You flinched for a moment as thunder pierced the night sky, the sound of heavy raindrops echoing off of the walls. You stood from your comfortable position on couch and made your way over to the window, drawing back the curtain, revealing the distorted image in front of you. The frosty air had completely fogged up the glass, blurring the street view from your apartment as raindrops endlessly streaked the window. You found yourself lifting your hand, slowly tracing your finger along the smooth cold surface, drawing little patterns against the fogged glass. You lost your focus for a second, only to find yourself staring at a heart that you traced, only to notice water droplets continuing to cascade through it before it started to fade. You blinked a few times, snapping yourself back as you reached a hand out and quickly closed the curtain, taking a step back, folding your arms tightly against your chest.

You vividly remembered the last time it rained and how you had done almost the exact same thing, only at the time you weren’t alone. You looked back to the spot where you once stood, recalling the way you had previously pulled back the curtain, mindlessly doodling against the glass, until someone had come up behind you. He had quickly closed the space between you, his chest pressing against your back as his head peered over your shoulder, arms wrapped tightly around you, looking over at your work. He then extended one arm and starting doing the same, the other still had you captured in his embrace as he began outlining different patterns of his own. You bit your lip, trying suppress a smile as you placed your finger to the center of the window, shivering slightly at the cold moist feeling it left on your fingertip. You then traced half of a heart, catching his attention as he brought his finger to yours, outlining the other half. You chuckled, turning your face slightly to meet his, his alluring dark eyes that captivating you in an instant, feeling heat rise to your cheeks. Your hand then reached out to cup his face, your eyes flickering from his soft lips to his enticing gaze before slowly along his defined jawline before finally bringing his lips to yours, softly pressing against his as you felt your eyes flutter shut.

Your eyes shot open once you noticed them begin to close, shuddering at the emotions resurfacing within in you as you shook your head, snapping yourself out of it. It had been weeks since you last talked to him. You ignored his texts, blocked his number, and tried to the best of your ability to shut him out of your life. Only it didn’t work out that way.

The empty hole beside you only burned more and more with each passing day, making yourself increasingly susceptible to the emotions threatening to drag you back down. Even something as simple as the lingering scent of his cologne that stuck to your pillow from the last time you spent the night together sent you over the edge, your walls breaking down and finding yourself subjected to your own petty feelings.

And you hated it.

You hated not having any control over your own emotions, not being able to fight off the pain that randomly resurfaced whenever you thought of him.

You crashed back onto the couch, staring intently at the wall in front of you, a familiar feeling starting to resurface, the almost burning sensation building up as you tried to desperately suppress it. Your vision began to blur, tears welling in your eyes as you forcefully wiped them away before they had a chance to fall. You squeezed your eyes shut, forcefully blocking your tears from forming as you tried distracting yourself with anything, anything that could divert your attention to something else. You focused on the sound of the rain, the subtle tapping against the windows, the lingering echo of each drop…

Then suddenly, there was a knock at the door, causing you to open your eyes. You slowly made your way to your feet, collecting yourself in a calmly manner before reaching for the doorknob, cracking the door open slightly to reveal who was behind it.

Your breath hitched in your throat.

There he was, standing at outside your door. His hair drenched, black strands stuck to his forehead as a few stray droplets streaked down his chiseled face. He wore a black leather jacket, ped to reveal his plain white t shirt underneath, completely soaked, forming around the ridges of his toned muscles. His expression was solemn, his face noticeably pale as if he had been standing in the cold for too long.

“Bobby” you finally exhaled, completely in shock at his disheveled state in front of you. 

He didn’t respond, but pursed his lips. He took in a breath as if to speak, but then released a sigh, swallowing his words. He started shuffling his feet, unable to meet your eyes as he stared at the ground.

You broke the silence that began filling the space between you, “W-What…what are you doing here?” you stuttered, folding your arms as you felt the cold air begin to nip at your exposed skin, realizing you were only in a baggy t shirt and an old pair of shorts.

You couldn’t tell if he was nervous or cold by the way he started shaking, but that triggered your reaction as you instinctively reached for his arm, carefully leading him inside and closing the door behind you.

