Every Little Thing

Everything But The Truth

Caleb's P.O.V.

The rest of the week went by surprisingly fast. Lily kept trying to get me alone to talk, but I dodged it every time. After school, in the halls, at lunch - I either stuck close to Jace and Amy, or I bolted in the other direction when I saw her coming. Honestly, I wasn't ready. Not even close. Every time I looked at her, I had to fight the urge to tell her everything-the pain of losing her, how much I missed her, how stupidly, helplessly in love I still was.

At my gym locker, I groaned aloud, dragging both hands down my face. My thoughts were spiraling, and with the game just a few hours away, I needed to snap out of it. I had to at least push her out of my mind long enough to focus.

Sitting next to her in class all week was hell. Every time she smiled at me, I had to fight the instinct to smile back. I wanted to forgive her, but I couldn't open myself up again. Not if it meant risking that same kind of hurt.

I closed my eyes, a slow breath escaping me as I let my mental playlist fill my head — rhythms, beats, something I could control. My hands started tapping my thighs to the beat, a small outlet to focus on anything other than her.

The door creaked open behind me, and I figured it was one of the guys. I didn't bother turning around. I pulled off my shirt and grabbed my cut-off T from the locker.

"Caleb?"

Her voice. Soft, familiar, devastating.

I froze.

Every muscle in my body locked up the second she said my name. I felt her hand brush my arm, featherlight but grounding.

"Jace told me I could find you here," she said gently, pushing lightly on my arm.

And because I'm apparently still completely spineless where she's concerned, I let her turn me.

"Of course he did," I muttered, my voice barely above a breath as our eyes locked.

She looked up at me, eyes wide and unsure, and in that second, it felt like time slowed. Like the whole damn room shrank down to just her hand on my arm and the storm in her eyes.

"Caleb, I'm sorry. I don't have a good explanation for why I stopped talking to you. I could say it was better that way, but that's not true. I never wanted you to hate me. I just... I thought it would hurt less than still talking but not being able to see you."

Her words landed like bricks. Heavy. Sharp. Unexpected. For a second, I couldn't breathe - like hearing it out loud made everything real, and I was completely content pretending. At least, I'm pretty sure.

"Not being able to talk to you was worse than not seeing you," I said quietly, eyes dropping to the shirt in my hands. I fumbled with it, trying to give myself something to do. "It broke me in a way I can't describe. You were my best friend, my closest person, Lily. And I never wanted to lose you. Not completely."

Tears welled in her eyes, and that was it. The walls I'd spent years building? Obliterated in seconds. My legs felt like cooked spaghetti. She could still bring me to my knees without even trying. And worse, I didn't even care. All I cared about was taking her pain away, not matter what it cost me.

Slowly, I reached out, cupping her cheek, my thumb brushing her skin with a kind of reverence I didn't know I still had in me.

"You meant more to me than you could ever know," I whispered.

She leaned into my hand, and it physically hurt not to close the space between us. My whole body leaned toward her like she was gravity, and I was helpless.

"Caleb..." Her voice cracked as tears slipped down her cheeks.

"You were the one person I could always count on. And then you weren't. My trust in you shattered. Seeing you again brought it all back. Everything I buried. Everything I didn't want to remember."

Her gaze shifted, something pleading breaking through the sorrow. She reached out and pressed her hand lightly to my chest.

Heat. All I felt was heat. Her fingers burned a path through my skin, setting my nerves on fire.

"It wasn't easy for me either, Caleb. You were the one person I could tell everything to. Under your gaze, I felt... safe. I messed up. I know that. I wanted to reach out so many times..."

I cut in before I could stop myself. "Then why didn't you? My number never changed. You could've called."

My words came out sharp - too sharp. And the second I saw her flich, I hated myself for it.

"I was scared," she whispered. "I thought you'd hate me. And honestly, I'm still pretty sure you do."

I looked down at her, brushing another tear from her cheek. The sunlight leaked in from the high windows, hitting her eyes just right. The pale green and gold danced the way only her eyes could. Breath taking like stained glass on the perfect fall evening.

"I could never hate you, Lily. Being angry? Sure. But hate you? Never. Not in a thousand lifetimes. All I ever wanted was to have my best friend back."

I wanted to stay mad. God, I tried. But her tears short-circuited everything logical in me. All I could feel was her skin under my fingertips, and the part of me that still wanted to give her everything.

Relief flickered across her features, and I pulled my hand back just as she said, "I'll do anything I have to to earn your trust again. I'm not going anywhere this time."

Her voice was so sure. It scared me.

"I'm going to hold you to that," I said, trying to ease the tension with a weak smirk.

She smiled, still damp-eyed. "I expect nothing less from you. But promise me something? No more avoiding me like I've got the plague."

I raised a brow and glanced down at her hand still resting on my chest.

"I think I can manage that. As long as you promise not to corner me in the boys' locker room again."

She laughed-actually laughed-and it made something tight in my chest loosen.

"No promises. What choice will I have if you're being a stubborn ass?" she teased, tapping my chest.

I exhaled, smiling more genuinely than I had in weeks.

"You should finish getting ready," she said softly as she stepped back. "Can't have you feeling rushed before the game."

"You should too," I replied quietly, hands shoved into my pockets.

"Oh, I know. But I don't have all those pads to wrestle with."

With a playful wink, she turned toward the door. "See you out there. I'll be cheering for you."

Looking at her now, I could still see her. The girl I told everything to, the one who used to know me better than anyone-she was still in there. But she wasn't just the girl I remembered. She was more now - grown, stronger. And somehow, still soft in all the right places. Still the kind of person who cared too much, felt too deeply. Still the only one I ever fully let in. The only one who ever felt like home.

When the door closed behind her, I collapsed onto the bench, trying to process what the hell just happened. She was back. She wanted to fix things. We were friends again.

But somehow, that didn't feel like enough - not when every part of me ached to be hers.

I wanted her to be mine. And it killed me that I still couldn’t say it.

Get a damn grip, I thought, letting out a long, frustrated groan.