Chapter 56
Ben, April 18
Through the noise of the shower, I think I hear banging. At first, I try to ignore it, but it keeps coming, louder this time. “Kyle, Zach, someone answer the door.” I finish rinsing the soap out of my hair and turn off the water. Still, the banging persists.
“I’m coming, I’m coming… hold on.” I wrap a towel hastily around my waist and jog to the front door. It’s about 5 AM on a Saturday. It’s cold, it’s dark, and I should be sleeping. But, if I’m being honest, sleep has been a stranger to me for months. I flick on the porch light as I fling open the door.
The dim yellow glow catches her first. The hair is shorter, layered to her chin. She’s wrapped in a grey, fluffy jacket and wheeling a small black suitcase behind her. My eyes take in the comfortable shoes, the lack of makeup, the casual clothes. And then my gaze drops. The belly.
My breath catches.
She shifts from foot to foot, trying to look composed, but I see it all. The worry, the determination, the exhaustion. The suitcase behind her looks heavier than it should, but she doesn’t complain. She doesn’t plead. She just stands there, letting me take it all in.
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. My brain stutters. That’s her—Liz. The one I haven’t been able to stop thinking about, the one who taught me to notice what I truly want. And now… here she is, standing at my doorstep in the early morning light, carrying a life I didn’t know existed, and I’m supposed to act normal?
I clear my throat, step aside, and mutter, “Come in.”
She gives a small nod, wheeling the suitcase past me, and in that moment, everything changes. The apartment feels too small for all the tension, the history, the unspoken words. I need to find my footing fast, but I already know one thing: this isn’t a morning that will pass quietly.