Beneath the Leather

Chapter 19: Silence

The first morning after everything felt… wrong.

Jazmine woke up staring at the ceiling, her body stiff, her mind already racing before she even fully opened her eyes. For a second, she forgot.

Then it all came rushing back.

Devon. Liz. Tasha.

Her chest tightened instantly.

Hercules stirred beside her, letting out a soft huff before shifting closer, pressing into her side. Jazmine turned her head slightly, her hand automatically reaching down to rest on him.

“I know…” she whispered. “I know.”

Her phone buzzed on the nightstand.

She didn’t want to look.

But it buzzed again.

And again.

With a shaky breath, she reached over and grabbed it, her stomach dropping the second she saw his name.

Devon

She hesitated, her thumb hovering over the screen.

Then she opened it.

Devon: “Jaz, can we talk?”

Devon: “Please.”

Devon: “I know you’re mad but just hear me out.”

Devon: “It’s not what it looked like.”

Her jaw tightened.

“It’s exactly what it looked like…” she muttered under her breath.

Another message came in.

Devon: “Answer me.”

Jazmine locked her phone without replying and tossed it back onto the nightstand like it burned.

She couldn’t do this. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

⸻

The next few days blurred together.

Work. Home. Silence.

That was it.

Jazmine kept her head down at the restaurant, moving through her shifts on autopilot. Smile at customers. Take orders. Drop off plates. Repeat.

No one would’ve known anything was wrong—except the way she didn’t laugh as much, didn’t linger in conversations, didn’t check her phone unless she had to.

And her phone…

It didn’t stop.

Calls.

Texts.

Voicemails.

All from Devon.

Sometimes angry.

“So you’re just ignoring me now?”

Sometimes desperate.

“Jaz, please… I messed up, I know I did.”

Sometimes soft, almost like nothing had happened.

“I miss you.”

She read some. Ignored most.

But she never answered.

⸻

At home, the silence was louder.

Jazmine barely left the apartment unless it was for work. The outside world felt… too much. Too unpredictable. Too real.

Inside, everything was controlled. Quiet. Safe.

She’d kick off her shoes by the door, drop her bag on the chair, and sink onto the couch like all the energy had drained out of her body.

Hercules would jump up beside her every time, curling into her lap or pressing against her side.

“You’re the only one not stressing me out right now,” she murmured one night, scratching behind his ears.

He wagged his tail like he understood.

Her phone buzzed again on the coffee table.

She didn’t even look this time.

“Not doing it,” she said quietly, more to herself than anyone else.

But the buzzing didn’t stop.

Finally, with a sigh, she grabbed it.

Another call.

Devon.

She stared at the screen as it rang. And rang. And rang.

Her finger hovered over the decline button…

Then pressed it.

The silence that followed felt heavy—but also… relieving.

For the first time in days, she felt like she had control over something.

⸻

That night, she stood by the window, looking out at the city lights.

Everything out there was still moving. People walking. Cars passing. Life continuing like nothing had happened.

But inside her… everything felt paused.

Her phone buzzed again behind her.

She didn’t turn around this time.

“I’m not ready,” she whispered.

Hercules padded over, sitting beside her feet. She reached down, resting her hand on his head, grounding herself.

“I don’t even know if I ever will be.”

The room fell quiet again.

No yelling.

No fighting.

No lies.

Just silence.

And for now… that was the only thing she could handle