HANNAH
The dinner table felt too small. I sat across from Jeremy, my parents on either side of us. The clinking of utensils on ceramic plates was the only sound that broke the otherwise heavy silence. The air was tense—or maybe it was just me. I wasn’t sure anymore.
I stabbed a piece of roasted potato with my fork and focused on chewing, trying not to meet Jeremy’s gaze.
“So,” my dad started, his tone light, “Jeremy’s been helping me with the porch these past few weekends. You remember the wood rot I told you about, Hannah?”
I blinked, surprised. I hadn’t expected Jeremy to still be around, let alone helping out with home repairs. “Oh,” I said, keeping my tone neutral. “I didn’t know.”
Jeremy glanced up briefly, his expression unreadable. He wasn’t the same boy I had known. That much was obvious. His posture was confident, his presence commanding. He didn’t fidget anymore or avoid eye contact. And he looked—well, it was impossible not to notice how handsome he’d become, though I tried my best to ignore it.
“Jeremy’s been a godsend,” my mom added, smiling at him. “We don’t know what we’d do without him.”
He gave a small nod, acknowledging her thanks, but his eyes flicked to me for just a second. “It’s nothing. Just glad I could help,” he said, his voice steady and polite.
I kept eating, pretending not to care. It didn’t matter that he’d been spending time with my parents. It didn’t matter that they clearly still thought the world of him. That part of my life was over, and I wasn’t about to open the door to it again.
“So, Hannah,” Jeremy said suddenly, breaking the silence, “your mom tells me you’re still dancing.”
I paused, my fork hovering in mid-air. His voice was calm, almost casual, but there was something in his tone that made me bristle.
“Yeah,” I said simply. “I’ve been working in the city for a while now. Ballet, mostly.”
“That’s great,” he said, his lips quirking into a faint smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I heard about your role in Black Swan. That’s a big deal.”
“It was,” I replied, setting my fork down. “Until I messed up my ankle.”
His jaw tightened, and for a moment, I thought he might say something. But he didn’t. He just nodded, his eyes briefly flicking to my ankle before returning to his plate.
“And what about you?” I asked, my voice steady. “What are you up to these days?”
It was the first time I’d acknowledged him directly all night, and I could see the flicker of surprise in his expression.
“I work in aerospace now,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “Mostly research and development. Physics, engineering—it’s all connected. It’s been… fulfilling.”
Of course it was. Jeremy had always been brilliant, always destined for greatness. I wasn’t surprised that he’d built a name for himself in his field.
“That’s amazing,” my mom chimed in, beaming at him. “We always knew you’d do something incredible.”
My dad nodded in agreement, raising his glass in a small toast. “Here’s to Jeremy, the neighborhood genius.”
Jeremy gave a modest shrug, but there was a faint glimmer of pride in his eyes. He glanced at me again, as if waiting for some kind of reaction, but I just nodded politely and returned to my food.
“So, Hannah,” my dad said, turning the conversation back to me, “what’s next for you? Are you thinking of staying here for a while?”
I hesitated, not sure how to answer. I hadn’t thought that far ahead. Coming home had been a desperate decision, a need to escape the crushing loneliness of the city. I hadn’t considered what came after.
“I’m not sure yet,” I admitted. “I guess it depends on how things go with my recovery.”
“You should stay as long as you need,” my mom said firmly. “This is your home, Hannah. We’ll always be here for you.”
I smiled at her, grateful for her support. But I could feel Jeremy’s gaze on me, and it made my skin prickle.
“You just… disappeared,” he said suddenly, his tone quiet but pointed.
I looked up, meeting his eyes for the first time that evening. They were piercing, as if he was trying to unravel a mystery.
“I had to,” I said simply, refusing to elaborate.
He frowned, but he didn’t press further. Instead, he picked up his glass of water and took a slow sip, his gaze never leaving mine.
