A Heart Split in Two
818 Words
> "Love isn’t always about choosing one person. Sometimes, it’s about discovering who chose you all along."
---
Three weeks.
It had been three weeks since I woke up in the past. Three weeks of reliving school corridors, shared laughter, and the constant, quiet presence of Silas.
But now, another chapter of my life began to unfold.
Asher.
He was back in my life, like nothing had changed. And that was the problem.
---
We were sitting in the school courtyard under the same tree we always had. Asher leaned against the trunk, sketching something in his notebook. I sat beside him, the wind teasing strands of my hair into my face.
"Remember when you made fun of my art and then stole my pencils for a week?" he asked with a smile.
I chuckled. "You deserved it. You called my stick figures 'emotionally bankrupt.'"
He laughed, tipping his head back. God, how I had once loved that sound.
We sat in silence for a while, his hand brushing against mine.
I didn’t move away. But I didn’t move closer either.
My heart wasn’t still. It was divided.
---
That afternoon, Silas found me in the library.
He sat down without a word, just placing a chocolate milk carton in front of me.
"You looked like you needed this."
I blinked. "Are you psychic now?"
He shrugged. "No. I just... know your face."
His words hit harder than I expected.
You know my face. You knew my moods. You knew my silences.
You knew my love.
And I hadn’t known yours until it was too late.
"Thanks," I said quietly, fiddling with the straw.
He looked like he wanted to say something more. But instead, he stood up, ruffled my hair, and left.
Leaving behind a silence that screamed.
---
Over the next few days, I found myself torn.
Asher would take me out for ice cream, walk me home, hold my hand. It was easy. Familiar. Sweet.
But Silas—Silas was always nearby. He never asked. Never forced. Just... showed up.
He waited at the bus stop when I forgot my umbrella. He brought me notes when I skipped class. He sat beside me during group projects and somehow made me laugh when I wanted to cry.
It was the little things that haunted me.
---
One evening, as the sun began to dip below the horizon, painting the sky in soft orange and violet, I found myself in the old bookstore downtown.
"Luna?" came the surprised voice.
I turned.
Silas stood near the back shelf, holding a worn copy of Wuthering Heights.
"You like that book?" I asked.
He grinned. "More like I like the way you talk about it. You got all poetic in class last year. I wanted to understand why."
I stared at him, heart stumbling.
"You... remembered that?"
He shrugged, embarrassed. "Yeah. I guess I just listen when it’s you."
It wasn’t the words. It was the way he meant them.
Like I mattered. Like I always had.
---
That night, I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.
I thought about Asher’s kisses, his playful texts, his arm around my waist as we walked.
And I thought about Silas’s silence, his gaze when I wasn’t looking, his hand hovering near mine but never crossing the line.
I had once begged the universe to bring me back to Asher.
But now?
Now, I was starting to see Silas for the first time.
And I hated myself for how late it was.
---
One afternoon, I found Silas alone on the rooftop garden, staring at the sky.
"Hey," I said, sitting beside him.
He didn’t look at me at first. Just said, "You look happier lately."
"Do I?"
"Yeah," he whispered. "Because of him?"
I didn’t answer.
The silence stretched between us like an unanswered question.
"I’m glad," he finally said, even though his eyes didn’t match his voice.
He meant it. He wanted me to be happy—even if it wasn’t with him.
And that broke me more than anything else.
---
That night, I sat at my desk, flipping through an old journal I hadn’t touched since last year. One entry caught my eye.
“Silas brought me my favorite candy today when I said I was having a bad day. I didn’t even remember telling him I liked it. He just… knew.”
Even back then, he had been there. Even when I wasn’t looking.
---
And suddenly, I didn’t know who I was anymore.
The girl who loved Asher? Or the woman falling for Silas without realizing it?
All I knew was that I couldn’t keep pretending.
One of them held my heart. And I had to find out which half of it was still beating.
---
> "Some people are written into your past. Others write themselves into your present. But only one writes your forever."
- Writer
