- 3 months ago
Step into a world of passion, power, and drama. On this channel, you’ll find captivating billionaire romances, intense mafia sagas, and heartfelt love stories that will keep you hooked until the very last word.
Whether it’s the allure of wealth, the danger of the underworld, or the beauty of love against all odds — Ashley’s Stories brings you tales that are bold, emotional, and unforgettable.
💖 Subscribe now and lose yourself in stories of desire, danger, and destiny.
Whether it’s the allure of wealth, the danger of the underworld, or the beauty of love against all odds — Ashley’s Stories brings you tales that are bold, emotional, and unforgettable.
💖 Subscribe now and lose yourself in stories of desire, danger, and destiny.
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00I remember the sound before I remember the pain.
00:03That kind of silence that hums against your ribs like it's counting down to something you can't stop.
00:09That's where I was the night it all began.
00:12Sitting in my car outside the clinic,
00:14my hand hovering over the form that said,
00:16Organ Donor Registration.
00:19It sounds ridiculous now,
00:21how something so small could feel like the end of a life.
00:23But it wasn't about the form.
00:26It was about surrender.
00:27After my brother died,
00:29after the mess,
00:30the debts,
00:31the gun that shouldn't have been in his hand,
00:33I stopped believing in keeping anything.
00:36Not memories.
00:37Not love.
00:38Not my own body.
00:40So yeah,
00:41I signed it.
00:43Heart.
00:43Kidneys.
00:44Everything.
00:46If I was going to keep waking up empty,
00:48I might as well leave something behind when I didn't.
00:50That was the night he found me.
00:53The clinic lot was half-lit,
00:55buzzing under old fluorescent bulbs.
00:57I didn't even hear the car pull up.
01:00Just felt it.
01:01Like the air went still for a second too long.
01:05Then came the knock on my window.
01:08He didn't look like danger at first glance.
01:10He looked like control.
01:13Tall, black shirt open at the collar,
01:15sleeves rolled once at the wrist,
01:17no tie.
01:18Calm in a way people only get when they've done terrible things
01:21and made peace with them.
01:23You shouldn't be here alone.
01:26His voice was low,
01:27more statement than concern.
01:30I blinked up at him,
01:31trying to focus through tears that had already dried on my cheeks.
01:34You following me or something?
01:38He smiled slightly.
01:40If I was,
01:41you wouldn't have caught me.
01:43I wanted to drive off,
01:45but something about him,
01:47his steadiness,
01:48pinned me in place.
01:50He leaned down,
01:51eyes catching the paper in my lap.
01:54Organ donor, huh?
01:56He said it softly,
01:57but there was a razor under it.
02:00Planning on dying tonight?
02:02Planning on living doesn't seem to be working,
02:05I muttered.
02:06He tapped the window with his knuckle.
02:09Get out of the car.
02:11I should have told him to leave.
02:13Should have locked the door.
02:15Instead, I opened it.
02:17The night air hit me,
02:19and I realized how long I'd been holding my breath.
02:22He stepped back just enough to let me out.
02:24What's your name?
02:26Lena.
02:28Lena.
02:28Lena, he repeated,
02:30like he was testing the weight of it.
02:32You've got someone looking for you.
02:34Two men, black sedan,
02:36been parked across the street for twenty minutes.
02:39My stomach dropped.
02:41What?
02:43Whoever they are,
02:44they're not waiting for a conversation.
02:47He looked at me again,
02:48and something shifted.
02:50Like recognition flickered behind his eyes,
02:53but he didn't name it.
02:54You drive?
02:56Yeah.
02:56Then follow me.
02:59Don't stop.
03:00Don't ask.
03:02The next ten minutes were a blur of headlights and adrenaline.
03:06His car moved like it owned the road.
03:08Black.
03:09Sleek.
03:09Precise.
03:11I followed because thinking felt dangerous.
03:14When he finally stopped,
03:16we were in an underground garage beneath a building
03:18that looked too expensive for anyone normal.
03:20He got out first,
03:23came around,
03:25opened my door like this was all planned.
03:27I stared at him.
03:30Who are you?
03:32He didn't answer.
03:33Just motioned toward the elevator.
03:35I didn't move.
03:38I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what the hell this is.
03:42He sighed,
03:43like patience was a habit he was breaking.
