Page 129 of Eternal

She sits cross-legged on the rug and hands one to me first, then Viktor. She doesn’t say much, she just has a tired, quiet smile, and then starts eating her own food.

We eat in silence for a few minutes.

The yogurt is cold. The cereal’s a little soggy already. But it tastes like childhood. Like mornings before school. Like when life wasn’t all sad.

Viktor glances at me over the rim of his bowl, eyes narrowing. Then he shifts slightly on the couch, tilts his head.

“So,” he says, drawing the word out.

I look at him, suspicious. “What.”

“I was trying to be respectful, given the tears and trauma and the whole emotional breakdown thing…” He leans in, smirking now. “But let’s talk about the elephant in the room.”

Kat raises an eyebrow. “What elephant?”

Viktor gestures with his spoon toward my neck. “That massive hickey you’re trying to hide under your hair.”

I nearly choke on a bite of cereal.

Kat’s eyes light up. “Ohhh, really? Azra!”

I groan and drop my spoon into the bowl. “I hate you both.”

“I knew it,” Viktor says, grinning now. “Damir. You two are back to being partners, huh?”

“Professional partners,” I mumble, cheeks burning.

Kat’s grinning. “You didn’t tell me! I’ve been asking for weeks if something was going on.”

“Because there’s nothing going on,” I lied.

Kat leans forward dramatically. “Azra. You have a neck bruise the size of my hand. Don’t lie to my face.”

“I’m going to choke on my own cereal and die right here.”

Viktor shrugs, all fake innocence. “Hey, I'm only saying, if we’re going to unpack trauma tonight, might as well include the romantic kind.”

Kat nudges me with her foot. “Is he being good to you at least?”

I hesitate for a second. Then, “Yeah. He is .”

A beat.

“If he hurts you,” Viktor says flatly, “I’ll gut him.”

Kat raises her hand like a toast. “Seconded.”

I laugh, chest shaking a little. “Yeah, okay. Good to know.”

And then, my phone buzzes. They both look at me while I check it.

Damir

Where are you? I want to see you.

I stare at it for a second. Then type back.

Me

Vik and Kat.

The three dots appear instantly.

Damir

I’ll be there soon.

I set the phone down, heart ticking a little louder in my chest.

Kat raises an eyebrow. “So?”

“He wants to come pick me up,” I say quietly.

Viktor tilts his head. “You want to go?”

I pause, and then I nod. “Yeah. I think I do.”

Viktor nods, kisses my head and gets up. He picks up the bowls and goes to the kitchen.

Kat looks at me and smiles, “I knew he’d be good for you.”

She pulls her legs up onto the couch beside me, knees tucked under her hoodie, and I do the same with the blanket.

“I think I heard the song you were talking about the other night,” I say softly. “The one you said would make sense when the right person would be in front of me.”

Kat doesn’t look at me right away, she’s staring at her fingers twisting the end of her sleeve.

“ Visha ?” she asks eventually.

“It hurts,” I say. “Because I think he’s the only one who ever kissed me and meant it.”

She smiles, then she tilts her head toward me. “I think you love him.”

My breath catches. I shake my head, too quickly. “I can’t.”

“You can,” she says gently. “You think you shouldn’t.”

I look away, chewing at the inside of my cheek.

She doesn’t know, neither of them does. If they did, if they knew what he came here for, the conversation would already be over, there’d be blood.

He was sent to stop me, to erase me.

And instead… he stayed .

I grip the edge of the blanket tighter, like it can anchor me in the moment.

“I can’t,” I repeat, quieter this time. “It’s complicated .”

Kat’s voice drops, soft as the wind. “You’ve survived worse than love.”

I don’t respond, but inside, something aches. That’s true .

But why does it feel more impactful than pain?

“Okay let’s do this, we’re going to our room, and we’ll talk without Vik trying to listen to everything.”

I laugh but agree.

And so, we head upstairs to the room they always keep empty for me in case I ever decide to move in.

We’re lying on the mattress, music blasting from the small TV in the corner.

Before we came up, Vik got a call and stayed out in the garden to talk. I think it’s raining now, he’s probably moved inside, into the living room.

Kat smiles, disappears under the bed for a second, and comes back up holding a dusty bottle of wine.

“I’ve had this hidden here since you came back, years ago. Thought we’d open it the day you finally move in but you never did.”

I smile. “Let’s open it.”

Don’t .

She opens a drawer and pulls out a corkscrew. With a quiet pop, she opens the bottle and passes it to me.

We sit with it for a second, passing it back and forth, until we set it gently on the floor and lie back on the mattress, staring at the ceiling, the music still playing softly.

Kat is looking at me, smiling, and I already know what kind of conversation we’re about to have.

“Why are you always putting on sad songs? Now I want to cry,” she says.

“I don’t know. Probably a sign that something’s wrong with me.”

She grabs the bottle from the ground again, takes another gulp and starts talking with her eyes closed. “We never talked about what happened when you weren’t here. I know they made you suffer. I just don’t know how much.”

My eyes fix on a point on the ceiling. “Do you know how I feel when I see other people having family dinners and being happy about it?”

She doesn’t reply, so I continue.

“I feel stupid . Like an idiot for being sad about something as dumb as this. Having a father. Having a mother. I don’t know… When I had them, they made me wish I hadn’t. And when I lost them, they made me miss even the pain.”

She starts crying and hugs me. “I’m sorry.”

“Why would you be? You and Vik make those family dinners real.”

“Is that why you never reply when we tell you we love you?”

Is it? Probably . I don’t know.

“It’s strange. I feel like if I say it back, you’ll leave.”

“Azra…”

“I tried to erase it for so long, but I guess it’s buried too deep in my brain if I can’t even tell you and Vik how you saved my life. I lied for so long. And now I have someone. What if I love him too, and he leaves?”

I turn toward her, and we’re close enough for her to see the tears in my eyes, and me, hers.

“What if he sees the ugly parts of me and decides to leave, when all I want is for him to show me what it means for someone to stay?”

“He won’t. There’s nothing ugly in you.”

“There’s only that.”

Before she can reply, the door opens and Vik lies down between us.

“You were listening to our conversation, weren’t you?” she asks him.

He shrugs. “ Obviously .”

I smile and rest my head next to his. We’re three grown adults lying on that bed staring at nothing.

“Guys, I’m scared.”

Vik grabs my hand and tightens his hold. “Don’t be, kroshka . We’re here. Nothing’s gonna happen to you.”

Kat’s hand gently lands in my hair. “You’ll never be alone again, remember?”

“You think so?”

Vik brings my hand to his lips and leaves a small kiss on my palm. “Never again. And I love you, even if you can’t say it. I do. Know that. I love you both, entirely. No one will ever hurt either of you as long as I breathe.”

A low hum cuts through the music.

Faint at first, distant, then louder, that familiar rhythm, the kind you feel more than hear.

Kat’s eyes flick to the window, and Vik is already sitting up.

A motorcycle.

We all know it’s him .

Vik doesn’t say anything, he is already heading to the door downstairs, and Kat and I follow without speaking.

Headlights flash once through the front windows before the engine cuts off.

Rain’s still falling lightly.

The front door creaks open. Vik steps onto the porch.

Kat stands beside me, arms folded like she’s curious to see how weird it’s going to look between us now.

Footsteps. A helmet pulled off. Then, his face.

He’s soaked, jacket clinging, hair wet, the usual ocean in his eyes softened.

He looks up, and sees us.

Sees me .

And smiles.