The rain came down in slow, steady drops, making soft music against the windowpane of Elena's dorm. She sat curled beneath her blanket, notebook open, pen untouched.
Her eyes weren't on her work.
They were on the street.
She didn't even know what she was looking for anymore. A shadow? A figure under a streetlight? A pair of eyes in the dark?
It had become a habit now—glancing out, waiting. Not for something to happen, but for someone to be there.
But the corner stayed empty.
Like her chest.
She closed her eyes and whispered, "Were you ever really there?"
---
Luca stood just outside the campus gate, behind a construction fence, hood pulled low. Rain ran down his leather jacket, soaking into the concrete beneath him.
He could see her room. The little glow from her lamp. The outline of her silhouette near the window.
His breath caught when she touched the glass.
As if she could feel him out there.
As if part of her still knew he was watching.
He clenched his fists, swallowing the ache that rose like a storm in his chest.
She looked so small. So alone. So his.
But he couldn't go to her. Not yet.
---
At school the next day, Elena sat beside Liam in the student lounge. He handed her a warm drink, giving her a concerned glance.
"You okay?" he asked.
She nodded too quickly. "Just tired."
He studied her. "Still not sleeping?"
"I'm fine," she said. "Just… distracted."
Liam hesitated, then leaned in slightly. "If this is about that guy—whoever he was—he's gone, Elena. You don't have to keep waiting for him."
She stiffened.
She hadn't told Liam anything. Not really. But he could tell.
She forced a small smile. "I'm not waiting."
But they both knew she was lying.
---
That night, she walked a little slower on her way home. Her eyes scanned the alley she used to avoid. The bench across the street. The rooftop line.
Nothing.
She didn't know why it hurt so much to feel unseen.
Not after all the fear. The unease.
But somewhere in the middle of that fear… she'd felt safe.
She missed it.
Missed him.
Even if she didn't understand why.
---
Behind the tinted windows of a black car, Luca watched her stop beneath the broken streetlight.
She stood there, unmoving, like she was waiting for something.
Or someone.
He gripped the steering wheel, heart pounding.
He wanted to get out.
He wanted to say, I never left. I'm still here. I always will be.
But if he stepped out of that car… his father would know. The guards would follow. And she would be dragged into his war.
So he stayed inside.
Watching.
Suffering.
Loving.
From a distance.
---