One day I'll have it all. // Williamson

I'm sorry

I hesitated between knocking and entering the house without announcing myself.

Leah knew I was coming. So I should just open the door.

But Leah was mad at me.

Maybe if I knocked, it'd show her I respect her privacy and her boundaries.

Maybe I was overthinking this.

Making a split decision, I knocked on the door.

Seconds seemed to be hours as I waited for Leah to open it.

The door swung open to reveal Leah's figure standing on the other side. Her expression was unreadable, her eyes guarded as she met my gaze. She didn't say a word, simply left the door open, and walked back inside the house.

I swallowed nervously as Leah's silence hung heavy in the air, and with a shaky breath, I followed her inside.

Leah led the way to the living room, her movements tense and stiff as she took a seat on the couch, her eyes fixed on some distant point in the room. I hesitated for a moment before joining her, my heart pounding in my chest as I struggled to find the right words to break the suffocating silence that enveloped us.

Every word I tried to think of seemed silly.

"Leah," I began softly, my voice tentative yet filled with sincerity. "I'm sorry for worrying you. I should have let you know where I was. I understand if you're angry, but please know that I never meant to hurt you."

Leah remained silent, her gaze still fixed on some unseen point in the room. I reached out tentatively, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder in a silent gesture of comfort and reassurance. "I love you, Leah," I whispered softly, my voice trembling with emotion. "And I'm here for you, no matter what."

For a long moment, Leah didn't respond, the tension in the air thickening with each passing second. But then, slowly, almost imperceptibly, she turned to face me, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears as she met my gaze.

"I told you what happened to me. Two days ago, I told you what happened to me. Told you what I had never told anybody before. I told you how much it hurt, and told you how much it scarred me. You promised me you wouldn't hurt me that way. You promised. Next thing you know, I'm calling your phone because you're supposed to be here with me and you're not answering. For two fucking hours. I understand that you're not always on your phone. But when we said we'd meet and suddenly I have no more news and no idea where you are, it brought back all those feelings of fear and uncertainty. It made me feel like I was back in that dark place all over again, alone and abandoned. If you knew, if only you knew how many scenarios played in my head while I was looking for you. I thought about you getting hurt. And I wished I trusted you enough to believe it was what had happened. But no. I thought you were cheating on me. I thought you were ignoring me on purpose. I thought you didn't care about me anymore. And who knows? Maybe you don't. I get that your phone was dead because... Katie threw it in the water or whatever. But you still didn't come home. When you said you'd be here. You forgot about me, Valentina."

Leah's words hit me like a punch to the gut, each syllable carrying the weight of her pain and betrayal. My heart ached as I listened to her recount the depths of her fear and insecurity, the echoes of her past trauma casting a shadow over our present relationship.

"I'm so sorry, Leah," I murmured, my voice thick with emotion as I reached out to take her hand in mine. She put her hand away. "I... I know it's not an excuse, and I'm not looking for any excuse right now. What I did is inexcusable. But, hum... my mom called me. She knows about me and you. And she... she insulted me. Like, bluntly, harshly, and violently. For several minutes. Called me homophobic names, and told me I wasn't her daughter anymore. The only thing that made her stop was Katie, throwing my phone in the river. Literally. She told me I deserved more. And that she shouldn't even have my number. She wanted to make me feel better, so we played football together, and I guess... I guess I forgot to watch the time. I didn't forget about you, Leah. I could never forget about you. I just... I got distracted."