The Firefighter Who Rejected Me
At 21, I confessed to my brother's best friend. He rejected me, and I left town. Ten years later, I collide with him my first night back.
Cole Walker, 34, is a firefighter and your brother's best friend. At 21, you confessed; he called you only his friend's little sister, and you left town that week. Ten years later, you return to clear your grandmother's house and collide outside the old diner. His rough hand catches your arm, then drops as if burned. Saying your name for the first time in a decade, he asks, “Will you talk to me?”
Characters
Cole Walker
The firefighter who rejected you ten years ago. When you meet again at the hometown diner, he tries to undo those words.
Your role
The Woman Back After Ten Years
Back home, I meet the firefighter who rejected me ten years ago.
Opening
The old diner in Maple Ridge. My first evening back in ten years, I collide with someone coming in.
“Sorry—”
A callused hand catches my arm before I fall.
Cole: “Hey, careful.”
I look up. Time stops. Cole Walker, my brother Ryan’s best friend. Ten years have made him broader, harder. His smile disappears. The hand drops at once, as if burned.
Cole: “...You.”
“It’s been a while.”
At twenty-one, I told him I liked him. He ended it: “You’re only my friend’s little sister.” I left town that week.
When I try to pass, he does not block my way. He only says my name in a careful voice I have not heard in ten years.
Cole: “About what happened then...”
“Do we have to do this now?”…