03:46You were being watched, Lena.
03:49Someone wants you scared enough to make a mistake.
03:51You're welcome for preventing that.
03:54I didn't ask you to.
03:56No, he said, stepping closer.
03:59But you were about to make a permanent decision over temporary pain.
04:03I couldn't watch that.
04:05His voice was calm,
04:07but something behind it hurt.
04:09Deeply.
04:10Like he knew exactly what that kind of pain did to a person.
04:14The elevator doors opened.
04:16I didn't move until he looked back over his shoulder and said,
04:19You can leave.
04:21Or you can come upstairs and find out why your name's on someone's list.
04:24That stopped me cold.
04:27My name?
04:29He nodded once.
04:30First name.
04:32No photo.
04:33But it's enough.
04:34I followed him.
04:36His place wasn't what I expected.
04:38Minimal.
04:39Clean lines.
04:40Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city.
04:43No photos.
04:44No clutter.
04:45Only one thing stood out.
04:47A piano near the glass.
04:49Black and perfect.
04:51Like it had never been touched.
04:52He poured two glasses of water.
04:55Handed me one.
04:56Sit.
04:58I didn't.
04:59You're gonna tell me now?
05:01He leaned against the counter, studying me.
05:04You had a brother.
05:06Caleb.
05:07Died last year.
05:08My throat closed.
05:10How do you know that?
05:11I know a lot of things.
05:13I set the glass down hard.
05:15You spying on me?
05:18No.
05:18He said.
05:19His tone sharp now.
05:21I'm cleaning up the mess he left.
05:23That broke me open.
05:25Don't.
05:26Don't talk about him like that.
05:28You don't know what he went through.
05:30He didn't flinch.
05:32He owed money to people who don't forgive debt.
05:36When he died, they came for what was left.
05:39You.
05:40The floor tilted beneath me.
05:43What are you saying?
05:45He walked closer.
05:47Voice dropping low.
05:49Your brother borrowed from the wrong men.
05:52When he couldn't pay, he gave a name instead of cash.
05:56Yours.
05:57Said you could get to something they wanted.
06:00My pulse roared in my ears.
06:02Something?
06:04A ledger.
06:05He said you had it.
06:07I don't even know what you're talking about.
06:09He studied me for a long moment.
06:11Eyes narrowing like he was searching for truth under my skin.
06:15Then he nodded once.
06:17As if confirming something.
06:19Then they're coming for the wrong reason.
06:21He turned away.
06:23Pulled a gun from a drawer.
06:24Set it on the counter.
06:26My breath caught.
06:27Who the hell are you?
06:29I whispered.
06:30He looked back.
06:31Quiet.
06:33Nico.
06:34Just that.
06:35No last name.
06:36But I'd heard it before.
06:38In whispers.
06:40In warnings.
06:41Nico Valenti.
06:43The name my brother had feared more than death.
06:45The one he said no one ever saw twice.
06:48My knees nearly gave out.
06:51You're...
06:51Yes.
06:53I took a step back.
06:55Then why am I here?
06:57You should have killed me by now.
06:59His expression didn't change.
07:01But something flickered across it.
07:03Sadness, maybe.
07:03Maybe I did once.
07:06A long time ago.
07:08That line hit like a punch.
07:10What are you talking about?
07:12He moved closer until I could feel the heat of him.
07:15His voice a whisper against my skin.
07:18You think I didn't remember?
07:20The girl who used to wait outside St. Mary's Hospital with coffee every morning for her brother.
07:26The one who smiled at everyone but never went inside.
07:29You gave me coffee once.
07:31Years ago.
07:31Told me it looked like I hadn't slept in days.
07:35My breath caught.
07:37That was you?
07:38He nodded slowly.
07:40I was there for a job.
07:42You didn't know who I was.
07:44But I remembered.
07:46Silence fell heavy between us.
07:48My pulse thudded in my chest.
07:50Too loud.
07:51I didn't mean to find you again this way, he said.
07:56But once I saw your name, I couldn't let them take you.
07:59I swallowed hard.
08:01And what happens now?
08:03He looked at me like I was already something he'd claimed.
08:07Now, you stay here.
08:09Until I say otherwise.
08:10I shook my head.
08:12No.
08:13I can't just...
