The rain had just stopped, leaving the streets glistening under the pale city lights. Bethany stood by the window, her arms wrapped around herself as if trying to hold together everything that was falling apart inside her. The silence of her apartment was too loud tonight — too heavy.
Her phone buzzed. A message from her friend, Kiara:
> “Girl… people saying Larry’s leaving you. You okay?”
Bethany’s heart sank.
Larry. The man she had built her whole world around. The one who promised, “No matter what happens, I got you.”
And now people were whispering that he was walking away.
She didn’t reply. Instead, she grabbed her keys and left the apartment, her mind spinning.
---
Across town, Larry sat at the bar, running his fingers over the rim of a half-empty glass. His friend Malik leaned against the counter beside him.
Malik: “You really gon’ do this, bro? Just leave her like that?”
Larry: (sighs) “It ain’t like that, man. I’ve been trying. You know I have. But every time we talk, it turns into a fight. She don’t trust me no more. What’s love without trust?”
Malik shook his head.
Malik: “You think walking away gon’ fix it? You still love her.”
Larry looked down, eyes heavy.
Larry: “Love don’t always fix everything. Sometimes it just hurts longer.”
---
Bethany’s car stopped right in front of that same bar. She saw Larry through the glass — laughing faintly, pretending everything was fine. Her throat tightened.
She walked inside. The moment Larry saw her, the smile vanished.
Bethany: “So this is where you’ve been? While I’ve been up all night crying, wondering what I did wrong?”
Larry put his drink down slowly.
Larry: “Beth, don’t do this here.”
Bethany: “No, let’s do it here. You don’t answer my calls, you don’t come home, and now everyone’s saying you’re done with me. So say it, Larry. Are you leaving?”
The bar grew quiet. Even the music seemed to fade.
Larry stood up. His eyes were tired — not angry, just empty.
Larry: “You want the truth? I don’t know anymore. I’m tired of feeling like the bad guy. You don’t see what this is doing to both of us.”
Bethany: “You’re tired? You think I’m not? You think loving you is easy when every time I reach for you, you’re halfway gone?”
Tears filled her eyes. Larry’s jaw tightened, his hand twitching like he wanted to reach for her — but didn’t.
Larry: “I didn’t want this, Beth. But maybe we broke something we can’t fix.”
Bethany shook her head.
Bethany: “No, you gave up. You let people talk, let them poison what we had. You started believing them.”
Larry: (softly) “And you started believing I’d leave before I ever did.”
Her breath caught. The pain in his voice cut deeper than anger ever could. For a moment, they just stood there — two people who loved each other too much to stay and too much to let go.
---
Later that night, Bethany sat on her porch, her hands trembling around a cup of cold tea. She replayed every word, every fight, every little moment she ignored.
The door creaked open. Larry stepped out of the shadows, rain dripping from his hoodie.
Larry: “You left your jacket in the car.”
She looked up, startled. He set it down beside her but didn’t leave.
Bethany: “Why are you here?”
Larry: “Because no matter what, I still care. I didn’t want to end things like that.”
Bethany: “So… is it over?”
He hesitated. The wind carried his silence.
Then finally, he whispered,
Larry: “I don’t know what we are anymore. But I know walking away from you feels like tearing out a piece of myself.”
Her tears spilled freely now.
Bethany: “Then don’t. Don’t walk away. We can fix it, Larry. Maybe not all at once, but we can try.”
He looked at her for a long moment, his eyes searching hers like he was trying to find the girl he fell in love with — the laughter, the warmth, the light that used to make everything make sense.
Finally, he said quietly,
Larry: “If we try… you gotta stop fighting me and start fighting with me.”
Bethany nodded, her voice breaking.
Bethany: “I just don’t want to lose us.”
Larry took a deep breath, then reached out, his hand trembling slightly as it found hers.
Larry: “Then let’s stop losing each other over pride.”
---
The night was still, but for the first time in weeks, Bethany felt something — not hope, exactly, but a flicker of it. Like maybe the storm that had been raging between them was finally ready to quiet down.
And though people would keep talking — saying Larry was leaving, that it was over — she knew something they didn’t.
He came back.
Not because it was easy.
But because love, real love, doesn’t quit when things get hard.
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