The day had been long, and the bustling energy of the Test match still lingered in Tara’s mind as she walked back to the hotel.

The warm light spilling through the windows of the lobby offered a strange comfort, but her thoughts were elsewhere—on Matt.

His earlier message had been clear: We need to talk.

Tara knew they couldn’t keep avoiding the conversation that had been hanging over them for weeks.

It wasn’t just the distance that had grown between them; it was the questions, the doubts, and the unsettling realization that things weren’t what they used to be.

As she stepped out of the elevator, Matt was already waiting in the hallway near her room.

He was leaning against the wall, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his jacket, his head bowed.

“Tara,” he said, straightening up as she approached.

“Matt,” she replied, her voice cautious.

There was a pause, heavy and uncomfortable, before he spoke again. “Can we talk?”

Tara nodded, unlocking her door and stepping aside to let him in.

₊‧.°.⋆✮⋆.°.‧₊

The room felt smaller than usual, the silence between them filling every corner. Tara perched on the edge of the bed while Matt stood by the desk, his arms crossed.

She took a deep breath, breaking the quiet. “What’s going on, Matt? Why do I feel like I’m losing you?”

Matt’s jaw tightened, his gaze flickering toward the window. “Tara, it’s not that simple.”

“Then explain it to me,” she pressed, her voice steady but laced with frustration. “We used to be so close. So connected. It felt... impossible to be apart. And now it’s like you’re a stranger.”

Matt turned to face her, his expression guarded. “We’ve grown up, Tara. Things change. People change.”

“That’s your explanation?” she asked, her tone sharpening. “We’ve grown up? I know things aren’t the same as when we were kids, but that doesn’t mean we just give up.”

“I’m not giving up,” Matt said, his voice rising slightly. “I’m trying to move forward. To focus on my career, my life. You’re the one stuck in the past, clinging to this... idea of us that doesn’t exist anymore.”

Tara flinched, his words cutting deep. “You think I’m stuck in the past? Do you even realize how hard I’ve tried to make this work? How much I’ve sacrificed for us?”

Matt sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I know you’ve tried. But maybe that’s the problem. We’re trying too hard to force something that doesn’t fit anymore.”

Tara stood, her emotions boiling over. “It used to fit perfectly, Matt! We were inseparable—best friends, partners, everything. What happened to that? To us?”

“We grew up,” Matt repeated, his voice quieter but firm. “We stopped being those kids who could spend every waking moment together. Life got bigger, more complicated. And somewhere along the way, we... drifted.”

Tara’s chest tightened, her throat burning with unshed tears. “So, what? You think we’re just done? That we’ve outgrown each other like old clothes?”

Matt stepped closer, his expression softening. “I don’t know, Tara. I don’t have all the answers. But I know that what we’re doing now—it’s not working. The fights, the distance, the constant pressure to fix something that’s broken... it’s exhausting.”

Tara blinked, her vision blurring. “So that’s it? You’re tired, so we just... end things?”

Matt hesitated, his hand twitching at his side as if he wanted to reach out to her but didn’t.

“I’m not saying I want to end it. I’m saying we need to figure out what we want—individually. We can’t keep pretending everything’s fine when it’s not.”

She looked at him, her heart aching with the weight of his words. “You’re asking me to let go of the one thing that’s kept me grounded my whole life. You’re asking me to let go of you.”

Matt’s expression softened, his voice barely above a whisper. “I’m asking you to stop holding on so tightly that it hurts both of us.”

₊‧.°.⋆✮⋆.°.‧₊

The silence that followed was deafening. Tara sat back down, her head in her hands, trying to process everything he had said.

After a moment, Matt moved to sit beside her. “I don’t want to hurt you, Tara. I never did.”

“But you have,” she said, her voice trembling. “You’ve hurt me more than you know.”

He nodded, his gaze heavy with regret. “And I’m sorry. For everything.”

Tara lifted her head, looking at him through tear-filled eyes. “I don’t know how to do this, Matt. How to let go of something I’ve built my entire life around.”

“You don’t have to do it all at once,” he said softly. “Maybe we just... take it one step at a time. Figure out who we are now, and then see if we can still make this work.”

For the first time that night, Tara felt a flicker of hope—not for their relationship as it was, but for the possibility of finding clarity.

“Okay,” she said quietly. “One step at a time.”

Matt reached out, placing a hand on hers. “Thank you.”

₊‧.°.⋆✮⋆.°.‧₊

After he left, Tara sat alone in her room, staring at the closed door. Her heart felt heavy, but there was also a strange sense of relief.

The conversation hadn’t solved everything, but it had given her a starting point—a chance to breathe.

She stood, walking to the balcony and letting the cool night air wash over her.

Somewhere in the distance, she heard faint laughter from the team’s lounge, a reminder that life was still moving forward, even as she stood still.

And for the first time in a long while, Tara allowed herself to believe that maybe—just maybe—she would find her way through this.