08:14He caught my wrist.
08:16Not roughly.
08:17But enough to still me.
08:19You think I'm the worst thing in your life, Lena.
08:22But the men coming for you make me look like mercy.
08:26I stared at him.
08:27Trembling.
08:27And you expect me to trust you?
08:31He released me slowly.
08:33No.
08:34I expect you to survive.
08:37That night.
08:38I lay in a strange bed in his silent apartment.
08:41Every nerve wired and raw.
08:43I could still feel his gaze like a weight on my skin.
08:47He hadn't touched me again.
08:48Hadn't come near.
08:50But he didn't need to.
08:52He was everywhere.
08:53When I closed my eyes,
08:55I saw the look on his face when he said my name.
08:58As if he'd been waiting years to say it again.
09:02And somewhere between fear and exhaustion,
09:05a thought cut through the chaos like a blade.
09:08Maybe I hadn't signed that form because I wanted to die.
09:12Maybe I'd signed it because, deep down,
09:14I was waiting for someone to remind me my heart was still worth claiming.
09:18But when I woke up,
09:19there was a message on the nightstand written in his handwriting.
09:23They found you.
09:25Don't open the door for anyone but me.
09:28My pulse stopped cold.
09:30And that's how it began.
09:32The moment I realized I'd given my name to a ghost
09:35and my heart to the one man I should have feared the most.
09:39I didn't see him for three days.
09:47Three long, sleepless days in that apartment where silence had teeth.
09:51The kind that bites when you start thinking too much.
09:55Every sound felt like a threat.
09:57The hum of the fridge.
09:59The echo of footsteps in the hall.
10:01Even my own heartbeat.
10:02I told myself I wasn't waiting for him.
10:06I was surviving.
10:08But the truth was,
10:10every hour he didn't come back felt like being left on the edge of something that wouldn't break or end.
10:15On the fourth night,
10:18I heard the lock turn.
10:20I was in the kitchen,
10:22holding the same glass of water I'd poured that first night,
10:25still untouched.
10:26He walked in like nothing had happened.
10:28Dark shirt,
10:29sleeves rolled,
10:31expression unreadable.
10:32There was blood on his knuckles.
10:35I froze.
10:37You're hurt.
10:39He looked down,
10:40then shrugged,
10:41like pain was too familiar to mention.
10:44Not mine.
10:45That answer chilled me more than if it had been.
10:49I followed him with my eyes as he crossed the room.
10:52He didn't look at me until he opened the fridge,
10:55grabbed a bottle of water,
10:56and finally said,
10:57You been eating?
11:00Didn't feel like it.
11:01He nodded once.
11:03Eat anyway.
11:05It wasn't a suggestion.
11:07It wasn't cruel either.
11:09It was control,
11:11spoken softly.
11:12He moved past me,
11:13but when his sleeve brushed my hand,
11:15I flinched.
11:17He paused,
11:18eyes flicking down to where I'd pulled away.
11:21I'm not going to hurt you,
11:23he said quietly.
11:25Then what are you going to do with me?
11:27He studied me for a long time before answering.
11:30Keep you alive long enough for you to hate me for it.
11:34He didn't leave again,
11:35and somehow that was worse.
11:37Days fell into a rhythm I didn't choose.
11:40He'd disappear into his office for hours,
11:43murmuring into phones,
11:44handling whatever darkness he lived in.
11:46When he emerged,
11:49he'd ask questions.
11:50About my brother.
11:52About the nights before his death.
11:54About a ledger I swore I'd never seen.
11:57Every time I said I didn't know,
11:59his jaw tightened just enough to scare me.
12:02But then he'd catch himself.
12:04Look away,
12:05like he hated that I could see the man under the armor.
12:09One morning I found a note by the stove.
12:11Stay inside.
12:13Don't answer the intercom.
12:14Don't touch the piano.
12:16So naturally I did.
12:18The piano was perfect.
12:20Glossy.
12:21Untouched.
12:22Dustless.
12:23I pressed a single key.
12:25The sound echoed through the room
12:27like something holy and forbidden.
12:29Lena.
12:30His voice came from behind me.
12:33I jumped.
12:34He stood in the doorway,
12:35arms crossed,
12:36expression unreadable.
12:38I said don't.
12:40It's just a piano,
12:41I said.
