They promised to wait for each other, until their families made sure they never spoke again. Thirteen years later, a chance encounter brings them face to face, and what they uncover about their past changes everything they thought they knew about love, loyalty, and the people they trusted most.
They swore they would find their way back to each other… until their parents made sure they never could.
For thirteen years, I believed the boy I loved had simply walked away.
I was wrong.
And the truth changed everything.
People used to say what we had wasn’t real.
Maybe it was because we started too young. Twelve is an age when everything feels permanent, when friendships feel like promises and promises feel unbreakable. Adults look at that kind of love and smile like it is something you will outgrow.
But I never did.
Neither did Ethan.
We met in seventh grade because of assigned seats. Our last names were close, and somehow that small coincidence turned into everything. He would lean over during class and whisper jokes that made it impossible for me to stay serious. I would pretend to be annoyed, but I always saved him a seat at lunch.
By the time we were fourteen, people already called us a couple.
We never officially said it. We didn’t need to.
By sixteen, he was part of every plan I made without even asking. He knew when I was upset just by the way I said hello. I knew when he was hiding something just by the way he smiled.
