The Truth
"Strawberry Daiquiri, please," she told the bartender as she took a seat at the bar. Her set that night had been intense but she had recovered enough to come out for a drink. She didn't usually drink much, she wasn't very fond of alcohol, but she just couldn't resist strawberry daiquiris.
"You were great out there," the barman told her when he brought her drink to her. "I think the gentleman sitting back here must have thought so, too. He asked me to give you this." He pulled an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to her.
"Thank you," she said taking it from him. She looked at the writing on the front of the envelope, studying it for a moment. There was something so familiar about the way they'd written her name. For a moment she thought it looked like… No, don't be silly, she told herself. It couldn't possibly be! Why would he leave her a letter? But there really was no mistaking his handwriting. She recognized the way the first letter of each word slanted just slightly more than the rest. She had always thought that slightly odd.
She traced over the letters of her name with her fingers before tucking the letter safely inside her purse. It was definitely from him and she really didn't want to read it here. Not with so many people around. She was afraid of what the letter might contain, and how she might react to it. What could he possibly have to say to her after all these years? No, she wouldn't read it until she got home.
"Would you like another?" the bartender asked her some time later after she'd finished her drink.
She started slightly. "What ?" He nodded to her empty cup. Had she finished it already. "Oh, no thank you." She'd been contemplating the letter for some time now. She wasn't even sure she wanted to read it, but she knew she would have to. She had to know what it was he wanted to say to her after so long. She paid for her drink before leaving the bar and going home.
-.-.-.-
Ron could hardly believe that he'd finally gotten up the nerve to give her the letter. Okay, so technically the bartender had given it to her but still at least now she would know the truth. He'd walked out of the bar before she'd had a chance to see him, but he almost wished he hadn't. He couldn't go back now, though. By now she would have gotten the letter and he couldn't face her if she'd read it, he was too much of a coward for that.
Will she even read it? he wondered. Or would she just throw it away? He wouldn't blame her if she did, she had every reason to hate him. Somehow, though, he still hoped that she would find it in her heart to give him this one last chance. That she would just read the letter.
-.-.-.-
Her apartment was small, but it didn't bother her as she was the only one living there. She had everything she needed, a small kitchen, a living room, one bedroom, and a tiny bathroom.
She sat down on her couch and pulled the letter out, staring at it nervously. This was it, the moment of truth. She opened it slowly dreading what news it might bring. Had something happened to one of the Weasleys? It had been a long time since she'd seen any of them, they'd lost contact after her falling out with Ron, but she'd be devastated if anything had happened to any of them. She pulled out the short, messy letter and read it carefully.
She set it down gently on the coffee table in front of her, the short message burning in her mind. He loved her? She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting when she'd opened the letter but this certainly wasn't it. Maybe, somewhere deep inside she'd hoped for this but she'd stopped believing it was possible years ago.
Why now? she wondered. After so many years why had he chosen now to finally tell her. It'd been a long time since she'd run away from him and she wasn't sure if he could still catch her, if she could trust him to. He'd hurt her so badly. She wasn't sure she fall again, with only a dream to catch her.