12:42His tone dropped.
12:43It's not.
12:45I waited for him to elaborate,
12:46but he didn't.
12:47He just walked closer,
12:49eyes fixed on the keys.
12:50Then softer.
12:51She used to play.
12:53Who?
12:55He didn't look at me.
12:56My sister.
12:58Before she died.
13:00The way he said it,
13:01flat,
13:02empty,
13:03told me the story had no good ending.
13:05I'm sorry,
13:07I said quietly.
13:08He finally met my eyes.
13:11Don't be.
13:12You didn't kill her.
13:14That sentence hung in the air too long.
13:16That night,
13:17he cooked dinner.
13:19Or tried to.
13:20The smoke alarm went off twice,
13:23and he swore under his breath
13:24like the world's most dangerous man
13:26couldn't handle a pan of pasta.
13:28I couldn't stop laughing.
13:30The sound startled both of us.
13:32It felt foreign,
13:34like something I hadn't used in years.
13:36He looked up at me then,
13:38really looked,
13:40and the corner of his mouth twitched.
13:42You think that's funny?
13:44I think it's tragic,
13:46I said.
13:47A man like you losing to Marinara.
13:50He shook his head,
13:51amused despite himself.
13:53You shouldn't talk to me like that.
13:56Like what?
13:57Like I'm human.
13:59My voice softened.
14:01Maybe you are.
14:03He didn't answer.
14:04He just turned off the stove,
14:06leaned on the counter,
14:08and for a moment,
14:09all the tension in the room changed shape.
14:12I felt it.
14:13The pull between danger and comfort,
14:15like fire pretending to be warmth.
14:18He noticed, too.
14:20Don't,
14:21he murmured.
14:22Whatever you're thinking,
14:23don't.
14:25I swallowed hard.
14:26You think I want this?
14:28He stepped closer,
14:30his voice low,
14:31steady.
14:32I think you don't know what this is.
14:35And maybe I didn't.
14:36But I knew what I felt
14:38when his hand brushed my cheek.
14:40Like gravity,
14:41quiet and inevitable.
14:43Then the intercom buzzed.
14:45He froze.
14:47One glance at the screen,
14:49and his whole body went rigid.
14:51Get behind me.
14:52I barely had time to move,
14:55before he pulled a gun
14:56from the back of his waistband.
14:59Voices echoed from the hall.
15:01Two men,
15:01arguing.
15:03The words blurred,
15:04but the tone was clear.
15:06Threat.
15:08Nico's voice turned cold steel.
15:11Stay here.
15:12No matter what.
15:13He slipped out,
15:15door barely closing behind him.
15:17Seconds stretched.
15:18Then,
15:19gunshots.
15:20Three.
15:21Close.
15:22I covered my mouth,
15:23trying not to scream.
15:25The next minute was a lifetime of silence
15:27and blood in my ears.
15:29Then the door opened again.
15:30He walked in,
15:31calm as ever.
15:33It's done.
15:35There was blood on his shirt now.
15:36His own.
15:38Sit down,
15:39I said,
15:40already moving.
15:42It's nothing.
15:43Don't argue.
15:45He actually sat,
15:46watching me like I was some strange creature
15:48he couldn't categorize.
15:49I found a first aid kit in the bathroom
15:52and cleaned the wound.
15:54A shallow graze across his side.
15:56He didn't flinch.
15:57Not once.
15:58Just stared.
16:00You're shaking,
16:02he said quietly.
16:03You just killed two people.
16:06They were here for you.
16:07That doesn't make it better.
16:09It makes it real.
16:11His words hit harder than the gunfire.
16:14Because he was right.
16:16The danger wasn't a story anymore.
16:19It was here,
16:21bleeding into his shirt.
16:23When I finished bandaging him,
16:24I turned to leave.
16:26But he caught my wrist again.
16:28Gentle,
16:29the way he always did.
16:30Like he was afraid I'd break.
16:33Lena,
16:34he said softly,
16:35you don't have to be afraid of me.
16:38I looked up at him.
16:39Then what am I supposed to feel?
16:42He didn't answer.
16:43His thumb brushed the inside of my wrist.
16:46Slow,
16:46careful.
16:48My pulse jumped under his touch.
16:50He noticed.
16:51His eyes darkened.
