The night air was cool, heavy with silence. Coaching had ended, and most of the students had already disappeared into the dark streets. The parking lot was half-lit, a few scooters and bikes scattered like shadows.

I leaned against my scooty, hood pulled low, waiting. Part of me still told me I was foolish for being here, but another part—the one that had been restless ever since her words—refused to leave.

And then she appeared.

Sia walked slowly, her steps uncertain. The glow from the single streetlight touched her face, and for a moment, she looked like the same girl I'd once known—the girl who had smiled and made the world feel less heavy. But her eyes... her eyes carried weight.

"Sam," she whispered, as if testing whether my presence was real.

I nodded slightly. "I said I'd listen. So... talk."

She came closer, clutching her bag tight to her chest. For a while, she just stood there, her lips parting but no words forming, like she was struggling to find the right thread to begin.

Finally, her voice broke through, trembling but steady.
"You think I betrayed you. That I didn't trust you. And you're right. I didn't. I failed you, Sam."

Her confession stung, even though I thought I had prepared myself.

She took a shaky breath. "Back then... Riza told me things. Things that made me doubt you. She said you were using me, that you laughed at me behind my back, that you thought I was clingy and pathetic. And the worst part is—I believed her. Because she was my best friend. Because I was too blind to see how much it hurt you."

Her words cut deeper than I expected. I clenched my fists, forcing myself not to interrupt.

Sia stepped closer, her voice breaking. "But Sam... I never stopped thinking about that day. The way you looked at me when I pushed you away. That pain in your eyes—it haunted me. I realized too late that Riza twisted everything. I let her words destroy us, and I hate myself for it."

Her eyes shimmered, tears glistening in the dim light. "I know I don't deserve forgiveness. But please believe me when I say... I never meant to hurt you. I cared for you, more than I knew. Maybe I was scared. Maybe I was weak. But I never... never thought of you as less."

Her voice cracked completely on the last word, and she looked down, shoulders trembling.

I stood frozen, her words echoing in me like a storm. Part of me wanted to scream, to ask why it had taken her two years to say this. Another part wanted to step forward, to hold her, to tell her it was enough.

Instead, I whispered, my throat dry, "Sia... why now?"

Her gaze lifted to mine, raw and desperate.
"Because I couldn't live with the silence anymore. Because you still matter to me, Sam. You always did."

The silence that followed was unbearable. The parking lot seemed to vanish, leaving only her words, and the ache between us.

"But I already said I forgave you, So... what do you want now?"  I asked.

Her eyes lifted to mine, shining faintly. "I want to be your friend again. Like before."

That stung more than I thought it would. I let out a short, dry laugh. "And where were you all this time? Two years, Sia."

"I accept that I didn't come sooner," she said, voice catching. "I'm sorry. I was — I was too scared."

"Scared?" I repeated. My chest burned. "You should have trusted me a little. Just once. But you didn't.

She swallowed. "I know. I should have. I should have trusted you. But I couldn't. Not then." Her hands opened, palms up, pleading and helpless. "I thought... if I tried, I'd make it worse.

"You know things take time," I said. It's not like I can be that Sam again — the one who was with you back then. You don't get to rewind things." 

She stepped closer, shaking her head. "I know that. I'm not asking you to forget or to be same. I just — I want a chance. I'll wait. I'll show you, slowly, that you matter to me. That you're important to me."

I looked at her, really looked, at the tilt of her jaw, the honest earnestness in her expression. It would have been easy to let the old edges soften and to give in to the memory of what we had been.

But the person I had become — the person who had been hollowed by two years of doubt and silence — wasn't built for easy returns. I had learned the hard lesson: sometimes love doesn't fix everything. Sometimes it is the thing that leaves scars you carry with you.

"So I think you should stop trying," I said in the end, my voice quieter than I expected. "Move on, Sia."

"No, Sam. I will not move on. I was the one who messed it up — I'll be the one to make it right." She stepped forward an inch, as if proof of her will could be measured by space. "You don't have to be my friend right away. It's okay if you aren't okay now. I'll wait. I'll  wait until you believe me."

I had nothing to say to that, nothing that would make it better or safer. I had no answer that would reassure her or myself.

So I breathed out, slow and small. 

Then I turned away.

I got on my scooty. She stood there, waiting, hoping. But I didn't look back. I couldn't.

As I drove away, her words still echoed in my head—"I'll wait. I'll show you that you're important to me."

And no matter how much I wanted to block it out, I knew those words weren't leaving me anytime soon.

🌙 End of Chapter 🌙
Sam may have driven away... but can you really drive away from words that burn into you? 🚲💭

💔 Will Sam's scars keep her walls up forever?
💫 Or will Sia's persistence break through the silence?

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