Almost Love, Then Everything - Chapter 36: Chapter 36
You are reading Almost Love, Then Everything, Chapter 36: Chapter 36. Read more chapters of Almost Love, Then Everything.
("Sometimes love doesn’t scare you because it’s uncertain—
it scares you because it’s starting to feel like the only thing that’s real.")
It started with a text.
Not a dramatic one—just four words:
“Are you free today?”
But for Leah, it felt like a weight and a lifeline at once. She stared at the screen for a moment too long before replying:
“Come over?”
Jade was there within the hour, showing up with two coffees, one chocolate croissant, and a playlist she said reminded her of Leah—low, moody instrumentals with just enough light in them to keep someone afloat.
They didn’t make plans.
Didn’t leave the apartment.
Didn’t even turn on the TV.
They just… existed. Together.
But as the afternoon stretched on, something in Leah started to twist—not in a painful way, but in the way your chest feels when something matters more than you expected it to.
Jade was curled up in the corner of the couch, legs tucked beneath her, laughing softly at something Leah had said without trying to be funny.
And suddenly, it all hit Leah at once:
This girl is real.
This moment is real.
And I’m falling.
Leah stood up abruptly, needing space she didn’t know how to ask for.
Jade looked up. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” Leah swallowed. “I just… need some air.”
She stepped out onto the balcony and gripped the railing with both hands, as if grounding herself to something outside her own mind. The city stretched wide beneath her, but it didn’t calm her. Not like it used to.
Inside, Jade waited.
She didn’t follow.
She didn’t knock.
She just… let Leah breathe.
And when Leah finally came back inside, her shoulders slightly looser, her heart slightly steadier, Jade was still there—same spot, same soft eyes.
Like she’d never doubted she should stay.
“I don’t know how to do this,” Leah whispered as she sat back down.
Jade didn’t ask what “this” meant. She didn’t need to.
She just reached out and brushed Leah’s hand gently.
“You don’t have to know. I’m not going anywhere.”
And that—
That was when Leah’s walls cracked just enough for light to come through.
Because Jade wasn’t demanding anything from her.
She wasn’t rushing the feelings.
Wasn’t labeling them.
Wasn’t trying to fix Leah’s past.
She was just showing up.
And in that moment, Leah realized something simple but terrifying:
This is what love could look like.
This is what safe feels like.
And maybe… she deserved it.
The scariest of falling in love
isn’t losing yourself.
It’s realizing you’ve finally found someone
who makes you want to stay.
it scares you because it’s starting to feel like the only thing that’s real.")
It started with a text.
Not a dramatic one—just four words:
“Are you free today?”
But for Leah, it felt like a weight and a lifeline at once. She stared at the screen for a moment too long before replying:
“Come over?”
Jade was there within the hour, showing up with two coffees, one chocolate croissant, and a playlist she said reminded her of Leah—low, moody instrumentals with just enough light in them to keep someone afloat.
They didn’t make plans.
Didn’t leave the apartment.
Didn’t even turn on the TV.
They just… existed. Together.
But as the afternoon stretched on, something in Leah started to twist—not in a painful way, but in the way your chest feels when something matters more than you expected it to.
Jade was curled up in the corner of the couch, legs tucked beneath her, laughing softly at something Leah had said without trying to be funny.
And suddenly, it all hit Leah at once:
This girl is real.
This moment is real.
And I’m falling.
Leah stood up abruptly, needing space she didn’t know how to ask for.
Jade looked up. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” Leah swallowed. “I just… need some air.”
She stepped out onto the balcony and gripped the railing with both hands, as if grounding herself to something outside her own mind. The city stretched wide beneath her, but it didn’t calm her. Not like it used to.
Inside, Jade waited.
She didn’t follow.
She didn’t knock.
She just… let Leah breathe.
And when Leah finally came back inside, her shoulders slightly looser, her heart slightly steadier, Jade was still there—same spot, same soft eyes.
Like she’d never doubted she should stay.
“I don’t know how to do this,” Leah whispered as she sat back down.
Jade didn’t ask what “this” meant. She didn’t need to.
She just reached out and brushed Leah’s hand gently.
“You don’t have to know. I’m not going anywhere.”
And that—
That was when Leah’s walls cracked just enough for light to come through.
Because Jade wasn’t demanding anything from her.
She wasn’t rushing the feelings.
Wasn’t labeling them.
Wasn’t trying to fix Leah’s past.
She was just showing up.
And in that moment, Leah realized something simple but terrifying:
This is what love could look like.
This is what safe feels like.
And maybe… she deserved it.
The scariest of falling in love
isn’t losing yourself.
It’s realizing you’ve finally found someone
who makes you want to stay.
End of Almost Love, Then Everything Chapter 36. Continue reading Chapter 37 or return to Almost Love, Then Everything book page.