Black Ink || Harlena a.u.

64.

I stood frozen at the spot, mesmerized by the man in front of me. There was an anchor on the arm that held the moving creature, and I couldn't help but blink away the overwhelming feeling of sadness, anger, joy but overall longing.

The sadness and anger came from watching the familiar woman next to him smile at whatever he had said. The joy was the fact that I was able to see him again. But the longing was inexplicable.

It was a longing so strong that if it hadn't been for Anne saying my name out loud, I would have never been able to move from my spot. But it was too late anyway. His head snapped over to the direction he heard my name from. His eyes widened in surprise at the fact that I was, indeed, only a few feet away from him. Then they softened to way way he used to look at me. That tender look he wore before he kissed me.

He had changed. His hair was cut, his light stubble peeked, but his eyes were the same as ever. Full of intensity and raw emotion that pulled me towards him. It was incredibly impossible to resist.

I don't remember much after that, except that I spun on my heel and practically ran out the diner.

I gasped desperately for air, but not even the wind that made my shirt ruffle was enough to fill up my lungs.

"Selene!" I turned around to see Anne's panicked expression. "I'm so sorry," she rambled. "I didn't see him there. I didn't know- I'm so sorry."

I shook my head, "I need to leave."

There was a sad look on her face, but she nodded in understanding.

The thought of Harry being so close made my heart race. It was like placing my hand over an open fire when I felt cold. At first it was a feeling of warmth, enough to revive the feeling in your skin to gain back the sense of awareness. But after a period of time, the burn made me pull my hand before it was too late.

But I was afraid that I was, in fact, too late. Was I still burning? Or did I pull back in time?

When we came back to Anne's place, I picked up my bag that hadn't been unpacked, and made my way over to my car.

I looked back at Anne who stood next to me with her arms crossed, shielding herself from the wind.

"Is there any way to change your mind about leaving?"

That question had been played in my head far too many times for the past four years, and I had finally found the right answer, "No- I can't."

She had to understand how difficult it was for me. Not only the fact that I dared to step back to the place that had caused such a hole in my heart, but that I came face to face with the person that was ripped away so cruelly from me, leaving me to plummet down into an abyss that once was held with promise.

I didn't leave without hugging her goodbye, and asking her to thank Liam for me.

The only comfort I had was knowing that she had someone to hold her through the hardest of times. Meanwhile, I had someone who drove me through those hard times and left me alone to hold myself together.