A week after their unexpected meeting at the party, Ray found himself staring at his phone, debating whether to call Leah. Their conversation had stirred up a lot of unresolved emotions, and Ray knew that if he didn't address them, they would continue to haunt him.
He hesitated for a moment, then finally hit the call button. The phone rang a few times before Leah's familiar voice answered.
"Ray?" she said, sounding surprised.
"Hey," Ray replied, his voice steady. "Do you think we could talk? Like, talk?"
There was a pause on the other end of the line before Leah answered. "Yeah. I think we should."
They agreed to meet at a small coffee shop, one that neither of them had been to before. It felt neutral, a place with no memories attached. When Ray arrived, Leah was already there, sitting at a corner table. She looked up as he approached, offering a small, tentative smile.
"Thanks for meeting me," Ray said as he sat down.
Leah nodded. "I think we both need this."
For a moment, neither of them spoke. The tension between them was palpable, but Ray knew that if they didn't confront their feelings now, they never would.
"I've been thinking a lot about what you said the other night," Ray began, his voice soft but firm. "About how you felt like you were losing yourself in the relationship."
Leah looked down at her hands, her expression pained. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Ray. But I was scared. I didn't know how to tell you that I needed space without feeling like I was pushing you away."
"You could have told me," Ray said, his tone tinged with frustration. "I would have understood. We could have worked through it together."
Leah nodded slowly, her eyes filling with regret. "I know. I should have been more honest with you. I just… I didn't know how."
Ray took a deep breath, trying to keep his emotions in check. "I loved you, Leah. I still do, in some ways. And it kills me that you felt like you couldn't be yourself with me."
"I loved you too," Leah said, her voice breaking slightly. "But I needed to find out who I was without you. And that wasn't something I could do while we were together."
Ray sat back in his chair, her words hitting him like a punch to the gut. But at the same time, they made sense. He had always known that Leah struggled with her own identity, and maybe he had been too wrapped up in their relationship to see how much it was affecting her.
"So, what now?" Ray asked, his voice barely more than a whisper.
Leah looked at him, her eyes filled with sadness. "I don't know. I think we both need to figure out who we are without each other."
Ray nodded slowly, realizing that this conversation wasn't about fixing things. It was about accepting that sometimes, love wasn't enough to keep two people together.