The conversation shifted after that, my parents filling the silence with stories about the neighborhood, updates on old friends, and the usual small talk. But I couldn’t focus. My mind was spinning, and the weight of Jeremy’s presence felt suffocating.
The plates were empty now, the remnants of dinner cleared away as my dad joined my mom in the kitchen to do the dishes. They worked together like clockwork, trading soft jokes and laughter as they moved around the sink. It was heartwarming, but I didn’t linger on it too long.
I stayed seated at the table, swirling the last sip of water in my glass, hyperaware of the person still sitting across from me. Jeremy leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, his sharp eyes fixed on me like a hawk. The silence between us stretched, thick and heavy, making it impossible to ignore his stare any longer.
Finally, I sighed and set the glass down. “What?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
He smirked, but it wasn’t a pleasant one. It was smug, the kind that prickled under my skin. “I just find it interesting,” he said, his tone casual but laced with something sharper, “that you’ve managed to stay away for five years. Didn’t think your parents would ever see you again.”
My stomach clenched, but I forced myself to keep my expression neutral. “Life gets busy,” I said smoothly, sitting back in my chair. “I had a lot on my plate.”
His eyes narrowed slightly, clearly unsatisfied with my answer. “Busy enough to never visit? Not even once? Seems like you had your priorities set.”
The jab hit harder than I wanted to admit, but I wasn’t about to let him see that. “Well,” I said with a calm smile, “I guess you can rest easy now that I’m here, doing what I can to make up for lost time.”
Jeremy’s jaw tightened, and for a moment, I thought he might fire back with another cutting remark. But instead, his gaze shifted, scanning me like he was assessing something.
“You’ve changed,” he said after a beat, his voice lower, quieter.
I raised an eyebrow. “That’s what happens when you grow up, Jeremy. It’s called life.”
He shook his head slightly, his eyes lingering a little too long. “No, I mean you look… different.”
“Different how?” I asked, tilting my head, genuinely curious now.
He hesitated, as if choosing his words carefully, but before he could say anything, I leaned in slightly, a teasing smirk tugging at my lips. “If you’re trying to say I’m prettier now than I was before, you can just say it. I wouldn’t mind.”
Jeremy blinked, visibly caught off guard by my bluntness. “That’s not what I—”
“Relax,” I cut in with a wave of my hand, leaning back again. “I know I’m beautiful. You don’t have to feel shy about admitting it. It’s a fact. I’ve accepted it.”
The corner of his mouth twitched, but not in amusement. He looked almost… annoyed. “That’s not what I was getting at.”
“Mm-hmm,” I hummed, clearly unconvinced, and the irritation on his face was almost comical.
“Still full of yourself, I see,” he muttered, shaking his head.
I laughed softly. “Not full of myself, Jeremy. Just honest. But, hey, don’t worry. Even with all this beauty, I still got cheated on. So clearly, I’m just pretty—nothing special.”
The lightness in my voice didn’t match the weight of the words. I wasn’t even sure why I’d said them. Maybe I just wanted to win the conversation. Maybe I wanted to see if I could still get under his skin the way he was getting under mine.
But the shift in his expression wasn’t what I expected. His teasing smirk vanished, replaced by something heavier, something I couldn’t quite read. His gaze locked on mine, and for a moment, I felt… seen. It wasn’t like the usual stares I’d grown used to—the fleeting ones that skimmed the surface. This was deeper, more piercing, like he was searching for something I wasn’t ready to show.
It was too much. Too intense.
I stood up abruptly, careful not to put too much weight on my injured ankle. His eyes followed me, but he didn’t say a word.
“I think I’ll go lie down,” I said, keeping my voice steady as I avoided his gaze.
Jeremy didn’t respond, but I could feel the weight of his stare as I walked out of the dining room.
Once I was upstairs, the door to my room safely closed behind me, I let out a shaky breath. My heart was racing, and I couldn’t figure out why.
“It’s just Jeremy,” I whispered to myself, as if saying it out loud would make the knot in my chest unravel.
****