Distance had a way of making things clearer.
Akutu had spent the past week trying to ignore the strange emptiness Nathan's absence left in her days. She told herself it didn't matter—that people got busy, that friendships changed.
But the truth was, she missed him.
And that realization hit her harder than she expected.
One evening, she sat alone in the library, flipping through a novel she wasn't really reading. Every page she turned felt like an attempt to distract herself from the one thought circling in her mind.
Why did his absence affect her so much?
She had other friends. Other things to focus on. But nothing felt quite the same.
Nathan had become a part of her life in ways she hadn't even noticed.
Until now.
Nathan, on the other hand, had been avoiding her—not because he wanted to, but because he was afraid.
Afraid that if he spent more time with her, his feelings would grow stronger. Afraid that if he told her, he would lose her completely.
But staying away wasn't making anything easier.
If anything, it made him realize something he had been trying to avoid.
He didn't just like Akutu.
He was falling for her.
And now, he didn't know what to do about it.
That night, as Akutu lay in bed, staring at her phone, she made a decision.
She needed to talk to him.
She wasn't sure what she would say. She wasn't sure if she even understood her own feelings yet.
But she knew one thing—she didn't want to lose him over silence.
And maybe, just maybe, it was time to face whatever this was between them.
The pulleys of life had shifted once again.