Chapter 118

• Haven sat at the little dining table, looking over thoughtlessly on his phone. The murmur of the fridge filled the calm flat. He hadn’t seen Vanessa for nearly two weeks, and now she was at last coming over. Haven sat on the edge of the table, his mind racing with thoughts of Vanessa. Their relationship had become increasingly complicated, filled with unspoken feelings and misunderstandings. Just last week, they had shared an intimate moment that felt promising, yet now it seemed to hang in the air, heavy with uncertainty. Haven couldn’t shake the feeling of exhaustion; the constant mental gymnastics left him drained.
• He replayed their conversations, searching for clues and meaning, trying to decipher Vanessa’s mixed signals. Was she pulling away or just scared? The lack of clarity was maddening, and each day spent overthinking only deepened his frustration. Haven wanted to resolve things, to find a way back to the easy connection they once had, but the weight of the situation felt too much to bear. He sighed, wishing for a simple solution in a world that had become far too complicated.
• His feelings were a mess, anticipation tangled with an unpretentious fear he couldn’t shake off. He loved Vanessa, or at least he thought he did. But recently, things between them had been... complicated. She had developed a new form of energy, her persistence diminishing, and this evening promised to be another “talk.”