The rain had been falling for hours, drumming against the windows of Miller’s car as they sat in tense silence in the parking lot outside her house. The warmth from the heater did nothing to chase away the icy tension between them.

“I just… I don’t get it,” Miller finally said, his voice tight, raw. “Why do you have to be so distant sometimes? Why can’t you just… let me in?”

She looked away, biting her lip. “I am letting you in,” she whispered, but her words sounded small, fragile, even to her own ears.

“Are you?” His jaw was clenched. “Because it feels like… like you’re just… using me. Like I’m some kind of—” He stopped, swallowing, but the accusation hung in the air, heavy and sharp.

Her chest tightened. “Using you?” she repeated, disbelief and hurt mingling in her voice. “Miller… how could you even say that?”

He ran a hand through his hair, frustration spilling over. “I don’t know! Maybe because sometimes it feels like you only want me around when it’s convenient! When things are hard, or when you need a distraction. I can’t… I can’t be the person you pull out when you need something and then hide from the rest of the time!”

Her eyes filled with tears, and she shook her head, barely able to speak. “That’s not true. You know it’s not true. I… I care about you. I’ve cared about you since… since forever. But my life isn’t easy right now, Miller. My dad, my aunt… everything. I’m not perfect at showing it, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love you.”

He flinched at the word, like it cut him and healed him all at once. His chest heaved as he tried to calm himself. “I just… I’m scared,” he admitted quietly, the bravado slipping away. “Scared that if I give you all of me, you’re just going to… walk away. That I’m not enough for you, really.”