February 18, 2019
The natural light coming in through the huge panes of the glass windows bathed the coffee house in a gorgeous glow of warmth.
Eliska glanced around the nearly-empty building as she twisted the cardboard sleeve around her coffee cup, a habit she'd developed years before. Earlier that morning, she had driven down in a rental car from a different part of California to L.A. She wasn't planning to stay.
She and Jonah both knew what was going to happen when he arrived after his rehearsal was over. True to their characters, they were going to talk everything over in person.
Jonah had come to terms with how distance had pushed he and Eliksa apart. After holding onto an unhealthy situation for the both of them for so many months, he finally allowed himself to. It hurt due to how much stress he had put on not giving up weeks before, but putting it off didn't make anything better in the end.
Eliska wasn't nervous. Dread wasn't attacking her stomach. She didn't feel like she was going to be sick. She didn't want to scream or breakdown. She just felt nostalgic for all the beautiful moments of her and Jonah's relationship. And that was what she was thinking about when he walked into the building.
She stood up and hugged him when he reached her. It was instinct for both of them and she was relieved that it didn't feel awkward.
The table was a small square, one chair tucked into each side. He sat in the seat next to her, angled towards her a little. He had coffee with him already, no doubt from earlier in the morning.
"Hey, El," he said. He looked tired, but then again, he always looked tired.
"Hi, Jo."
His gaze didn't waver from hers.
"I don't know how to do this," she said quietly. He shook his head a little.
"I don't either."
She waited several moments, collecting her thoughts.
"Jonah, we're like... the same person," she started. "You and I, we want to be together all the time."
He nodded, glancing down at his hands.
"And we simply can't be right now. I have... work, school, college in the future. And you have your career, your best friends, and so many people who adore you, all your fans."
He bit back a small smile.
"I know," he said, and then added, "And I'm sorry if you ever... made you feel like I didn't care about you while I was busy."
"You didn't, Jo. Nothing was ever your fault." He sent her a look that conveyed it wasn't ever her fault either. "I never felt that way, just... kind of empty, like I said a long time ago. I can't describe it, but I felt like I was always holding my breath. That sounds dramatic," she backtracked. "Like we were both always gripping onto the next time we would get to see each other instead of enjoying every moment we could have together."
"I felt that way, too." His voice was softer than it usually was. "Every day would be nonstop movement—waking up, getting ready, interviews, sightseeing, meet and greets, sound checks, shows, clean up, tear down—and then I would have a few moments to myself and everything about us would come back. I wanted... every second, I wanted you there, and I felt terrible. Like I couldn't give you what you deserve with my time and everything else."
