The cafe smells like fresh coffee, the kind that's so strong you could probably use it to power a small car. I like it that way. No sugar, no fluff—just a straight shot of reality. And right now, I need it.
Eli's sitting across from me, his usual confidence nowhere to be found. He looks... well, like someone who hasn't slept in a week. His hair is a mess, his shirt's slightly wrinkled, and those eyes—the ones that usually burn with this unspoken intensity—are just... tired.
"I'm sorry," he says quietly, breaking the silence that's stretched between us like an uncomfortable blanket.
I stir my coffee, pretending like the stirring is helping me make sense of everything. But it's not. And if I'm being honest, I'm not sure I'm ready to hear his version of everything.
"You should've told me about Olivia. All of it," I finally say, my voice steady but not as cold as I thought it would be.
Eli exhales slowly, rubbing his forehead like it's the only thing keeping him from breaking down. "I should've. I know that. But I didn't. And now we're here, and I don't know how to fix it."
I don't answer right away. What's there to fix, really? If things were going to be fixed, they should've been fixed before. But I guess we're not dealing in what ifs anymore. We're dealing with right now.
"How do I know you're not lying to me again?" The question slips out before I can stop it, and I immediately feel the weight of it.
His eyes go wide, and he leans forward, his hands gripping the table like he's trying to keep himself from falling apart. "I'm not. Avery, I'm not. I've messed up, but I'm not lying to you."
I stare at him, my heart pounding in my chest, my mind torn between wanting to believe him and not wanting to be hurt again. "I don't know what to believe anymore."
We both fall into silence, and I'm left wondering why we're even here, talking like we're about to put the pieces back together. The thing is, pieces don't just snap back into place, no matter how hard you try to fit them. And that's the problem. This whole thing—the mess with Olivia, the lies, the uncertainty—it's all just a tangled mess of emotions that neither of us knows how to untangle.
I sigh and sit back, crossing my arms over my chest. "You say you love me. You say you're not lying, but every time I start to believe you, something else happens. What am I supposed to do with that?"
Eli's face softens, and for a moment, he looks like the Eli I fell for—the one who made me laugh, the one who made everything feel like it was worth the risk. But then reality slaps me in the face, and I remember all the reasons why I shouldn't trust him.
"I know I hurt you," he says, his voice barely above a whisper. "I know I've made a mess of things. But I want to make it right. I want to fix this. I just... I don't know how."
He doesn't know how. That's the problem. He doesn't have the answers, and neither do I. But maybe that's where we're supposed to start—by admitting that neither of us has it all figured out.
I take a deep breath, letting the tension in my shoulders ease just a little. "I don't know if fixing this is even possible, Eli."
"I don't want to give up," he says, his voice suddenly fierce. "Not on you. Not on us."
I can see it in his eyes—the desperation to make things work. And for a second, I almost want to give in. Almost.
But then the reality hits me again, cold and sharp.
"I don't know if I can trust you again," I admit, my voice barely a whisper.
His face falls, and I can see the hurt flicker across his features. "I understand."
But I don't want him to understand. I want him to fight for me. I want him to fight for us. And I want to believe he's capable of that.
But I'm not sure he is. Not yet.
"I don't know if I'm ready to forgive you," I say, looking down at my coffee, my hands shaking. "I don't know if I'm even ready to try."
For a moment, Eli just sits there, silent, as though the words I've said have knocked the air out of him. He takes a deep breath and then finally speaks.
"Then don't try yet," he says quietly. "Just don't shut me out. Give me a chance to show you I can be better. That we can be better."
It's not a guarantee. It's not a promise that everything will work out perfectly. But it's a chance. And right now, that's all I can give him.
I look up at him, my heart thudding in my chest. "Okay," I say, the word barely leaving my lips. "But no more secrets. No more lies. You want a chance, Eli? Then you need to stop hiding everything from me."
He nods, his expression serious. "No more lies. I promise."
I take another breath, and for the first time in what feels like forever, I feel like we might be able to rebuild something. Not today, not tomorrow, but eventually.
And maybe that's enough.
What will happen when they really start to rebuild? Will the trust come back, or is it too late? There's still so much they don't know about each other.