Chapter 5 Tangled Lines

Joan met Jules at the café across from the bookstore, heart pounding like a war drum in her chest.

Jules looked nervous, twisting her bracelet around her wrist like she used to during finals week.

"I didn't mean for it to happen," Jules said, eyes pleading. "Nathan was hurting. I was lonely. We bonded. But it was never serious."

Joan folded her arms. "It still happened."

"I didn't know you still... cared about him."

Joan's laugh came out bitter. "I didn't know I still did either."

Jules reached across the table, but Joan pulled back. "It's not just about him. It's about you and me. You knew how important he was to me, how much losing him wrecked me."

Jules's eyes shimmered. "I was scared to tell you. I thought I'd lose you."

"You already did," Joan said quietly.

The silence between them was final.

Back at the bookstore, Nathan waited on the porch. He looked up as Joan approached, something fragile in his gaze.

"How did it go?" he asked.

She didn't answer right away. Instead, she stepped closer, voice soft. "Do you still draw?"

He blinked. "Yeah. Every night."

Joan nodded. "Then start drawing something new."

Nathan frowned. "What do you mean?"

She looked at him, a half-smile on her lips. "Us. If you want to."

His expression changed-cautious hope blooming like dawn.

"I do," he said.

And just like that, the story they'd left unfinished began to write itself again, one slow page at a time.