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Chapter 113: I’m Scared

Chapter 113: I’m Scared

The car rolled to a quiet stop in front of Rayna’s house. Stefan looked ahead to see tall beautiful trees ahead.

A soft breeze swayed the leaves, and birds chirped lazily in the distance. The air was calm—but Stefan was anything but.

He sat frozen in the passenger seat, staring straight ahead, wondering why they were coming to a stop there and if the house in front of him was it—the place where Ruby stayed.

Ethan turned off the engine and shifted in his seat, glancing over at him. "We’re here," he said quietly.

Stefan didn’t move. His hands were clenched tightly on his lap, his jaw stiff. His entire body was tense, like a string pulled too tight, threatening to snap at any second.

Ethan frowned and waited a beat before speaking again. "You okay?"

Stefan let out a long, slow breath through his nose. "No."

Ethan blinked. "What do you mean? This is what you’ve always wanted."

"I mean," Stefan said, voice low and tight, "I know this is what I’ve always wanted but I don’t think I can get out of the car."

Ethan stared at him, surprised. "You’ve been pushing for this all night. You barely slept. You’ve been pacing the house since before sunrise, waiting for this moment. And now you’re saying you can’t do it?"

Stefan turned his head slightly, his unseeing eyes seeming to look toward the house. "I didn’t say I don’t want to. I said I can’t. Not yet."

"Why not?"

"I don’t know what I’ll say when I see her," Stefan whispered, voice hoarse. "I don’t even know what kind of expression she’ll have when she opens the door. What if she slams it shut the moment she hears my voice?"

Ethan leaned back in his seat, arms crossing as he sighed. "You’re overthinking again."

Stefan shook his head slowly. "No. I’m being real. I hurt her, Ethan. And now... I’m here, expecting what? That she’ll throw herself into my arms? That she’ll forget everything just because I showed up?"

He paused, fingers tightening again. "And the gown... she gave it away. To her best friend. That was supposed to be for me. For us. And she gave it away like it meant nothing."

Ethan remained quiet for a while, watching his friend battle with his emotions.

"I thought we’ve gone over this already, Stefan. I told you," he said finally, "maybe it didn’t mean nothing. Maybe it meant too much. Maybe it hurt too much to keep it. It doesn’t mean she hates you or something."

Stefan let that sink in. It made sense in a way that twisted something in his chest.

Still, he didn’t move.

"I don’t know if I can face her yet," he said again, voice lower now, almost like a confession. "What if I make things worse? What if she tells me to leave? What if... what if she’s already moved on?"

Ethan sighed deeply and rubbed a hand over his face. "Look, Stefan, you’re not going to know unless you go in there and talk to her. I get that you’re scared. Hell, I’m scared. If Rayna finds out I brought you here, she might never speak to me again. She might even think everything that happened between us was a lie."

Stefan turned toward him, a crease between his brows. "But it wasn’t a lie. You didn’t even know where she stayed until last night."

"True," Ethan agreed. "But logic doesn’t always work when someone feels betrayed. She’ll think I got close to her just to get to Ruby. She might believe I only asked her out on that date just so I could bring you here."

"But that’s not what happened," Stefan said sharply.

"I know that," Ethan replied, "and you know that. But she doesn’t. And I don’t think she’ll take it well."

Stefan’s fingers loosened slightly. "Then why did you agree to bring me?"

Ethan turned to him, his expression calm but serious. "Because you love her. Because I saw the way you looked when I told you about that gown. And because, as your best friend, I couldn’t let you sit there another day, torturing yourself with what-ifs. You needed to come here. Even if it doesn’t end the way you want."

Stefan closed his eyes as he thought about what Ethan had just said. He knew Ethan was right.

But the storm inside him wasn’t calming down.

The weight in his chest was heavy—fear, guilt, longing all tangled together. His fingers reached up and pressed against his forehead as if doing so would stop the chaos in his mind.

After what seemed like a minute had passed, Ethan turned back. "You still not ready?"

Stefan drew in another breath, then exhaled slowly. "Give me one more minute." free\we\bnov(e)(l).com

Ethan nodded and settled back into his seat again, watching the quiet house. The curtains were drawn in the windows. No movement inside yet. The world was still, like it was holding its breath with them.

Inside the car, Stefan’s thoughts kept racing.

What do I say first? What would her reaction be when she sees me?

Will she cry when she sees me? Or will she turn away, like she wants nothing to do with me?

Should I beg? Should I remind her of our moments together? Of the time she made me laugh so hard I forgot I couldn’t see? Of the way she kissed me when she thought I was asleep?

Or will none of that matter to her anymore?

His heart was pounding so hard it felt like a drum in his ears.

What if she’d erased him already? What if her heart had moved on?

The thought sent a wave of panic through him again, and he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, fingers buried in his hair.

Ethan watched him quietly, sensing the storm raging inside his best friend.

"Stefan," he said gently. "You’re going to drive yourself crazy like this. Just breathe, alright? Take it one step at a time. She might not react the way you fear. It might not be as bad as you think."

"But what if it is?" Stefan asked in a low voice.

"Then at least you’ll know," Ethan replied. "At least you’ll have tried."

The silence between them stretched again, heavy but full of unspoken support.

Then, after another long pause, Stefan lifted his head and nodded slowly. "I’m going in now and even if she doesn’t want to see me, I’m not giving up. I’ll keep coming here until she finally accepts me back," he said with a string sense of determination, ready to see how long it’d take to win her back.