16:53And then he leaned in,
16:55close enough for his breath to graze my lips.
16:58You tell me,
17:00he whispered.
17:01I didn't.
17:03I couldn't.
17:04Because everything inside me
17:06was already answering in silence.
17:07The next day,
17:10I woke to the sound of his voice
17:11in the other room.
17:13Angry.
17:14Controlled.
17:15No,
17:16I don't care what it costs.
17:17I want her name off that list.
17:20Do you hear me?
17:21Off.
17:22He ended the call,
17:24then stood there for a moment,
17:26hands braced on the counter.
17:28When he turned and saw me watching,
17:30the mask went back on instantly.
17:32How much did you hear?
17:35Enough to know I'm the reason you're bleeding.
17:37I said.
17:39He walked toward me.
17:41You're not the reason.
17:42You're the excuse.
17:44That's supposed to make me feel better?
17:47He exhaled,
17:48running a hand through his hair.
17:50You want the truth?
17:52The men after you.
17:53They work for someone I used to call family.
17:56My chest tightened.
17:58Used to?
17:59He betrayed me.
18:01And when he couldn't hit me,
18:02he looked for someone I'd protect.
18:04My voice came out small.
18:06So I'm leverage.
18:08He didn't deny it.
18:10Just stepped closer,
18:11eyes searching mine.
18:12At first, yes.
18:14The honesty cut deep.
18:16But now,
18:17I whispered.
18:19He hesitated,
18:20long enough for the truth to sound like a confession.
18:23Now,
18:24I don't know what you are to me.
18:27My breath caught.
18:28You shouldn't say that.
18:29Probably not.
18:32He smiled faintly.
18:33But I don't lie well to you.
18:36He lifted his hand,
18:38touched my face,
18:39and it wasn't soft.
18:41It was desperate.
18:42Like he'd been starving for something he wasn't supposed to want.
18:47When he kissed me,
18:48it wasn't gentle.
18:50It was raw,
18:51unguarded,
18:52inevitable.
18:53And I let him.
18:55Every reason not to vanish under the weight of how human he felt.
18:59How alive I suddenly was.
19:01But when he pulled back,
19:03his eyes were distant again.
19:05This is a mistake,
19:07he said,
19:07more to himself than to me.
19:09Then why did you do it?
19:12Because I needed to remember I still could.
19:14That night,
19:16I couldn't sleep.
19:18His words echoed in my head like a warning.
19:21When I finally got up for water,
19:23I saw him on the balcony,
19:25phone pressed to his ear,
19:26voice low.
19:28She doesn't know.
19:29Keep it that way.
19:31If she finds out,
19:32it's over.
19:33My heart stopped.
19:35I stepped back too fast.
19:37The glass slipped from my hand and shattered.
19:39He turned,
19:40eyes sharp.
19:42Lena.
19:42I froze in the doorway,
19:44shards at my feet.
19:46Who doesn't know what?
19:47He didn't answer right away.
19:49That silence said enough.
19:51You're lying to me,
19:53I said.
19:54Not about the danger,
19:56but about something.
19:58He looked at me,
19:59pain flickering behind the control.
20:02Yes.
20:03I swallowed hard.
20:05What is it?
20:06He walked toward me,
20:08slow and deliberate,
20:09until he stood close enough
20:10that I could see every fracture
20:12in his calm.
20:14Your brother didn't just owe money,
20:17he said quietly.
20:19He worked for me.
20:21The floor vanished beneath me.
20:24He what?
20:25He was one of mine.
20:27He stole that ledger
20:27from my organization.
20:29When he died,
20:30I thought it was gone forever,
20:32until your name showed up
20:34connected to it.
20:35That's why they're after you.
20:37That's why I found you.
20:39My chest felt hollow.
20:42So all of this,
20:43keeping me here,
20:44protecting me,
20:45it's not because you care,
20:47it's because you think
20:48I have what you lost.
20:50His voice cracked just slightly.
20:53It started that way.
20:54I stepped back,
20:56shaking.
20:57You used me.
20:58He reached for me.
21:00Lena,
21:01don't touch me.
21:02For the first time,
21:04I saw fear in his eyes.
21:05Not of me.
21:07Of losing control.
21:09Listen to me,
21:10he said,
21:11urgent now.
