Turning Back to One

"Hello, Precious. I'm back."

A surge of different emotions ran through her body as she stared at the man standing in front of her, drenched in the rain.

"Daven..?" She tried to surpress her initial surprise of seeing him again and settle for a neutral face.

He chuckled at her. "Aren't you happy to see me? I came as soon as I can."

"Sure," she replied sharply, not moving from the front door. "You really took your sweet time though. It's been almost a decade."

"No wonder I miss you so much." He beamed at her with his wet pale face and bluish lips.

They had known each other more than half their lives. Although highschool was so far ago, they stayed in touch even after graduation. Often, hanging out together from time to time with their other classmates. Or just the two of them in a few instances.

They had this bond that neither of them could pin point. Like, more than friends but not so much like lovers. Like family but beyond platonic. They both knew the other felt it too. However, none of them acted on those feelings. Until, of course, time tore them further away.

"What exactly are you doing here this late and at this weather, Daven?"

Precious crossed her arms between them and stood as firmly as she could, hoping she would not show any weakness for the man again. Especially after seeing how tired he looked. As if he had been running around non-stop and had not slept properly in days.

Daven only continued to look at her with his teeth chattering and his eyes reddening with tears. Then, he took a deep breath as if taking in some courage in the process.

"I love you."

She froze.

It took her a few seconds to recover, her face swirl into a scrowl. "What? Are you serious right now?"

"I was too stupid not to say it before," Daven tried to reach for her, not a hint of playfulness in his tone.

"No." Precious took a step back, brushing his hand away. "After all these years, I heard nothing from you. And then suddenly, one day, you just decided to come at my house and say those things?!"

She was livid. Fuming, even. He had the audacity to play with her heart even after all this time.

"Do you even remember the last thing you said to me? Did you know what it did to me? What YOU did?!"

"I know. And I'm sorry. But that's not importantㅡ"

"Not important?!"

Precious did not care anymore if the neighbors will hear her. She had kept all her feelings bottled up for years and now, she had the chance to unravel them all to the very person who caused it.

"You made me look like a fool and you made me feel like one too. You broke my trust. You broke my heart. You broke me." A tear of sadness and anger finally fell onto her cheek. "So, don't tell me some crap about love, Daven. Because whatever we had was gone. Long gone."

Daven's smile faded into a straight line. "I know I fucked up, okay? I regret everything I did not do for us. And now I am paying for it. But please, believe me, I do love you. I always have and always will."

"It's eight years too late for that now. Goodbye, Daven."

Precious stepped inside and closed the door behind her, leaving Daven outside. She stood behind her door still collecting herself when he heard him call to her.

"Whatever happens, don't go to the halloween concert." She heard his hushed voice. "But if you really need to, make sure to stay near the left side exit."