Chapter 2

The days after the bridge passed in a blur for Lila. The rain had cleared, leaving behind the crispness of early autumn. She spent her time in routines that felt hollow—working the morning shift at Rosie’s Coffeehouse, enduring her coworkers’ idle chatter, and returning to the tiny apartment she shared with silence.

But something was different now. Caleb’s words lingered in her mind, their sincerity cutting through the haze she had lived in for so long. She hadn’t seen him since that night, and though part of her craved the solitude she was used to, another part—a smaller, stubborn part—wished he would reappear.

Her wish came true three days later.

Lila was wiping down tables at Rosie’s when the familiar sound of the bell above the door chimed. She glanced up and froze. Caleb stood there, his jacket slung over his shoulder, looking out of place in the café’s cheery warmth.

“You’re not stalking me, are you?” she asked, her lips quirking despite herself.

He smirked a crooked smile that made him look younger. “Wouldn’t dream of it. I figured you’d be here; small towns are predictable like that.”

“Well, you’ve found me,” Lila said, setting her clothes aside. “Now what?”

“Now I order coffee,” he replied, stepping toward the counter. “And maybe convince you to take a break.”

She stared at him, bemused. “You’re serious?”

“As a heart attack.”

Minutes later, they were sitting at a corner table, the faint hum of conversation around them blending with the soft strains of a Billie Holiday song playing on the radio.

As they sat in silence, the darkness of the night wrapping around them, Caleb looked down, his thumbs tracing the rim of his cup. His voice was barely above a whisper, laced with a gentle curiosity. "That night, on the bridge...." Lila stilled. He looked up, his eyes locking hers. "What held you back? What stopped you from jumping? "

Lila stared into her mug.

The directness of his question caught her off guard. She expected small talk, something light and meaningless. But Caleb didn’t seem like the kind of person who danced around the edges.

She toyed with her mug, her gaze fixed on the swirling steam. “You were right that night. I didn’t want to jump. I just didn’t know where else to go.” “I guess I was hoping someone would stop me.”

And I’m glad I did.

“Fair enough,” Caleb said, leaning back in his chair. “But you didn’t have to trust me either. You could’ve told me to leave you alone.”

Lila gave a small shrug. “I guess I saw something in you. Like maybe you’d understand.”

Caleb nodded, his expression thoughtful.

They fell into a companionable silence. For the first time in a long time, Lila didn’t feel the need to fill the void with words. Caleb’s presence was grounding, as the weight of his struggles anchored hers.

“Your turn,” she said eventually. “Why were you really on that bridge?”

His jaw tightened, and for a moment, she thought he wouldn’t answer. But then he spoke, his voice quiet. “I go there sometimes when it gets bad. It’s...where Emily, my fiancee used to go. She said it made her feel like the world wasn’t so small.”

Lila’s chest tightened at the rawness in his words.

“I’m sorry,” Lila murmured.

Caleb shook his head. “Don’t be. You didn’t know her.”

“She was the only person who ever really saw me, you know? And when she was gone...I didn’t know how to handle it.”

Lila didn’t reply. She understood all too well what it felt like to lose the one person who kept you tethered to the world.

Over the next few weeks, their paths continued to cross, sometimes by chance, sometimes by choice. Caleb became a fixture in Lila’s days, showing up at Rosie’s when her shift ended or meeting her at the small park near her apartment.

It wasn’t long before Caleb suggested they tackle something neither of them had done in years—go hiking.

Lila had laughed at first. “You want me to climb a mountain? Do I look like the outdoorsy type?”

“Trust me,” Caleb had said, grinning. “It’s not as bad as it sounds.”

The trailhead was tucked away on the outskirts of town, a winding path that led through dense woods and up to a rocky overlook.

“I can’t believe you talked me into this,” Lila muttered as they set off.

“You’ll thank me when you see the view,” Caleb said, his tone light.

The hike was more challenging than Lila anticipated, but she found herself enjoying the exertion. The crisp air filled her lungs, and the canopy of trees above filtered the sunlight into dappled patterns on the ground.

When they finally reached the overlook, Lila stopped in her tracks, her breath catching. The town of Thomasville stretched out below, its rooftops glinting in the sunlight. Beyond it, the river wound like a ribbon of silver, and the mountains rose in the distance, their peaks crowned with clouds.

“It’s beautiful,” she said softly.

“Told you,” Caleb replied, sitting on a boulder.

Lila joined him, the two of them staring out at the view in silence. For a moment, it felt like the world had stilled, the weight of their struggles lifted by the expanse before them.

“Do you ever think about leaving?” Lila asked suddenly.

Caleb glanced at her, his brow furrowing. “Leaving Thomasville?”

“Yeah,” she said. “Just...starting over somewhere new.”

He shrugged. “Sometimes. But I think no matter where you go, you carry yourself with you.”

Lila considered his words, the truth in them settling deep in her chest. “I guess you’re right.”

They sat there until the sun began to dip below the horizon, painting the sky in hues of orange and pink.

It was dark by the time Caleb dropped her off at her apartment. As Lila stepped out of his car, she turned to him.

“Thanks for today,” she said, her voice sincere.

He smiled, the kind of smile that reached his eyes. “Anytime.”

Lila hesitated, then added, “You’re good at this, you know.”

“At what?”

“Making people feel less alone,” she said softly.

Caleb’s expression shifted, a flicker of something unreadable crossing his face. “Maybe because I know what it feels like.”

As he drove away, Lila stood on the sidewalk, her breath visible in the cool night air. She realized then that Caleb was becoming more than a stranger who had saved her; he was becoming a friend, someone who saw her in a way no one else did.

But beneath her gratitude was a gnawing fear—that she was beginning to rely on him too much. And if there was one thing Lila had learned, it was that people didn’t stay forever.

She shook the thought from her mind and climbed the stairs to her apartment. But as she lay in bed that night, staring at the cracks in the ceiling, it wasn't long before she heard a noise at the door.

"Caleb?" she called out