Chapter 10: The Years Away — Anna's Side
Anna
Leaving home wasn't a choice. It was a survival tactic.
I packed up my life in a weekend, gave my parents a vague excuse about needing "space and clarity," and transferred schools within the month. History major became Business major. A new city. A new start. A new Anna.
No one knew what happened that night.
Not even the boy I thought I loved—Josh. I couldn't face him. Couldn't face Eli. Couldn't face myself, really.
I told everyone I just needed a change.
In truth, I was running from the image of my best friend asleep beside me, from the way my stomach had dropped when I realized who I'd kissed… who I'd wanted. And how part of me had known it was Eli. And hadn't stopped.
I thought if I worked hard enough, succeeded fast enough, I could outgrow the shame.
And in many ways, I did.
I graduated top of my class. Got into a fast-track business program that led to an accounting internship with a major firm. I found my footing in finance, something I'd once sworn I'd never touch.
Numbers were easier than people. You didn't have to explain why you changed directions with numbers. You just made them add up.
By the time I turned twenty-five, I was already getting recruitment offers from companies I used to dream of. My resume was clean. My life was organized. I had a color-coded planner and an apartment with a view and a boyfriend who ticked every box.
Cameron.
He was steady. Safe. Patient in all the ways I wasn't. We met at a networking event—he made a joke about the catering, I laughed too hard, and somehow that turned into dinner.
He never rushed me. Never pushed for answers when I'd go quiet at the mention of my hometown. When I told him there was something complicated back there, he just kissed my forehead and said, "You'll tell me when you're ready."
We were together for two years before I decided to go home.
It started as a job offer. One of the top firms in the state reached out with a role that felt tailored to me—finance, strategy, cross-department management. The kind of move that could lead to director-level in under three years.
But returning home wasn't about the job.
Not really.
It was about the ache I'd kept buried for too long. The guilt I hadn't unpacked. The questions that never stopped circling my brain. Did Kelvin hate me? Did Josh ever find out? What would I even say if I saw them again?
And beneath all that—quiet, buried, but never fully gone—was the memory of Eli's hands. The sound of his voice in the dark. The way it felt right until I remembered it was him.
Cameron didn't hesitate when I told him about the job. "Go," he said. "I'll visit. We'll figure it out."
He trusted me.
And that's what scared me most.
Because part of me wasn't just going back for work. I was going back to face the moment I ran from. To see the person I betrayed. The person I tried so hard not to want.
And if kelvin was still there… I didn't know what I'd do.
But I was tired of pretending I'd healed without closure.
Tired of living like my past couldn't still touch me.
So I packed my bags. Told Cameron I'd call when I landed.
And as the plane touched down and the familiar skyline came into view, I whispered to myself:
Face it.
No more running