Her Letters

Lance felt complete, satisfied and happy when she was in his arms. It had been so long since he touched, talked, or even saw her. He unconsciously yearned for her to be in his embrace and now that was finally fulfilled.

But Zoe slowly pulled herself away from him and the warmth that came with their embrace faded away.

"Lance," she said, "what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see you," he replied softly.

Zoe was afraid that if she looked into his eyes, she would fall for him all over again. But she did it anyway, and all she saw was his vulnerability. She didn't fall for him all over again; her mind prevented her from doing so. She saw his eyes silently plead her to come back to him.

"I realized that..." He trailed off then sighed exasperatedly, while running his hand through his hair. He clenched his hands and he said with conviction, "I love you, Zoe."

Lance had all of this planned out in his head. It was simple, really. He thought that she would be happy - ecstatic even - and jump back into his arms. Then after that, it would be happily ever after. But real life doesn't work that way.

Zoe simply smiled at him. It was a small, sad smile that graced her red lips and oval face. She mouthed a 'thank you' before turning around and going back to her room. With that, Lance's hopes fell. His eyes followed her until he had recovered from the shock and ran for the door, which was slowly closing. Yet, he was too late; he merely leaned against the door, hoping to hear her voice again.

From behind the door, Zoe's heart ached. She could hear his frustrated sighs and hated to see him like this, but there was no excuse for what he did. Her mistake was just not telling him anything about it until the last minute. "You should go home, Lance," she whispered, "I was wrong to not tell you anything about my feelings until the last minute but that doesn't excuse you from what you did." She paused, and after taking a deep breath, continued, "You left me in the dust, Lance. I waited for your reply for months but it didn't come. I'm glad, though... Glad that you told me you loved me, but did you think that I would immediately come back to you because now, you finally decide say it? It doesn't work that way, Lance."

He pounded on the door again, although softer than before. The bitter taste of rejection was strong in his mouth. He pressed his forehead against the wooden door and asked, "What do I have to do?"

It was minutes before she decided to reply. She simply said, "That's up to you, Lance."