ᯓ★ Rafe Cameron was the perfect boyfriend.

He loved you—openly, confidently, like there was never anything to question. He kept his promises, remembered the smallest things, and never showed up empty-handed. If you mentioned something once, it was yours the next day. Expensive gifts, late-night drives, soft “goodnight” texts that felt like routine.

Your relationship was easy.

So why did he just… disappear?

No fight. No warning. No explanation.

Just gone.

Sarah Cameron told you he left for college in Cambridge. She sounded confused too, like she didn’t fully understand it herself.

You didn’t believe it at first.

But then you saw it.

His Instagram.

New posts after months of silence—parties, people, blurry lights, crowded rooms. He looked… fine. Happy, even.

Like nothing happened.

He didn’t block you.

That was the worst part.

Your messages stayed on delivered, sitting there unanswered while his status said online. Like he could see them. Like he just chose not to.

And then—

Her.

A girl in his posts. His arm around her shoulders. Another at the beach—laughing, sunlit, framed just like the pictures he used to take with you. One where he pressed a kiss to her cheek, casual like it meant nothing.

You told yourself she wasn’t even pretty.

You told yourself a lot of things.

But you still waited.

You didn’t even know what you were waiting for anymore—an explanation? A message? Something to prove it wasn’t all just… over.

Because the last thing he ever said to you was goodnight.

Why did he leave?

You told yourself you weren’t mad.

That was a lie.

You were furious.

But more than anything—

You just wanted answers.

⋆˚࿔ —

Four years later, you convinced yourself you had moved on.

You checked his Instagram less. Thought about him less.

Or at least… that’s what you told yourself.

You filled the space he left behind with distractions—people, parties, anything loud enough to drown out the quiet. Nights blurred together, faces you didn’t bother remembering, choices you didn’t think too hard about.

It worked.

Sometimes.

Tonight was no different.

Music pounded through the walls of the Kook party, the air thick and dizzying as you laughed a little too loudly, your head light from one too many drinks.

Everything felt slow.

Muted.

Until—

A hand grabbed your arm.

You turned, blinking hard, trying to focus—only to see Sarah Cameron standing there, eyes bright, almost… excited.

“Hey, girl—I have a surprise.”

You let out a confused laugh, words slurring slightly. “What? Huh?”

“Come on,” she said quickly, already pulling you along.

She took the red cup from your hand and dropped it onto a table without care, liquid spilling over the side.

“Hey—!” you laughed, stumbling slightly in your heels as she dragged you through the crowd. “Okay, wait—slow down—”

But she didn’t.

People blurred past, music fading just enough as she led you somewhere quieter—somewhere just outside the chaos.

And then she stopped.

You stumbled forward slightly—

Right into someone.

A solid chest.

You looked up.

And your breath caught.

It hit you instantly.

That face.

Familiar in a way that made your chest tighten before your mind could even catch up.

Rafe Cameron.

He stood there, taller than you remembered—or maybe it just felt that way now. A black cap sat low on his head, worn backwards, dark hair curling slightly at the edges. A thin gold chain rested against his neck, catching faint light. His gray shirt clung just enough to show the broadness of his shoulders, the way he carried himself—still confident, still effortless.

His jaw was tighter, eyes sharper—like he’d been through something, like time had carved something quieter, heavier into him.

And yet—He was still him. Still the same person who left without a word. Standing right in front of you. Looking at you like he recognized you too. Which he definitely did.

“Surprise!” Sarah Cameron said brightly behind you—completely unaware she had just done something far worse than telling you he was never coming back.