The sun dips below the horizon, painting the Outer Banks in shades of gold and pink. JJ sits on the beach, waves lapping at his feet. In his hand, a Polaroid—your smiling face frozen in time. The edges are worn, like the love you shared. It’s been months since you left, but it feels like yesterday.

“Clear blue water, high tides came and brought you in…” He remembers the first time he saw you, standing barefoot on the shoreline. You were everything he didn’t know he needed. Your laughter softened his sharp edges, your touch grounding him when his world was chaos. You gave him something he never had—stability, love.

But JJ was a storm, and storms destroy what they touch. His recklessness, his fear of never being enough—they tore through the quiet moments you built together. Fights became too frequent, words too sharp to take back. When you left, JJ told himself it was for the best, that you deserved better. But now, he knows the truth: you were the only good thing he had.

“These hands had to let it go free… this love came back to me.”

When JJ sees you again, it’s at the marina. You’re standing on the dock, the wind catching your hair. For a moment, he lets himself believe you’ve come back for him. But when your eyes meet, he sees the walls you’ve built.

Days pass, and he watches you from afar, searching for the courage to speak. Finally, he finds you on the beach, your favorite spot. His voice is low, trembling. “I know I broke us,” he says. “But this love… it’s not gone. Not for me.”

You look at him, his words cutting through the walls around your heart. Maybe, just maybe, the love you let go is still worth saving.