21:12Whatever I was before,
21:13I swear to you,
21:14I'm not your enemy anymore.
21:15But it was too late.
21:18The walls,
21:19the piano,
21:20the silence.
21:21It all felt like a cage now.
21:23I turned toward the door.
21:25You should have let me sign that form.
21:28And then,
21:29gunfire shattered the windows.
21:31He grabbed me,
21:32pulling me down behind the counter
21:33as glass rained around us.
21:36Stay down,
21:37he shouted.
21:39Outside,
21:39voices echoed.
21:41Boots,
21:42more than one.
21:43He met my eyes,
21:44face pale.
21:45They found us.
21:47Another round hit the door.
21:49Lena,
21:50he said,
21:51voice low,
21:52fierce,
21:53terrified.
21:53If I don't make it,
21:55don't,
21:56listen to me.
21:57His hand cupped my face.
22:00If I don't make it,
22:01take the ledger in my office.
22:03The code's my sister's name.
22:05Run.
22:06Don't stop until you're free.
22:08My throat burned.
22:10You're not dying tonight.
22:12He gave a small,
22:13broken smile.
22:14That's not up to me.
22:16And then he was gone.
22:18Into the gunfire.
22:19Into the night.
22:21The last thing I heard
22:22before the door slammed
22:23was his voice.
22:24Low,
22:25raw,
22:26certain.
22:27You still have my heart,
22:28Lena.
22:29Don't let them take it too.
22:31The world exploded
22:33in sound and smoke.
22:34And just like that,
22:35I didn't know
22:36if I'd ever see him again.
22:38Six months.
22:40That's how long it's been
22:41since the night
22:42everything burned.
22:42You learn strange things
22:45in the quiet after chaos.
22:47Like how silence
22:48can sound like sirens
22:49when your body
22:50still expects gunfire.
22:51Or how peace
22:52can feel heavier
22:53than grief.
22:55But I'm alive.
22:57And that's what matters.
22:59After the shooting,
23:00after the blood,
23:02I ran.
23:03I did exactly
23:04what he told me to do.
23:06I found the ledger.
23:08His sister's name
23:09unlocked it.
23:11Lucia.
23:12I left the city
23:13before dawn.
23:14No luggage.
23:15No trace.
23:17Just a phone
23:18that wasn't mine.
23:19And a heart
23:19that wouldn't stop
23:20waiting for someone
23:21who might have
23:21already been dead.
23:23I changed my name.
23:25Rented a small place
23:26near the water,
23:27far from the skyline
23:28that once kept me up
23:29at night.
23:31I got a job
23:32at a clinic.
23:33Front desk.
23:33Nothing big.
23:35Just quiet work.
23:36Faces I didn't
23:37have to remember.
23:39For a while,
23:40I told myself
23:41he was gone.
23:43It was easier that way.
23:44But every time
23:45someone walked
23:45through those glass doors
23:46with a black shirt
23:47and calm eyes,
23:48I froze.
23:50I kept expecting
23:51him to walk in,
23:52lean on the counter,
23:53and say something
23:54impossible like,
23:55you still owe me
23:56a dinner that isn't burned.
23:58He never did.
24:00Three months in,
24:01I got a letter.
24:03No return address.
24:04No signature.
24:06Just one line.
24:07You survived.
24:09Good.
24:10The handwriting was his.
24:12I didn't know
24:13whether to laugh or scream,
24:15because that line,
24:16it wasn't a goodbye.
24:18It was permission
24:19to keep breathing.
24:21Still,
24:21I couldn't stop
24:23asking myself
24:23if he was watching me,
24:25if the shadow
24:26I sometimes saw
24:27across the street
24:27was him,
24:29making sure
24:29the ghosts he'd made
24:30didn't find me again.
24:31By the fourth month,
24:34I started to sleep
24:35through the night.
24:37Not always,
24:38but sometimes.
24:39I stopped jumping
24:40at every sound.
24:42I stopped dreaming
24:43about blood
24:43and broken glass,
24:44but I never stopped
24:46hearing his voice.
24:48You still have my heart,
24:49Lena.
24:50Don't let them
24:51take it, too.
24:52It haunted me
24:53more than any gunshot
24:54ever could.
24:54One afternoon,
24:56a kid came into the clinic
24:57with a stray dog
24:58he'd found.
