Rain had a way of making the world feel smaller. The drops tapped steadily against Aeris' window, running down the glass in thin wandering trails while the sky outside remained heavy and gray.
It had been raining since morning. Not violently, Just… persistently. The kind of rain that made the day feel slower than usual. Aeris sat curled up on the couch with a blanket wrapped loosely around her legs. Her camera bag rested on the chair beside her, untouched since she returned from work the night before. The apartment was quiet.
Her phone lay on the coffee table in front of her. She had picked it up at least six times in the last twenty minutes. And every single time, she had put it back down. Her thumb hovered over the screen again. Caelum's name wasn't even saved in her contacts yet. But she remembered the number. Which was almost worse.
"Don't be ridiculous," she muttered to herself.
What exactly would she say? "Hello, I was just thinking about you". That sounded desperate. "Hello, thank you again for the flowers". She had already thanked him, Twice. Aeris groaned quietly and leaned back into the couch. Why was this bothering her so much? It was just a phone call. Just a man, Just dinner, Just flowers. Except it wasn't just that. Because somehow Caelum had slipped into her thoughts far more easily than she was comfortable admitting. His voice, His gaze. The way he seemed both present and distant at the same time. Like someone standing half inside a room and half outside of it.
Her phone buzzed suddenly on the table.
Aeris jumped slightly. Her heart raced for a brief second. Then she grabbed it quickly.
The name on the screen made her blink.
Renek.
She stared at it. The rain outside seemed louder now. For a moment, she considered ignoring the call. But her finger had already moved before she fully decided.
She answered.
"Hello?"
"Aeris." His voice sounded slightly distorted through the rain and weak signal.
"Renek?" she said cautiously.
"Yeah."
There was a pause on the line.
"Are you home?"
Her brows pulled together. "Yes…"
Another pause.
Then he spoke again, his voice slightly breathless. "I'm outside your building."
Aeris sat upright instantly.
"What?"
"I'm outside," he repeated. "And it's pouring."
As if to emphasize his point, thunder rumbled faintly in the distance. Her eyes moved toward the window.
"You're here?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Renek exhaled loudly. "It's a long story."
She hesitated. Her mind ran through several possibilities all at once. Curiosity. Annoyance. Concern. Finally she sighed.
"Come up."
"Thank you."
The call ended.
Aeris stood up slowly, running a hand through her hair. Of all the people she expected to hear from today, Renek had not been one of them. She walked to the door just as a knock sounded. Three short taps. She opened it, And there he was completely drenched. Rainwater dripped from his jacket and hair as he stood in the hallway looking slightly miserable.
"Wow," Aeris said.
Renek gave a weak smile.
"Yeah."
"You look like you swam here."
"It feels like I did."
She stepped aside.
"Come in."
He walked inside quickly, shaking rain from his sleeves. Aeris grabbed a towel from the back of a chair and handed it to him.
"Here."
"Thanks."
He wiped his face and hair while glancing around the apartment. It had been a long time since he had been here. Not much had changed.
Same couch.
Same small table.
Same framed photographs on the wall.
Only the atmosphere felt different.
Aeris crossed her arms slightly.
"So," she said. "Why are you here?"
Renek sighed heavily and dropped onto the couch.
"Possy and I had a fight."
Aeris blinked.
"A fight?"
He leaned forward, elbows on his knees.
"Yeah."
"What kind of fight?"
Renek rubbed his face with the towel again before answering.
"The kind where she threw my keys at me and told me to leave."
Aeris raised an eyebrow.
"That sounds serious."
"It was." He leaned back against the couch, staring up at the ceiling. "Actually…" He said quietly. "…It started this morning." His voice faded slightly as the memory pulled him back into it.
And just like that, The rain outside the apartment seemed to blend into another moment entirely. Renek leaned back against the couch, the towel hanging loosely around his neck. His hair was still damp, droplets falling occasionally onto the wooden floor. For a moment he said nothing. The rain outside filled the silence between them, tapping steadily against the windows like an impatient rhythm. Aeris stood near the kitchen counter, arms folded lightly across her chest.
