CHAPTER 3

                                                                        CHAPTER 3

Aiden avoided the corner table for the next hour.

Every time he turned around, he felt Raven’s eyes on him steady, patient, unblinking.

Like Raven wasn’t here for coffee.

Like he was here for him.

And that scared Aiden more than he wanted to admit.

He tried to distract himself by helping customers, rearranging pastries, wiping tables that were already spotless but his heartbeat never calmed.

Finally, when the café emptied out and only one customer remained…

He knew it was time.

He exhaled shakily and walked toward Raven’s table, tray in hand.

“You’ve been sitting here for a while,” Aiden said softly, not meeting his eyes. “Are you… waiting for something?”

Raven didn’t miss a beat.

“For you.”

Aiden swallowed, his fingers tightening around the tray.

His chest stung. “I have work, Raven.”

“I can wait,” Raven replied, calm as ever.

“That’s not the point.”

Aiden forced himself to breathe.

“You shouldn’t be here. We don’t… we don’t have anything to talk about.”

Raven finally leaned forward, his voice lower.

“We have everything to talk about.”

Aiden’s breath caught.

Raven’s gaze softened not cold, not harsh, but something deeper. Something that made Aiden’s stomach twist in a way he hated and missed at the same time.

“You look different,” Raven murmured, eyes sweeping gently over him. “Older. Stronger.”

His voice dropped.

“Beautiful.”

Aiden felt his face heat instantly.

“Don’t,” he whispered. “You don’t get to say things like that anymore.”

Raven’s fingers brushed the table, as if he wanted to reach out but was afraid to.

“I know,” he said quietly. “But it’s still true.”

Aiden looked away, his throat tightening.

He didn’t want this.

He didn’t want Raven to still affect him.

He didn’t want to feel every piece of his past clawing its way to the surface.

“Why are you here?” Aiden asked, barely audible.

Raven exhaled slowly, the kind of breath someone takes when they’ve been holding the truth for too long.

“I came back for work,” he said first.

Then, more quietly:

“And because of you.”

Aiden froze.

Raven’s voice softened. “I heard you were still in this town. I just… needed to see you.”

Aiden didn’t speak. He couldn’t.

“I know I have no right to ask for forgiveness,” Raven continued, each word careful, “but I want you to know I’m different now.”

Aiden let out a small, bitter laugh.

“Different? Raven, you disappeared. You left without a word. You—”

His voice cracked, and he bit it back immediately.

He said too much.

Raven’s hands curled into fists on the table.

“I never wanted to leave you,” he said, eyes burning with something raw. “You were the only thing that kept me sane.”

Aiden flinched.

Memories soft touches, whispered promises, the night Raven walked away flooded him like a wave he couldn’t escape.

“I don’t want to talk about this,” Aiden whispered.

Raven stood up slowly, towering over him but not intimidating just… present.

“Aiden.”

His voice broke the smallest bit.

“I’m not here to hurt you. I just want a chance to make things right.”

Aiden shook his head, stepping back.

His heart felt too full, too loud, too scared.

“I can’t do this,” he said. “Not now.”

He hurried away before Raven could stop him.

LATER THAT NIGHT

Aiden walked home with shaky steps, hugging his jacket close.

He hated that Raven’s voice replayed in his mind.

He hated that his chest felt heavy.

He hated that after all these years…

The sound of Raven saying his name still made his world shake.

When he reached his apartment building, he looked up and froze.

Across the street, under a dim streetlight…

Raven stood with his hands in his pockets, watching quietly.

Not approaching.

Not demanding.

Just… waiting.

Aiden’s breath hitched as their eyes met.

Raven didn’t move.

He just looked at him with the expression of someone who had been lost for years…

And finally found the one place he wanted to return to.

Aiden’s heart felt like it was breaking all over again.

Because no matter how much he told himself he was done…

A part of him still wanted him

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***