Story 40/1001

• swear
• identity
• smash

Lena stared at the man in front of her, a man she thought she knew. Caleb carefully approached her, like just one wrong move could break the illusion of a perfect relationship. But, for Lena, it was already broken.

“Say something. Lena?” His deep voice was filled with worry. She has never seen him like this. It was as if he was scared.

“Lena?” He whispered softly. “I’m so sorry.”

“Sorry for what? Not telling me sooner or telling me at all?” She asked, her eyes avoiding his.

“Lena.” He leaned closer. She felt his perfume, the scent she loved so much; and unconsciously leaned into it. When she felt his hands holding her, she moved away.

The perfect relationship, the picture of the two of them starting a family, it was all gone. She got up, tears falling down her cheeks, and walked to the door. She looked at the photo of the two of them, smiling.

“Get out, Caleb.”

“Lena, please allow me to explain. If you still don’t want to have anything to do with me, I swear I’ll leave you alone.”

Lena was still looking at the photo. She took it from the wall and gave it to Caleb.

“That day, your body was covered in bruises. And your knuckles were bloody. You told me you smashed your car. Was it a lie? Did you really smash it? Was it all a lie?”

“I did smash my car. But no, not on a pole.”

She sat on the couch, away from him, and wiped her tears.

“I’m listening.”

“Thank you.” He mouthed and coughed slightly. He could feel the lump in his throat getting bigger.

“My father was the leader of a gang.” He started. “I was born from a one-night stand, and as soon as he could, my father sent my mother away. I never knew her.”

Lena wanted to hug him, but she just nodded, watching him struggling to find the right words.

“When I was old enough, and for my father that meant five years old, I started learning the trade. If I was going to be a successor, I needed to be better than my father.” Caleb sighed and Lena moved a bit closer.

“I did some really bad things, Lena.” He looked at her, his eyes darkening. “And I watched a lot of people do even worse things.”

Lena pulled back, scared.

“But then, one day, we had an order to find a dealer who had gone rogue. He stole our stuff, sold them, and kept the profit. I did track him down.”

Caleb looked down.

“He was on his daughter’s death bed. They beat her up so bad, Lena. And she still wouldn’t say where her father is.” Caleb put his hand over his eyes. “She was ten years old. She was ten years old.” He kept repeating it, until he felt Lenas touch on his back.

“That’s when I decided to quit. I changed my identity, I moved to another continent. I started a new life. I met you.” He looked up, and Lena saw the tears in his eyes. She has never seen him cry before. Gently, she hugged him.

“But they found me.” He muttered. “That day, they found me. I had to-” He stopped and looked at Lena. “If I didn’t take care of it, they would’ve found you. I can’t ever let them find you, Lena.”

She gasped as if she was fighting for air.

“I’m so sorry I brought you into this.”

Lena shook her head. Caleb looked at her, surprised. For a moment, he was sure she would run away. But all she did was hug him again.

“I chose you.” She said softly. “I chose to believe the lie with the car. I chose to ignore the tattoos on your body. I chose you for who you are now, not who you’ve been before.” She held him tighter with every word.

“And I choose you now, again.”

He kissed her, like he was kissing her for the first time. Like his whole body was yearning for her touch.

He kissed her like he could lose her tomorrow.