"So?" she prompted.
Renek exhaled slowly.
"It started this morning."
" you've said that"
His eyes drifted somewhere distant, as if replaying the scene in his mind.
Earlier That Day
Possy's apartment had always been spotless. Everything in its place. Everything neat. Everything controlled. Which was why the sight of an overturned chair in the middle of the living room already felt like a warning. Renek stood near the doorway, watching Possy pace back and forth across the room.
"You're lying again," she said sharply.
"I'm not lying."
"Then explain it."
"I already did."
"No," Possy snapped, turning toward him. "You avoided it."
Her voice trembled, not with weakness, but with frustration.
Renek ran a tired hand through his hair. "Possy, it's not what you think."
She laughed bitterly. "That's exactly what men say when it's exactly what I think."
He opened his mouth, then closed it again. Possy's arms folded tightly across her chest.
"You were at her wedding," she continued.
"Nyra's wedding."
"That's not the point."
"It literally is the point."
Her eyes narrowed. "You saw Aeris there."
Renek sighed.
"Yes."
"And you didn't think to tell me that?"
"It wasn't a big deal."
Possy scoffed loudly.
"Not a big deal?" She stepped closer. "You spent three years with that woman."
Renek's jaw tightened.
"And?"
"And you think running into her at a wedding isn't a big deal?"
He looked away briefly. Possy noticed immediately. And that tiny shift in his expression was all she needed.
"Oh my God," she whispered.
Renek said nothing.
Possy shook her head slowly, disbelief spreading across her face. "You're still thinking about her."
"That's not true."
"Then look at me and say it."
He hesitated.
Just long enough.
Possy laughed again, but this time there was hurt underneath it.
"I knew it."
"Possy…"
"You're still in love with her."
"I didn't say that."
"You didn't have to."
Renek rubbed his forehead. "This is ridiculous."
"Is it?"
"Yes."
"Then answer one question."
He stayed silent.
Possy's voice softened slightly. But it carried something heavier now. "If Aeris walked through that door right now," she said quietly, "and asked you to come back… would you?"
The room fell silent.
Renek stared at the floor, His chest rose slowly with a deep breath. Then he spoke.
"I don't know."
Possy's face went pale.
"Wow."
"Possy…"
"No," she said sharply. "Don't."
He stepped forward.
"Listen to me."
"You're marrying me in two months," she said quietly.
"I know."
"And you just told me you'd leave if your ex asked."
"I didn't say that."
"You basically did."
Renek ran a hand down his face in frustration.
"This isn't fair."
"Fair?" she repeated.
"Yes."
"You want to talk about fair?" Possy snapped. She pointed toward the door. "I was the one who stayed when you were still talking about her every other week."
"That was a long time ago."
"Was it?"
He hesitated again. And that hesitation broke something. Possy walked across the room and grabbed his car keys from the table.
"You know what?" she said coldly.
"What?"
"You should go."
"Possy…"
"Go."
She threw the keys toward him. They hit his chest and fell to the floor. "You clearly still belong somewhere else."
Renek stared at her.
"You don't mean that."
"Oh I absolutely do."
He picked up the keys slowly.
"Possy"
"Leave."
Her voice didn't rise. But it didn't need to. Renek stood there for another moment , Then he turned and walked out.
Present
Renek blinked slowly as the memory faded. The sound of rain returned. Aeris stood exactly where she had been before, listening quietly.
"She thinks I still love you," he said.
Aeris' expression didn't change.
"Do you?"
Renek looked up at her. And for once, He didn't dodge the question.
"Yeah."
The word sat heavily between them, Aeris' heart skipped once but Renek continued before she could respond.
"I thought I'd moved on," he admitted. "I really did." He leaned forward again, resting his elbows on his knees. "But seeing you again at the wedding…" He shook his head. "It messed with my head."
Aeris stayed silent.
"I started thinking about everything," he continued. "Us. What we had. What we lost."
