Page 144 of Encounter

The joy filling me was almost too much to bear. My knees barely held me up, and my lungs burned with lack of oxygen as I stared at him, and he stared at me.

When Chast made a hesitant step toward me, all the sounds of the outside returned, and the flower tightly squeezed in my hand fell out as I relaxed my fingers.

“Wh...” Widening my eyes to the point they hurt and begged for moisture, I studied Chast’s soft expression as he got closer. I didn’t think I would ever see him again. But god, I was so happy that I did. Those charming eyes—they brought comfort and serenity to me and made me want to run into his arms like in some romance movie.

“I know you might not want to see me or talk to me, just— Please, just give me five minutes,” he blurted, more needy than was natural for him.

I parted my lips, but no words came out.There was too much to say.

You walked away. You walked away and never tried calling back. I don’t blame you. I understand why you did it, so why are you back now? Why are you here, looking at me so lovingly again?

“This...” Chast paused and shifted on his feet, stopping within reach of me. His closeness made my cheeks burn. “This is all so messed up that I don’t even know where to start. I—” Seeing him avoid my gaze and mumble like an anxious mess brought a faint smile to my lips. He looked so nervous; it was... sweet.

Wait. How did he know I'm here?

“I would’ve... I would’ve gone back,” he said firmly. “I made a colossal fucking mistake, and I would’ve gone and fixed it right after finishing those Yakuza, but I... It didn’t exactly work out how I planned.” A bitter smirk flashed over his face, making me gulp in worry.

I mustered up the courage to meet Chast’s eyes. “Did something happen?” I asked softly. There was something different about him, but I thought it was only me, not seeing him in a while, or being completely out of it from staying in this place for too long.

“I was out of it for a few days. I had to stay in the hospital for a bit,” he admitted begrudgingly while fidgeting with his hands. When I blinked in surprise, Chast quickly continued. “When I came to and saw you didn’t contact me, I figured you made up your mind. That you... were angry, or just decided you didn’t wanna have anythin’ to do with me.” Even though he smiled widely—like he tried to bring his usual care-free attitude back—his brows were low and gaze heavy.

I stared at him, struggling to believe that what I tried to come to terms with this entire time wasn’t the truth. “I figured you... meant what you said and changed your mind about us.”

“No!” Chast yelled, shaking his head. “N-No, I... God, I was stupid and—”

Softening my gaze, I reassured him, “I’m not angry.” I looked down and sighed, clearing my throat. “I know how hard that day was for you. I... was angry before, and hurt, maybe, yeah, but... I understand it must have been too much for you. I know you did what you could in the moment.”

Chast’s shocked expression told me he probably didn’t expect so much understanding from me.

Without the therapist's help and the endless hours of talking about it, I probably still would have thought he abandoned and hated me. It still hurt, remembering that moment, but forced me to look at the bigger picture—bigger than me and my feelings. It was impossible to put all the blame on him, like he was some robot and not another human being.

“I was bein’ a coward, and I hurt you,” he said in a low voice, overflowing with shame. “When I woke up, I figured you were better off without me. I felt fucking sorry for myself after the surgery, and—”

“Surgery, are—?! Was it serious? Are you okay?”I didn’t even think before making a sharp step forward and grabbing his hand. We looked down like we both couldn’t believe we would get to touch the other again, and when I met Chast’s eyes with worry, he squeezed my hand and smiled.

“I’m alright, Gale.” God, seeing his tender eyes again, so close, made me want to collapse into his arms and start crying. “Don’t worry, I just... got a wake-up call about the way things have been goin’ in my life. If I had known what happened, I would’ve been here the moment I woke up, no matter what,” he said, tightening his grip.“Are...youokay?” Chast whispered, voice muffled by guilt.

I barely managed to contain my emotions. “I-I am. I am okay, I think,” I murmured. Everything was melting inside of me, and Chast’s presence made me feel like I was consumed by a warm, comforting heat. “How... did you know I was leaving here today?” I asked with a confused frown.

Chast’s nervous chuckle took me back. He sounded like he couldn’t believe whatever he was about to say.“Thought it was a fever dream at first, but your... your old man came to see me,” he said and licked his lips, hand shooting to the back of his neck.

A sharp gasp escaped me. “What?!”There’s no way.

“Yeah. I guess he, um, had a change of heart.” Chast’s voice was careful, like he could sense I was close to my emotional limit. Giving me a moment to breathe through it, he stayed quiet before I looked at him again.

As our eyes met, his hand reached out to cup my cheek. “Listen to me,” he urged, making my heart skip a beat by the way his voice softened.His finger brushed against my increasingly hot cheek, as gently and preciously as it did when we were in bed together—when he kissed me and caressed me.

“I... I don’t care if our meeting was a coincidence, or if it really was fate. M-Maybe it was.” Seeing Chast all flustered disarmed any possible lingering sense of hurt and betrayal I might have had from the last time we saw each other. “And I don’t care if you only want to be with me for a while, before you decide to move on to somethin’ better—somethin’ more normal. But if you want us to try again, IpromiseI’ll do my best, and I’ll never abandon you again. I’ll do everythin’ I can to make you happy, like you deserve.”

Are those tears?“Ch-chast...” Gulping, I darted my glazed-over eyes over his face.

His sniffle shot me back to reality. As he quickly rubbed his nose, he still held his other hand against my face, and somehow, seemingly without my knowledge, my fingers were wrapped around his wrist, as if to stop him from letting go.

“My days of... runnin’ around and killin’ people are over, Gale,” he said. I couldn’t help but hear the hint of sadness in his voice, but the look he gave me was assuring and firm. “Not just because of the injury, I... I’ve had enough. There’ll be no more danger for you, if you decide to stick around. I always enjoyed training the grunts, helpin’ out the next generation of murder-machines.” He chuckled. “I know it ain’t much better, but—”

“I will,” I blurted out, feeling like if those words didn’t come out, I’d choke on them.

Chast blinked, giving me a confused expression.

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