Within the span of just one week, everything had gone wrong for Sarah.
First, she lost her job, then discovered that her girlfriend, Eliza, had cheated on her, and to top it all off, she was kicked out of her own apartment. It had been an absolute nightmare.
Now she found herself, heartbroken and without a home or job, in the mountain cabin owned by her uncle.
She didn’t know what to do or where to turn.
As she lay in bed, trying to fall asleep, she heard a creaking noise coming from the porch. She held her breath, hoping it was just her imagination playing tricks on her.
The creaking continued, sounding like someone was walking around outside. Her heart sank. Who could be out there at this hour?
Glancing at the old alarm clock on the nightstand, she saw that it was 11:23 pm. There was no reason anyone should be there at this time. There were no neighbors, and it was off-road, she had to walk for 10 minutes from the closest parking place.
She sat up slowly, straining her ears to listen for any other sounds. All she could hear was the soft hooting of an owl in the distance.
She took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart. Perhaps it was just a stray animal or the wind causing the creaking noise.
But as she lay back down, there was a knock on the door. Her heart dropped.
She quietly slid out of bed and tiptoed towards the door, hoping to catch a glimpse of the intruder without alerting them to her presence. She held her breath, as she approached the door. She hoped she was mistaken and it was nothing.
Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and a familiar voice rang out.
“Sarah, I know you are here, please…Please hear me out, it wasn’t what you think it was.”, the voice pleaded. She recognized it. It was her ex-girlfriend, Eliza. All the fear disappeared, and annoyance took its place.
Sarah hesitated, unsure if she wanted to face her after what had happened between them. But something in her tone made her curious. She opened the door slowly, revealing a tall brunette standing on the porch with a look of desperation on her face.
Sarah was taken aback by Eliza’s appearance, noticing how haggard and exhausted she looked. For a moment, she considered slamming the door shut and sending her ex-girlfriend away.
“What do you want?”
“I…I didn’t cheat on you”, hearing that, Sarah was ready to protest. She saw her. She saw Eliza and Alex kissing, if that’s not cheating, then what was it? But just before she could say anything, the brunette continued, “It was Alex, she kissed me, and I pushed her off immediately, but you already ran away and wouldn’t answer my calls. Please believe me. I love you and only you.”
Sarah’s heart raced as she tried to process what Eliza was saying. Could it be true? Had she misunderstood what she had seen? She looked into Eliza’s eyes, searching for any hint of deception, but all she saw was raw, unfiltered pain.
“I don’t know what to believe,” Sarah finally said, her voice barely above a whisper.
“I understand,” Eliza replied, taking a step closer to Sarah. “But please, just hear me out. I love you, Sarah. I would never do anything to hurt you intentionally.”
Sarah’s heart softened at Eliza’s words. She still wasn’t sure if she could trust her, but she couldn’t deny the way her heart ached for her.
“Okay,” Sarah said finally, opening the door wider to let Eliza inside. “But we have a lot to talk about.”
