Simply Red - Stars Lyrics -

Leo pulled his collar up against the wind and started walking toward her apartment. He wasn't going to offer another non-committal "maybe" or a carefully guarded half-truth.

Leo pushed his untouched coffee aside and stepped out into the crisp night air. He looked up at the vast, indigo sky. The city lights tried their best to drown out the cosmos, but high above the skyscrapers, a few stubborn stars burned fiercely through the haze. Simply Red - Stars lyrics

Her words had cut deep, hanging in the air like a heavy fog. He had spent months playing it safe, holding back his feelings behind a wall of cool indifference and exhausting jealousy. He had been so afraid of getting hurt that he ended up hurting the only person who ever truly saw him. Leo pulled his collar up against the wind

There was a long, agonizing pause on the other end of the line. Leo held his breath, watching a blinking star directly above her building. He looked up at the vast, indigo sky

Taking a deep, stabilizing breath, he pulled out his phone and called her. He didn't wait for her to speak when she picked up.

He thought about everything she had taught him. She had shown him what it meant to be present, to be vulnerable, and to care without keeping score. Her love had sent his chaotic future into clearer dimensions, mapping out a life he was now terrified of losing.