Read It's You And Me :: Left Behind

It was a quiet early morning. The wind moved gently across the yacht, carrying a faint chill that brushed against the hull. Lyra stood on the deck, arms resting on the cold metal railing, watching the last small boat carrying her crew slowly disappear into the distance.

For someone who usually welcomed a bit of alone time, the sight left an uneasy weight in her chest.

“I guess we’re the only ones here, huh?”

She turned, forcing a small smile at the boy in baggy jeans and a loose white shirt with a few top buttons undone.

“Yeah… looks like it.”

Ren answered, his expression calm, a faint smile still on his face.

Lyra didn’t know what to do with the silence that followed. It lingered just a little too long, enough to feel uncomfortable. She turned away without another word and walked down to the bottom deck, straight to her master bedroom.

Ren watched her leave.

Did she just ignore me?

He frowned slightly, the thought lingering longer than it should have.

Of course she did.

It wasn’t even that serious, but it still grated on him.

Whatever. Not my problem.

He told himself that and went off to find a bedroom, his mind still dull from being pulled out of sleep too early.

—

After brushing her teeth and taking a cold shower, Lyra got dressed.

These are really comfortable.

She stood in front of the tall mirror a moment longer. The oversized black t-shirt hung loosely over her frame, baggy joggers sitting low on her hips. It wasn’t styled. She hadn’t planned any of it. But it still looked right.

Nice having no one around for once.

She opened the door to her bedroom. Curiosity and uneasiness moved through her chest, quiet but steady.

The bottom deck felt too still. Only the faint creak of the hull and the constant, distant sound of water.

He’s not here…

She paused.

Probably still upstairs.

She started walking toward the kitchen.

Breakfast. Toasts and eggs.

—

Oh shit… am I dead?

Ren blinked at the dark window, still half-asleep. His skin felt sticky with sweat, the kind that comes from sleeping too long in the wrong rhythm. He ran a hand through his damp hair, pushing it back.

Wait… why the hell is it already dark?

He sat up slowly. The motion felt unreal, like his body had skipped hours it wasn’t supposed to miss. A heavy, disoriented fog clung to him — the strange, clammy weight of waking up in the middle of the day when the world outside had already slipped into night.

He stayed there a moment, breathing through it.

I'm stuck on this yacht… with her.

The short conversation from earlier slid back in — awkward, clipped, over way too fast.

Yeah… that was weird.

He let out a slow breath.

I'm not dealing with any of that shit now.

His stomach growled, sharp and insistent.

He paused.

Ah fuck it.

He dragged himself up, quickly brushed his teeth, and stepped out of the room.

He walked straight into the kitchen area and stopped.

There she was—petite, almost princess-like, wearing a t-shirt clearly too big for her, casually munching on a piece of fruit cake like everything was completely normal.

What the hell…

She hadn’t noticed him yet. Ren fixed his posture a little and cleared his throat.

“Excuse me…”

He said it gently.

“Oh—sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

She looked startled for a split second, then covered it quickly with a warm, practiced smile.

“What’s going on here? They said it’ll only take a few hours.”

“I’m not too sure… maybe something happened midway. We’ll just have to wait and see.” Lyra said.

“Ah, okay then.”

A short pause followed.

“Have you eaten?” she asked

“No, not really. I just woke up.”

“Oh, there’s plenty of food here. You can help yourself.”

“Yeah, I will. Thanks.”

The conversation felt too polite. Too careful. Like both of them were acting normal when the situation clearly wasn’t.

Ren gave a small nod and stepped out of the kitchen, the silence following him out.

He didn’t get far.

His stomach twisted again, louder this time.

Right… I came here to eat.

He stopped, exhaled quietly, then turned back toward the kitchen.

Lyra hadn't moved.

It’s almost dawn and this guy just woke up? What kind of life is this… and he just walks in like that?

Lyra kept the thoughts to herself, her expression soft and controlled as she tried not to dwell on how long the crew had been gone.

A shadow stretched across the floor again.

She froze for a brief moment, then looked up.

Ren was back again.

She blinked quickly and straightened herself slightly.

“Oh, can I get something for you?”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll cook.”

“Alright, just make sure to clean up afterwards.”

“Yeah, sure.”

Ren picked up a pan and started cooking. For someone only making fried eggs, he seemed a little too focused, like he was putting in more effort than necessary.

Is he… trying to look cool or something?

Lyra glanced at him from the side as he tied an apron over his shirtless body. Something in her chest tightened slightly, though she couldn’t quite tell why.

She walked over to the fridge, more out of habit than anything, her eyes still drifting back to him every few seconds.

She grabbed the milk.

She's lactose intolerant.

Ren cracked five eggs into the pan, turned the stove on high, and started scrambling them aggressively.

That’s definitely going to turn out rubbery… does he always cook like this? At least plate it properly…

She poured the milk into a mug, barely thinking about it, her attention still on him.

Then she froze.

You’ve got to be kidding me…

In front of her was this boy—no, this grown man—so carefree it almost didn’t make sense, like problems simply didn’t exist for him, like being stuck out there meant nothing at all.

Eating eggs straight from the pan.

With his bare hands.

“What? You don’t like eggs?”

Lyra didn’t respond immediately.

“Uh, excuse me?”

“Oh—sorry. I just zoned out for a second.”

“Did I do something wrong?”

Oh my god yes!

“No, not at all. I was just a bit worried.”

Ren paused for a moment, then glanced at her.

“Don’t worry, they’ll be back soon.”

“Yeah… hopefully.”