After Our Fall, Love Reclaimed

Jayden Lewis stood there, eyes vacant and his entire body trembling. I had never seen him like this before. In our circle, he was always the most carefree, the one who couldn't care less about rules and authority. Wherever he went, he stood out as the proudest and the most rebellious among us.

In my youthful naivety, I secretly wished more than once. I wished that Jayden would notice me, treat me a bit better. I wished for Selah Martin to stay far away from him, not to return and disrupt whatever connection we had. I dreamt of marrying Jayden Lewis.

If, on any given day, he had smiled at me, just adjusted his attitude a bit, I would have forgotten every grievance and tear, and continued to revolve around him tirelessly, unfailingly. But now, he couldn't let go of me. Now, he was the one pleading with me not to leave. Finally, I mattered to him. Yet all I felt was absurdity, an indescribable disgust and revulsion.

"Lilah..." Jayden reached for my hand, but just as he was about to touch me, his hand froze in the air. His hands were the hands of a spoiled playboy. Once upon a time, mine were as well.

But now, my hands were twisted at the joints, scarred, with calluses where blisters used to be. They weren't pretty anymore, but they were stronger. Like flowers once nurtured in a controlled environment, when taken outside, they don't necessarily wilt away.