liam

Rain lashed the glass, drowning out the sound of my heartbeat. Three years of silence, three years of unanswered questions. We were always called the perfect couple, "shipped" since childhood, and then Liam simply disappeared. Vanished, leaving behind only emptiness and uncertainty. And then today, when the sky opened up like a torrent of water, I saw him at our gate.

Forgetting my umbrella, I rushed out into the pouring rain. He stood there like a ghost from the past—soaking wet, his face haggard, his eyes reflecting eternity. Before I could scream his name or even express my anger at the years of silence, he stepped toward me. With a sharp, desperate movement, he pulled me close, and I felt his wet jacket sting my skin, a strange, painful chill radiating from his body.

"Why did you come back now?" my voice broke, barely audible above the noise of the elements. "What happened?"

Liam slowly pulled away, but his icy palms remained on my burning cheeks, forcing me to look straight into his eyes. Rain streamed down his face, mingling with the tears he seemed to be trying to hide.

"The doctors gave me a month," his voice was barely audible, hoarse and broken. "The illness proved stronger. I ran away from you because I thought it would be better... that I would spare you this pain. But I realized I couldn't leave without saying the most important thing."

He pressed his forehead to mine, and I felt his fingers, trembling from the cold and perhaps from disbelief, tighten on my shoulders.

— I love you. More than anything in the world. And I promise: I will be there. I will be your breath, your guardian angel, even when my body becomes nothing but dust. I only have a month left, but I will spend it so that you feel my love for the rest of your life.