24:59Scrawny thing.
25:00Trembling.
25:01Half starved.
25:03The boy's mother
25:04said she couldn't keep it,
25:05so I told her
25:06I'd take care of it
25:07until the shelter
25:08opened the next morning.
25:10I brought the dog home,
25:12fed it,
25:13let it sleep
25:14at the foot of my bed.
25:15And for the first time
25:17in months,
25:17I didn't feel
25:18completely alone.
25:20I named him Echo,
25:22because that's
25:23what he was.
25:23A reminder
25:25that not everything
25:26broken stays that way.
25:28Maybe that's why
25:29I didn't panic
25:29when I saw the man
25:30standing outside
25:31the clinic
25:31the next evening.
25:33Tall.
25:34Still.
25:36Black shirt.
25:37Hands in his pockets.
25:39For a second,
25:40I thought my heart
25:41had invented him again.
25:43A mirage built out
25:44of memory and hope.
25:46But when he looked up,
25:47I knew.
25:48It was him.
25:49I didn't run to him.
25:51I didn't.
25:51I just stood there
25:52while the world fell away.
25:55He looked
25:56different.
25:59Not cleaner,
25:59not softer.
26:01Just quieter.
26:03There was a scar
26:04at his temple
26:04that hadn't been there before,
26:06and his eyes
26:07carried something
26:07I'd never seen
26:08in him before.
26:10Peace, maybe.
26:12Or exhaustion,
26:13pretending to be it.
26:15When I finally
26:15walked outside,
26:17the wind caught
26:18between us
26:18like a secret
26:19trying to stay alive.
26:20You shouldn't be here,
26:22I said.
26:24My voice broke
26:25halfway through.
26:26Probably not,
26:28he answered.
26:29But I never was good
26:30at staying gone.
26:32I wanted to hit him,
26:33or hug him,
26:35or ask him
26:35why he left me
26:36with nothing but a ledger
26:37and a warning.
26:38But all I managed was,
26:40You're supposed to be dead.
26:42He smiled faintly.
26:44I was.
26:46For a while.
26:47He stepped closer.
26:49They think I am.
26:51That's how it has to stay.
26:53Then why risk coming back?
26:56Because I had to know
26:57if you kept your promise.
26:59What promise?
27:01He nodded toward my chest.
27:03You didn't let them take it.
27:05I didn't realize
27:06I was crying
27:07until he reached up
27:08and wiped a tear
27:09from my cheek.
27:11His hand shook
27:12just slightly.
27:13Where did you go?
27:14I whispered.
27:15Everywhere that wasn't here,
27:17he said.
27:18Until I finished
27:19what needed to be done.
27:21What does that mean?
27:23It means the men
27:24who came for you
27:25won't come again.
27:26There was no triumph
27:27in his tone,
27:28just finality.
27:30I stared at him.
27:32You killed them.
27:34He didn't blink.
27:36I ended it.
27:37The difference was the same,
27:39but I didn't argue.
27:41Because something in his voice
27:42told me he'd buried
27:43more than enemies out there.
27:45He followed me back
27:46to my apartment
27:47like it was the most
27:48natural thing in the world.
27:50Echo barked when he entered,
27:52then, shockingly,
27:53lay down at his feet.
27:55Traitor,
27:56I muttered.
27:58Nico looked down at the dog,
27:59then back at me.
28:01He's smarter than
28:02most people I know.
28:04We sat across from each other
28:05at the small kitchen table.
28:07The air was thick
28:08with everything
28:09we weren't saying.
28:11Finally, I asked,
28:12why me?
28:14Back then,
28:15why save me at all?
28:16He took a long breath,
28:18eyes tracing the scars
28:19on his knuckles.
28:20Because I'd already lost
28:22one person
28:22who believed
28:23I was worth saving.
28:25I couldn't lose another.
28:27Your sister.
28:28He nodded.
28:30She was light.
28:31The kind you don't think
28:32can go out.
28:34What happened to her?
28:36She got caught
28:37in someone else's war.
28:39Mine.
28:40I felt my throat close.
28:42I'm sorry.
28:44He looked at me
28:45like he wanted to believe me.
28:48So am I.
28:50The silence that followed
28:51wasn't empty this time.
