The One That Got Away | Free Online Romance Stories

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The One That Got Away

It had been twelve years. A long time since Ellie last saw Liam, the kid who once held her heart like it was made of glass. The kid who had guaranteed her they’d continuously be together, until life pulled them every which way. Presently, remaining at the counter of a peaceful bistro, Ellie wavered as the entryway tolled.

It was him.

Liam remained in the entryway, very closely resembling she recollected. More established, indeed, yet with that equivalent simple smile, those eyes that generally understood her better than any other person. Her heart skipped, and she immediately turned away her look, professing to be caught up in her telephone. Yet, a voice, recognizable and warm, called out to her.

“Ellie?”

She turned upward, and he was right there, closer now, his presence occupying the little space between them. Her breath trapped in her throat.

“Liam… amazing, I didn’t anticipate… Well, I didn’t think you’d… ” She bobbled for words.

He laughed, the sound like a song she hadn’t understood she missed. “Better believe it, same here. It’s been some time.” He looked around, then, at that point, back at her. “Mind assuming I sit?”

Ellie gestured, attempting to act easygoing, despite the fact that her heartbeat was hustling. “Certainly, obviously.”

He plunked down opposite her, his eyes never leaving hers, as though attempting to peruse a page of a book that had been shut for a really long time. The years separated felt as they didn’t exist briefly — simply both of them, back in similar space they once shared so serenely.

“I’ve been contemplating you,” Liam said unobtrusively, ending the quietness. “A great deal, as a matter of fact.”

Ellie gulped. “No doubt, me as well.”

There was a delay, weighty and loaded with inferred things. The sort of quietness that possibly comes when two individuals once so close are attempting to sort out some way to begin once more.

“You’re… still around?” she asked, getting comfortable with herself.

He gestured. “No doubt. I moved back around a half year prior. I pondered connecting, however I would have rather not… I don’t have any idea, make things odd.”

“Indeed, it’s not abnormal,” Ellie said, her voice calmer than she expected. “It’s simply… bizarre. Seeing you again after so much time.”

“That’s what I get.” Liam inclined forward somewhat, his eyes looking through hers. “Be that as it may, perhaps it’s not quite as peculiar as we suspect. Perhaps it’s intended to be. Perhaps… Once more, we should attempt.”

Ellie’s heart faltered. She hadn’t anticipated that he should say that, however a piece of her, the part she had covered where it counts, needed to trust it. She’d never genuinely moved past him, in any event, when she’d persuaded herself she had. The fact of the matter was, Liam had been her most memorable love, and nobody at any point truly supplanted that.

“I don’t have any idea,” she said, shaking her head marginally. “We’ve both changed. So much has occurred. I couldn’t say whether I’m a similar individual I was the point at which we were together.”

Liam connected, his hand drifting close to hers briefly prior to laying on the table. “You don’t need to be. Nor am I. In any case, that doesn’t mean we can’t attempt once more, right?”

Ellie’s eyes dropped to his hand. His skin was warm against the virus table, and she could feel the draw. The yearning. The craving to return to when things were less difficult, when they could be together without every one of the entanglements of life. In any case, she didn’t know whether that was practical. Could it be said that she was pursuing a phantom? A memory of something that at this point not existed?

She pulled her hand back, dubious. “I need to accept that we would be able, however imagine a scenario in which we’re simply clutching something previously got away.”

Liam’s grin relaxed, and he sat back, giving her space to think. “Then perhaps we let it go. Yet, I’m good with that. I just… expected to see you once more. To realize that we’re completely fine.”

Ellie’s chest fixed, the heaviness of their past, of the multitude of things left inferred, settling over her. She saw him, genuinely took a gander at him, and saw a similar individual who once caused her to feel like she could vanquish the world. Yet, she wasn’t that young lady any longer. She didn’t know she might at any point be that individual once more, in any event, for him.

“Perhaps we ought to simply leave it here,” Ellie said, her voice scarcely a murmur. “We were great, once. However, perhaps a few things are improved left before.”

Liam gestured, his face a combination of misery and understanding. “Definitely. Perhaps you’re correct. Yet, simply know, Ellie, I’ll constantly think often about you. Continuously.”

The words stung, yet she grinned. “I know. Me as well.”

Also, very much like that, the section they had shared was discreetly shut. The two of them stood up, and briefly, neither knew what to say. Liam connected, maneuvering her into a concise embrace. It was warm, recognizable, yet it wasn’t equivalent to it used to be.

“I’m happy I ran into you,” he said delicately.

“Me as well,” she answered, pulling back.

What’s more, as the two of them left the café in inverse headings, Ellie felt a weight lift from her chest. It wasn’t so much that she could have done without Liam — it was only that occasionally, love wasn’t sufficient. Here and there, it was tied in with knowing when to give up.

Also, that was not a problem.