The house feels different after Jaxson leaves.
Too quiet. Too aware.
Brinley sits on the edge of her bed long after the door clicks shut, her hands resting in her lap, breathing through the ache that still lives in her chest. Loving him hasn't gone away, but it's no longer running her.
That matters.
Downstairs, Brandon's voice drifts up, low and tense as he speaks to Nitika on the phone. Brinley doesn't catch the words, only the concern threaded through them. She knows he's still afraid. Not just of Jaxson, but of losing her to something he can't protect her from.
She stands and heads for the bathroom, splashing cool water on her face. The girl staring back at her looks older somehow. Less innocent. Wiser in a way she never asked to be.
A buzz comes from her phone on the counter.
Jaxson:
I meant what I said. I'll show you. No pressure. Just honesty.
She stares at the message for a long moment before locking the screen.
Not yet.
Downstairs, Brandon looks up when she enters the kitchen. "You sure you're okay?"
She pours herself coffee, hands steady. "I am. I talked. I didn't run."
He studies her. "Proud of you."
That almost breaks her.
Later, as the afternoon settles in, Brinley steps outside onto the porch, letting the sun warm her skin. She closes her eyes and breathes,really breathes, for the first time in days.
A car pulls up.
She opens her eyes.
Jaxson stays inside the vehicle, engine off, hands on the wheel. He doesn't approach. Doesn't assume. He waits.
Her heart stutters.
This is what he meant.
Brandon appears behind her. "You want me to scare him off?"
She smiles faintly. "Not yet."
She walks down the steps, stopping a few feet from the car. Jaxson steps out slowly, keeping his distance.
"I said I wouldn't disappear," he says. "So I'm here. No expectations."
She nods. "Good."
Silence stretches, not uncomfortable, just new.
"I'm not ready," she says honestly.
"I know."
"But I will be," she adds. "If you keep showing up like this."
His eyes soften. "I can do that."
She turns back toward the house, pausing halfway. "Jaxson?"
"Yeah?"
"This time," she says quietly, "I need you to earn me."
He nods once, deeply. "I will."
As she steps inside, Brinley realizes something powerful,
Love doesn't have to chase.
Sometimes, it waits.