With Hearts to Hear| ✔

|25|

Killian waited for her; even after the elderly gentleman who said he was the owner of the restaurant had kicked him out; even as it had begun to drizzle with rain drops; Killian waited.

He wasn't sure if she would try to leave without him knowing again, or if it was even a good idea to talk to her but every cell within his body pulsed with this unspent energy, this overwhelming need to speak to her again.

He practically felt like he was drowning all over again; seeing her again had been like that gasp of breath after his lungs had been yearning for air for so long, and now waiting to see her face again, he had been swept back below into the cold, darkened depths.

Perhaps it was then Killian realised, no matter how much he had tried to convince himself that he would no longer wait for her, there was nothing else that he could do. As much as he knew he did not need her to survive— the last 2 years had proved that— he knew there was no one else that he could ever want the way he wanted her.

She stepped out from one of the side doors of the restaurant, her body now clad in dark washed mom jeans, a pale blue knitted sweater and her familiar combat boots. A few loose stones crunched under her boot as she walked, justling her violin case and another bag trying to find a comfortable position for them.

She looked up suddenly, as if sensing his presence there, stopping when she found him leaned up against his car. She watched him, wide eyed like a deer caught in the headlights for a few moments, searching for the words to bridge the impossible space between them.

What do you say to someone after leaving them, and not seeing them for two whole years?

"Hi."

"Hi."

"You waited." Rachel observed, her surprise written on her face rather than in her tone. Then, when she realised how ridiculous it was for her to have just pointed out the obvious, she added, "I wasn't sure that you would want to... I mean after I..."

"You decided you couldn't be with someone like me?" Killian couldn't help the bitterness that coloured his hardened voice. He knew he didn't want to be angry, but he couldn't help but think that he had every right to be angry— she had broken his heart.

"That's not—"

"Hey, is this guy bothering you?" The other violinist suddenly cut in, the other two musicians not too far behind. They watched Killian with a suspicious curiosity, somewhat interested in the sudden drama.

Rachel nor Killian had noticed them arrive, too caught up in whatever it was going on between them. They were a flying trapeze act, livewires beneath them, with no idea if this would end with them falling or flying.

"No, he isn't. In fact I'm bothering him." Rachel actually looked a little bit sheepish, but her gaze did not leave Killian's; not until she turned to address the man. "Thanks for looking out for me though Hunter."

The man, Hunter, gave Killian another hard look; one that Killian did not appreciate. He raised a brow, turning back to Rachel— part of him didn't want to believe that she had moved on with someone else, and yet he had resolved to do the exact same just earlier that day.

He kept his face blank, not wanting her to see how much his heart was hurting. "Is he your new boyfriend or something?"

"No! No— Gods no." Rachel shook her head fervently, at the sight Hunter's grip in his violin case tightened and he walked away. His other colleagues trailing behind him, trying to cheer the guy up.

Rachel had known that he had a crush on her, but between working two jobs, trying to earn her diploma, being a mother there had been no time for Hunter to even get a shot. Even if there was, she was so hopeless over her love for Killian and feeling guilty for what she had done that she never would have entertained the thought of trying to be with someone new.