He stood frozen by the door, his hands gripping his arms as he watched you disappear down the hall, only to emerge a few moments later with a pile of clothes and a towel. You placed the towel down on the coffee table before handing him the small pile of dry clothes. “Here…put these on” you muttered.

He blinked a few times before taking the clothes from you, bowing his head slightly with gratitude.

You both stood there awkwardly for a few moments before you finally realized what was happening and quickly turned around, blushing as you took a few steps away from him, giving him more privacy as he swiftly changed into a pair of sweat pants and a black tank, disposing himself of his soaking wet clothes.

“You can look now”

You hesitantly turned around, forcing yourself to face him.

He managed a smile, shaking his wet hair with his hand. You grabbed the towel from the table and cautiously approached him, you heart beating louder the closer you got to him. You gripped the small fabric in your hand hesitantly brought it to his head, slowly drying his hair as you gently massaged it against his scalp.

You could feel his breathing falter at your close proximity, feeling his eyes rest on yours as you focused on his hair, standing on your toes in order to reach him.

“I’m surprised you still have these…” he said, referring to the clothes that he had left at your apartment what seemed like ages ago.

You just nodded in response, mainly because you couldn’t give a reason to why you still had them. Maybe you didn’t have the heart to just throw them out.

When you finally drew away from him, you took the damp towel and walked back to set it on the table, only this time lingering there with your back facing him, unable to stand the tension any longer.

“Why are you here?” you demanded, holding your breath as you waited for his response.

He scratched his head, tilting his head back, struggling to gather the right words.

“I don’t know…this is actually the first time I found the courage to knock”

You spun around, furrowing your brows, “What do you mean? You…You mean…”

He nodded.

You pursed your lips, feeling your heart swell in your chest, hoping he wouldn’t notice the sudden change in your expression as you tried to hide it.

But he did.

“After our fight, and you slammed the door at me… I came back every night for the past two weeks…and like I said…this is the first time I actually knocked”

“Why? What changed?”

He hesitated before answering, “I don’t know. I guess I just couldn’t take it anymore”.

You looked away from him, feeling yourself unable to control your emotions anymore. The last thing you wanted was to show him how much he affected you, how much he had hurt you, how much you felt completely empty without him. You wanted to prove to him that you were doing just fine, even though you were well aware you weren’t.

He took a step forward, “I don’t want to ever see you like that again, especially for something I had done, because just the thought of seeing you like that-”, he faltered, “It honestly makes me so disgusted at myself.”

“Then why did you come back?” you said coldly, still refusing to meet his gaze.

 “Because I love you”, he blurted, the words falling from his lips faster than he could process them. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t…”

That word. That one stupid word. Felt like a punch to the stomach. It made you want to drop everything and just wrap your arms around him and never let him go. But you just couldn’t, you couldn’t forgive him that easily, even though you wanted to so badly, but you knew it wasn’t right.

“I’m sorry...I can’t do this…” you muttered before storming down the hall, only to have Bobby chase after you, grabbing your wrist and spinning you around to face him. “Just…just answer me one thing”

You looked at him, your breath shaking at how close he was, his soft eyes gazing into yours as a familiar warm feeling washed over you the longer he held your stare.

“Do you love me?”

“Bobby…”

“Please…” his grip on you tightened slightly, feeling the desperation in his voice. “Just answer me that, and I promise I’ll walk out the door and never see you again if it means you’ll be happy…”

You couldn’t take it anymore, you freed yourself from his grip and flung your arms around his neck, burying your face against his chest, tears streaming down your face as you struggled to muffle your cries. He was taken back, but automatically s his arms around you, holding you close as you felt yourself collapse in his embrace.

“I love you Bobby”, you whispered, pulling away for a moment to look at him fully.

A smile of relief spread across his face as his hand reached out and cupped your face, wiping away the remaining tears with his thumb as you nuzzled your cheek against his warm hand. You gently pressed your hand to his, exhaling softly. “I just need time…”

He nodded, pressing his lips to your forehead, letting the kiss linger a few moments before finally speaking.

“As long as it’s not too late…I can’t lose you” he said, his hands running down your sides. “I’ll do whatever it takes to make things right again…I promise…”