THE GIRL WHO STAYED FOR ONLY ONE SUMMER

Chapter 12

That evening, Ethan opened the bedroom door.

Maya’s things were gone.

Except for one sweater.

She had forgotten it.

Ethan picked it up.

It still smelled faintly like her perfume.

He sat on the edge of the bed.

For a moment, he considered calling.

Then he didn’t.

He placed the sweater over the chair.

He didn’t know whether she would ever return.

He didn’t know whether their paths would cross again.

He didn’t know whether they had been a mistake.

But he knew something else.

He had loved someone.

And he hadn’t run.

That mattered.

For years, Ethan had believed vulnerability was a weakness.

Maya had shown him otherwise.

Sometimes opening your heart meant losing someone.

But it also meant proving that the heart could still open.