~Connor~
Lily didn’t say anything right away. She just watched me, her expression soft but unreadable, like she was still trying to piece together the version of me that had shown up. I could see the question in her eyes. Did I come back because I missed her?
Or did I come back because I was drowning in guilt? The truth was both. I missed her like breath, like blood, like my entire existence had collapsed without her. And yes, I carried guilt so heavy it nearly crushed me every day. But beneath all of that, I still loved her. I had never stopped loving her.
“I didn’t know what I was doing,” I said eventually. “I thought I was helping. I thought I was giving you what you needed. But all I was doing was taking. I kept taking from you when you didn’t have anything left to give. And I hate
