When No One Wants To Leave

A night on the veranda with the women of the canyon.

There was an ache she couldn’t explain.

Riley had always been comfortable on her own. Not lonely. Self-contained was how she thought of her life. Most of the time, it worked.

Echo Canyon was the first place that made her question it.

She sat back in her chair, the canyon settling into that familiar end-of-day quiet. Laughter moved easily between them. Glasses on the table. A second bottle already open.

She watched them for a moment. Quinn had gotten there first. She always did. Riley could trust her for that. Val leaned forward, talking to Raven, who listened in a way that made people say more than they meant to.

Skylar, with that half-smile she never explained. Riley wondered if there was something out of place in the evening.

It hadn’t always been like this for Riley. There had been other nights that ended early.

The first night here had been different. She hadn’t planned for anyone to stay. She pulled the extra chairs out because it felt polite. Quinn helped her set out glasses she rarely used. Told herself it would be an hour, maybe two.

They had all arrived at the same time. Food and wine in their hands. Val brought an orchid. Skylar stood for a while before sitting, taking in the canyon like she was reading something written into it. Raven didn’t speak much. She watched. Aware of everything.

They talked the way new friends do. Easy at first. Careful.

Riley had expected it to end the way these things usually do. A pause. A polite “we should do this again.” Everyone heading back to their own lives. Had those been the wrong people?

At some point, she realized no one was checking the time. She glanced at her wrist, surprised her watch wasn’t there.

The light shifted. The canyon changed color in a way that felt less like weather and more like permission. The air cooled just enough to matter.

No one stood up. The place where things usually begin to wind down, no one moved.

Riley looked around the veranda. The same chairs. The same view. The same women.

No one talked about that first night. There was no need.

Val reached for the bottle without asking. Skylar turned her chair slightly toward the others. Raven added something quietly. Quinn exhaled. Riley heard it.

They weren’t leaving.

Riley could have ended it. She knew how. She’d done it before. But this time was different. She didn’t want them to leave.

She leaned back and let it continue. The conversation shifted. A little deeper. A little slower. Riley felt it settle in around them.

This space wasn’t something she had created.

It had happened anyway, and she knew she didn’t want it to end as she felt the ache lessen.

Riley lifted her glass, listening as the conversation folded into itself.

They didn’t know it then.

But that was the beginning of everything.

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What moment in this story do you relate to the most? Hit reply and let me know. ~ Marylee

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