You stood in the doorway of your bedroom, suitcase in hand, heart heavy. The air felt thick, almost suffocating, as if even the walls knew this was a moment that would change everything. Alex Browning was sitting on the edge of your bed, his usual confident smirk nowhere to be seen. Instead, his eyes were soft, vulnerable, and unguarded—the way you’d only ever seen them in private moments, after the world had tried to take too much from both of you

“I… I guess this is it,” you said, your voice trembling despite your best effort to sound calm

Alex swallowed hard and ran a hand through his hair “Yeah… I guess it is.” His voice was low, almost uncharacteristically quiet.

You dropped your suitcase by the door and sat down beside him. For a long while, neither of you spoke. You just sat there, side by side, feeling the weight of everything you’d survived together—the plane crash, the nightmares, the deaths of people you both barely had time to process. He had been your anchor through it all, the one constant in the chaos, and now you were about to drift away

“I… I’m not leaving because I don’t care about you,” you said finally, your hand brushing against his. “I just… I need to figure out who I am again. After everything… I can’t stay here anymore. My parents… they agreed to move.”

Alex looked at you, his eyes searching, desperate. “You’re really leaving, huh?” His words carried the weight of disbelief, but also… fear. Fear that this goodbye might really be permanent.

“It’s not forever,” you said quickly, gripping his hand tighter. “I’ll… I’ll keep in touch. I promise. You’re too important to just disappear from my life.”

He let out a humorless chuckle. “Always making promises he can’t keep,” you teased softly, though your chest felt like it was being squeezed.