When Silence Screams
801 Words
Raina sat still.
The apartment was quiet—too quiet. The hum of the refrigerator was the only thing keeping her from falling apart in complete silence. Her knees were pulled up to her chest on the couch, Jaxon’s oversized hoodie drowning her frame. She hadn’t taken it off since the night he left. His scent had faded, but the ache in her chest hadn’t.
She thought she’d be used to this by now. The cold. The waiting. The way her heart tore a little more every time the door didn’t open.
But she wasn’t.
She wasn’t okay.
And maybe she didn’t want to be.
Her phone lit up on the coffee table with a message.
Jaxon Caleb: “Meeting ran late. Don’t wait up.”
Her fingers tightened around the cup of untouched tea in her hands. She didn’t even know why he still bothered to text. He wasn’t coming home. Not really. He came to the apartment, yes. But his mind, his heart—they were somewhere else. With someone else, maybe. Or with the demons he refused to let her see.
She blinked back tears, swallowing the lump clawing at her throat. How could someone be so near and still feel like a ghost in your life?
Jaxon hadn’t looked at her—really looked at her—in days.
She missed him.
Not the man who owned skyscrapers and wore power like cologne.
She missed her Jaxon.
The boy who held her hand under the stars and whispered dreams into her hair. The man who once kissed her with such desperation, like she was oxygen and he was drowning.
But he wasn’t drowning anymore.
She was.
Suddenly, the door clicked.
She jolted upright, wiping her face with her sleeve as if that would erase the sadness she hadn’t voiced. Jaxon walked in, phone still pressed to his ear, voice sharp with someone on the other end.
“No, I said I wanted the contracts signed by Monday, not Friday—are you even listening to me?”
He didn’t even glance at her.
Her chest tightened as she watched him stride past her, jacket still on, voice still cold. His eyes swept the room once—mechanically—then he disappeared into his study, the door shutting behind him like a slap.
And just like that, silence returned.
But this time, it screamed.
She stared at the door.
Minutes ticked by.
Maybe hours.
Eventually, she stood.
With shaky legs, she walked down the hallway and paused in front of the study. Her fingers hovered over the knob. She could hear him pacing, still arguing about mergers and deadlines.
When did that become more important than them?
She opened the door without knocking.
“Jaxon—”
His head whipped around, his tone still sharp. “Not now, Raina.”
Her lips parted, then closed.
“I just…” she began softly, but he was already turning away.
She stepped in anyway, closing the door behind her. “I know you’re busy, but I—I need you.”
That stopped him.
He turned slowly, eyes finally meeting hers.
And there it was.
The crack.
A flicker of something that wasn’t anger or exhaustion. Something softer. Something she used to see in him every day.
“You need me?” he repeated, voice hoarse.
She nodded, arms wrapping around herself. “Not your money. Not your empire. You, Jaxon. I miss you. I’m still here, and I’m falling apart because it feels like you’re already gone.”
He stood there, stunned.
Silent.
Raina took a step closer. “I don’t need a mansion or diamonds or ten thousand unread apologies in the form of gifts. I need you to see me. Touch me without rushing. Talk to me without checking the time.”
Jaxon’s jaw clenched. He looked away, but not fast enough to hide the moisture in his eyes.
“I don’t know how,” he whispered.
Her heart cracked.
He looked back at her, broken and raw. “I don’t know how to be both the man who built a billion-dollar company and the boy who loved you like you were his universe. Somewhere along the way, I lost him. And I’m terrified that if I stop… if I let go even for a second… everything will crash.”
She walked up to him, her voice trembling. “Then let it crash, Jaxon. Let it burn if it must. Just don’t lose me in the fire.”
Silence again.
But not empty this time.
This one was heavy.
His arms opened, and she didn’t hesitate.
She collapsed into them like they were home.
Because despite everything, they still were.
Even when the world felt like it was falling apart—Jaxon Caleb still felt like home.
- Writer