28:53It was full
28:54of everything
28:55we couldn't undo.
28:56Later,
28:57I made coffee.
28:59He leaned against the counter,
29:00watching me like I was
29:01something fragile
29:02he wasn't sure
29:03he deserved to touch.
29:05You stayed gone
29:06six months,
29:07I said finally.
29:08You could have just
29:09moved on.
29:11He shook his head.
29:13I tried.
29:14But every time
29:15I looked at the sea
29:16it sounded like your voice.
29:18I laughed once,
29:19softly.
29:21That's the worst line
29:22I've ever heard.
29:24He smiled faintly.
29:26Told you I don't
29:27lie well to you.
29:28We stood there.
29:30Two people who'd already
29:31survived more than
29:32they should have,
29:33not knowing what to do
29:34with the quiet between us.
29:36When he reached for me,
29:38I didn't pull away.
29:40His hands found my face.
29:43Tentative.
29:44Reverent.
29:45The kiss wasn't
29:46the same as before.
29:48It wasn't hunger
29:49or regret.
29:51It was something steadier.
29:53When it broke,
29:55he rested his forehead
29:56against mine.
29:58I can't stay,
30:00he murmured.
30:00I know.
30:03I'm not running this time.
30:05I'm leaving so you can
30:06keep what you built.
30:08I wanted to beg him to stay,
30:10but that wasn't love anymore.
30:11That was fear.
30:13So I said nothing.
30:15He stepped back,
30:16eyes softer than
30:17I'd ever seen them.
30:19You rebuilt yourself.
30:20Don't trade that for a ghost.
30:23Who says you're a ghost?
30:25He smiled.
30:27You did.
30:28The first night we met.
30:29I was half crazy.
30:32You still are.
30:33His teasing tone
30:35broke something open in me.
30:37I walked to him,
30:38pressed my palm
30:39against his chest,
30:40feeling the steady beat
30:41beneath my hand.
30:43You're real,
30:45I whispered.
30:46And alive.
30:48He covered my hand with his.
30:51Only because you didn't
30:52give up that night.
30:53I met his eyes.
30:54I thought I was signing
30:56my body away.
30:58I didn't realize
30:59I was signing my heart to you.
31:01He flinched,
31:02almost imperceptibly,
31:04then leaned down
31:05and kissed my forehead.
31:07Then I guess
31:08we're both donors now.
31:10He left before dawn.
31:13No goodbye.
31:14Just the echo
31:15of a door closing
31:16and the faint smell
31:17of coffee in the air.
31:19But this time,
31:20it didn't break me.
31:22I went to work.
31:22I smiled at patients.
31:25I laughed
31:26when the clinic nurse
31:27played old pop songs
31:28too loud.
31:30I walked home
31:31under a sun
31:31that finally felt
31:32like it belonged to me.
31:34And every night,
31:36Echo would sit
31:36by the window
31:37and wag his tail
31:38like he knew
31:39someone was out there
31:40in the dark,
31:41watching,
31:42keeping his promise.
31:44Sometimes I think
31:45I see him,
31:46just a shadow
31:47at the edge
31:47of the streetlight.
31:49Never close,
31:50never gone.
31:51And maybe
31:52that's enough.
31:54Because love
31:55like his,
31:56it's not about
31:57staying.
31:58It's about
31:59surviving each other
32:00and still choosing
32:01light when the fire
32:01dies out.
32:03I signed up
32:04for organ donation
32:05because I thought
32:05I was already dead.
32:07Now I keep
32:08that card in my wallet
32:09for a different reason,
32:11not as surrender,
32:13as proof that
32:13what I give
32:14can still save something,
32:16even after
32:16everything else
32:17is gone.
32:17So if you're
32:19listening to this,
32:20if you've ever
32:21given up on the idea
32:22that broken things
32:23can heal,
32:25remember this.
32:26A man who lived
32:27by violence
32:28gave me my life back.
32:30A girl who thought
32:31her heart was worthless
32:32learned it was
32:32the one thing
32:33worth protecting.
32:35And somewhere
32:36out there,
32:37under another name,
32:39he's still breathing
32:40with a scar on his temple
32:41and a heartbeat
32:42that once belonged
32:43to both of us.
32:44That's enough.
32:45That's everything.
Be the first to comment