Her fingers tightened slightly around the edge of the counter.
"I know it's probably stupid," he said quietly.
Aeris opened her mouth to speak, But her phone suddenly rang. Both of them looked toward the table. The screen lit up brightly. A name flashed across it.
Sugar.
Renek frowned slightly.
"Who's that?"
Aeris' heart started beating faster. She picked up the phone slowly.
"I…"
Her eyes lingered on the screen for a second longer.
"…I should take this."
She answered.
"Hello?"
The voice on the other end burst through the line like sunshine.
"Aeris, darling!"
She couldn't help smiling faintly.
"Sugar."
"Yes, it's me," he chirped happily. "Your favorite late-night office operator."
"You're the only one I know."
"Well that's even better," he said brightly.
She could almost imagine him on the other end, leaning dramatically across his desk with that ever-present grin.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything important," he continued lightly.
Aeris glanced at Renek, who sat watching her now with clear curiosity.
"No," she said carefully. "You're not."
"Wonderful."
There was a soft shuffle of papers before Sugar continued.
"So, I'm calling on behalf of Mr. Rhaith."
Her fingers tightened slightly around the phone.
"He asked me to reach out," Sugar said cheerfully, "and see if you might be free later this evening."
"For what?"
"To see him."
Aeris' gaze drifted slowly toward Renek again.
Sugar continued, voice still warm and light.
"He'd like to apologize for the other night."
Her stomach flipped slightly.
"He felt the evening didn't… go the way it should have."
Aeris hesitated, Then she said quietly, "I'm free."
Renek's expression shifted slightly at the words.
Sugar brightened instantly. "Perfect!" There was a small pause before he added, "Oh and you won't have to worry about transportation. He'll come pick you up."
Aeris blinked.
"Pick me up?"
"Yes," Sugar said smoothly. "He insisted."
She nodded slowly, even though Sugar couldn't see her.
"Alright."
"Lovely," he said warmly. "I'll let him know." Then his voice softened with playful sweetness. "And Aeris?"
"Yes?"
"Try not to be nervous."
She let out a quiet laugh.
"I'm not."
"Mhm," Sugar hummed knowingly. "Sure you aren't."
The call ended.
Silence filled the apartment again. Aeris slowly lowered the phone, Renek was staring at her.
"Was that him?" he asked.
She didn't answer. Instead, she walked to the table and set the phone down.
"Aeris."
She turned back toward him. "You're being delusional," she said plainly.
His brows pulled together.
"What?"
"This whole thing," she continued. "You showing up here and suddenly deciding you're still into me."
Renek stood slowly.
"I didn't suddenly decide that."
"You're engaged."
"I know."
"Then I don't know how you're going to patch things up with Possy," Aeris said calmly. "But you should probably start there."
He watched her carefully.
"Was that the guy from the wedding?"
She said nothing.
Renek studied her face for a moment. Then he nodded slowly. "Yeah," he murmured. "Thought so." He stepped closer. "Aeris, listen to me."
"No."
"Aeris"
"You said what you needed to say," she interrupted gently.
Renek exhaled slowly. "I made a mistake leaving you. I made a mistake not listening to what you wanted and trying to fix us."
Her expression didn't change.
"I should've fought for us."
She shook her head lightly.
"That's not how life works, Renek."
"I'm serious."
"I believe you."
He searched her face. "But?"
"But you're late."
The words landed quietly between them.
Renek's jaw tightened. "You're really going to go out with him tonight?"
Aeris shrugged slightly.
"I have a date to plan."
For a moment, neither of them moved. Rain continued falling softly outside the windows. Renek finally nodded once, Then he stepped back.
"Right." He grabbed his damp jacket from the chair. Before leaving, he looked at her one last time. "You always did move forward faster than me."
Aeris didn't answer.
He opened the door, Cold air and rain drifted briefly into the room. Then he stepped outside and disappeared into the gray afternoon.
The door closed behind him.
Aeris stood there quietly for a moment. Then her eyes drifted back to the phone resting on the table.