"Can we start all over again, Hera?" Bryce asked when she remained silent and didn't say anything more about his previous remark. He was lost and utterly confused, and the fact that she was incredibly silent at the moment didn't help matters at all. He didn't know if he had finally managed to get through to her or if she had forgiven him. Her silence was slowly starting to scare him, which is weird because he never gets scared when it has something to do with Hera.
But whatever her response would be, he knew one thing would always be certain: he would not stop apologizing until she was finally ready to forgive him. He would make sure that no matter what happened, she would learn to forgive him.
Hera, on the other hand, felt conflicted. She was battling with herself and her principles at the moment. Accepting to be his friend again only meant one thing: she would be back in his life again and she would not be able to escape all of those things that she tried to escape. She would not be able to avoid him, and what's worse, he would always be this close to her even if she didn't want him to be.
The past few weeks were hard, and she knew just how much his actions tugged at her heartstrings. Going back only meant that she was giving him another chance to repeat his actions. What if this time it got worse to the point that she wouldn't be able to bear it? What would she do then?
She had been utterly miserable trying to figure out why she was so drawn to him and why she couldn't move past what he did to her, even when it hurt so deeply. Would she be strong enough and able to go through this again?
"Let's start over," he offered, jerking her out of her thoughts. She looked at him briefly as she tried to get her mind preoccupied. "I promise that I will listen to whatever you say. I will never shout at you. I will never push you away, and if you want me to go celibate for the rest of my life, then I would gladly do so. I will agree to any of your terms, Hera, without complaints, but please, don't disappear again." He swallowed hard when she remained unmoved. Bryce mentally slapped himself when he recalled all that he had just said.
Really? Celibacy? Of all things? Damn! What was he even thinking making that promise? Would he be able to keep it? All these thoughts wandered through his mind, but he pushed them away. For Hera, he was willing to do anything as long as she stayed by his side. He had lost her once; he wasn't prepared to go through that shit again. If he'd have to abstain from everything he believed in to get her to trust him again, then he would.
Does she trust him? Or is this just another promise that he would break anytime soon?