I was done waiting.
For texts that never came.
For a voice that only whispered when it wanted something.
For a boy who kissed like a god but loved like a ghost.
He had his chance.
He wasted it.
And I was done bleeding for someone who never stayed long enough to see the stains.
---
He showed up the next morning.
On campus.
By the steps I always sat on.
Like he hadn't gone radio silent.
Like he hadn't kissed me and disappeared.
Like we were still something soft.
"You've been avoiding me," he said.
I didn't even look at him.
"I've been healing."
Silence.
The kind that used to mean something between us.
But now? It just felt hollow.
---
"I didn't mean to disappear," he offered, voice low.
"That's the thing with you," I said, finally turning to face him. "You never mean to ruin things. You just do."
He winced.
Good.
Let it sting.
---
He reached for me.
Not a touch.
Just... a movement. Like habit.
But I stepped back.
And for the first time, I watched him falter.
Because he expected the girl who fell.
Not the woman who rose.
"You don't get to want me now," I said.
Not with the same mouth that kissed me breathless and left me wordless.
Not with the same hands that never stayed.
---
"I messed up," he admitted. "I got scared."
I laughed. Cold. Bitter. Real.
"Scared of what?" I asked. "Of being seen? Of being wanted for more than your mystery?"
"No," he whispered. "Of how easy it was to fall for you."
And damn it, that almost broke me.
Almost.
---
But I shook my head.
"Falling for someone doesn't excuse breaking them."
He stepped forward.
But I didn't let him close the distance.
"Look at me," I told him. "Really look."
He did.
Eyes scanning every inch.
Slower than a breath.
Softer than he'd ever been.
"I'm not yours anymore," I said. "I was never meant to be owned. Only loved."
---
He said nothing.
Just watched me like I was a fire he couldn't put out.
And maybe I was.
Because this time, I walked away.
And he didn't follow.
Not because he didn't want to.
But because he finally understood—
I was never the one who should've chased.
---