache had dulled into something manageable—
Just when I had started to smile without faking it—
He returned.
A text.
"Still wear that shade of red lipstick that made you look like sin?"
I stared at it.
Blank.
Numb.
Half of me wanted to throw the phone across the room.
The other half wanted to reply with a picture and ask, Do I still taste like danger to you too?
---
But I didn't reply.
Not at first.
Because healing had taught me one thing:
Closure doesn't come from the person who hurt you.
It comes when you realize you deserve peace more than chaos.
But closure and weakness?
They're old lovers.
And I was lonely.
So I answered.
"Why? Miss ruining me?"
Three dots. Typing.
Then—
"Only thing I've been good at."
And just like that…
The pieces I'd stitched together trembled.
My walls shook.
And the girl who promised never again started leaning over the edge again.
---
We met.
Of course we did.
Same rooftop.
Same city lights.
Same boy who could unmake me with one glance.
"Did you miss me?" he asked, cocky and soft all at once.
"I missed who I thought you were," I said.
His smile cracked.
"That's fair."
---
He stood too close again.
Said nothing and everything with his eyes.
And when he reached for my hand, I flinched.
"I'm not her anymore," I whispered.
Not the girl who begged.
Not the girl who waited.
His jaw tensed.
"I don't want her back," he said. "I want the version of you that knew I could ruin her—and came anyway."
And the worst part?
That version of me still lived somewhere under the skin I'd healed.
---