BETWEEN TWO HEARTS.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN; The Quiet Between Us

By the time the last game ended, the digital clock on the television read 11:43 p.m.

"I'm retiring."

Liam dropped the controller onto the sofa with exaggerated exhaustion.

"My football career ends here."

Henry scoffed.

"You lost one match."

"I lost three."

"Exactly."

"I've decided to protect what's left of my reputation."

"You never had one," Noah muttered, rummaging through another bag of snacks.

Liam pointed at him.

"I've watched you eat for four straight hours."

"And?"

"I don't think you've stopped once."

"I took a water break."

"That doesn't count."

"It counts to me."

Aya laughed, hugging one of the cushions against her chest.

"I've never met anyone whose stomach is this committed."

Noah looked genuinely proud.

"My mum says it's a gift."

Henry didn't even look up.

"Your mum is trying to be supportive."

"My point still stands."

The room dissolved into another round of laughter.

Davi smiled quietly.

Not because the joke was particularly funny...

But because everyone laughed differently.

Henry threw his head back whenever something genuinely amused him.

Liam laughed like he was trying not to.

Noah laughed before he even finished speaking.

Aya had a habit of covering her mouth, even though it never hid the sound.

And Ethan...

Ethan hardly laughed at all.

He smiled.

Small.

Almost absentmindedly.

As though he enjoyed watching everyone else have a good time more than being the center of it.

Somehow...

She found herself noticing things she'd never paid attention to before.

"...Davi?"

She blinked.

Aya was looking at her.

"Hm?"

"I asked if you wanted hot chocolate."

"Oh..."

She glanced down, embarrassed.

"Sorry."

"You disappeared for a second."

"...I guess I did."

Henry stretched his arms over his head.

"Hot chocolate sounds good."

"It does," Noah agreed immediately.

"But if there's whipped cream—"

"There isn't."

"Oh."

"You sound heartbroken."

"I'll recover."

"I doubt it."

The kitchen was smaller than the living room, but somehow felt warmer.

The kettle hummed quietly on the counter.

Aya stood beside it, stirring cocoa powder into four mugs.

Henry reached into the cupboard above the sink.

"We're missing one."

"What?"

"A mug."

"You've got four."

"There are six of us."

"...Oh."

He frowned.

"Where did the last two go?"

Noah slowly raised his hand.

"I may have used one for cereal."

"...At eleven-thirty?"

"I was hungry."

Liam looked at Ethan.

"I've stopped questioning him."

"That was a good decision."

Henry opened another cupboard.

"Found one."

"What about the sixth?"

Everyone looked around.

Davi quietly walked to the drying rack beside the sink.

"It's here."

She held it up.

Henry stared.

"...I spent five minutes looking for that."

"You looked everywhere except where clean dishes go."

Aya laughed so hard she nearly spilled cocoa across the counter.

"I don't know whether to help you or judge you."

"You can do both."

"I already am."

The kettle clicked off.

Steam curled into the air.

For a few minutes, nobody spoke much.

There was something oddly comforting about sharing the small kitchen.

The clinking of spoons against ceramic mugs.

The quiet rustle of biscuit wrappers.

The soft rain that had started outside.

Davi wrapped both hands around her mug.

Warm.

Familiar.

Safe.

An hour later...

Blankets covered almost every inch of the living room.

Liam had claimed the carpet.

Noah insisted the floor was "better for his back," though no one believed him.

Henry tossed an extra pillow in his direction.

"You'll complain tomorrow."

"I complain every day."

"That's true."

Aya stood, smoothing the sleeves of her oversized sweatshirt.

"I think I'm going to brush my teeth before I fall asleep on this sofa."

"I'm coming," Davi said.

The two girls disappeared upstairs.

The boys continued arguing over whether Noah snored.

"I don't."

"You do."

"I breathe confidently."

Liam looked at Henry.

"...Did he really just say that?"

"I wish he hadn't."

Fifteen minutes later...

The upstairs hallway had fallen silent.

Aya was already inside the guest bathroom.

Davi lingered for a moment outside her bedroom.

The door was slightly open.

Everything inside looked exactly as she'd left it.

Her books.

Her desk.

The Polaroid camera resting neatly beside a stack of photographs.

She smiled to herself.

Then, without really thinking about it...

She picked up the mug she'd left on her desk earlier and headed toward the balcony.

The cool night air greeted her immediately.

She stepped outside.

Closed the door halfway behind her.

The street below was almost empty.

A lone motorcycle passed in the distance.

Somewhere nearby...

A dog barked once before everything settled back into silence.

Davi rested her elbows lightly on the railing.

She loved this time of night.

When the world seemed to slow down.

When nobody expected conversations.

Or explanations.

Or noise.

Just...

Quiet.

She took a slow sip of her drink.

Then heard the balcony door slide open again.

"You disappeared."

She smiled before turning around.

"I knew it'd be you."

Henry stepped outside, holding a bottle of water.

"What gave me away?"

"You always check the balcony first."

"Well..."

He leaned against the railing beside her.

"...You've been coming out here since you were six."

She laughed softly.

"You make it sound like I run away."

"You kind of do."

"I take breaks."

"That's a nicer way of saying it."

Silence settled comfortably between them.

Neither twin seemed bothered by it.

Henry looked out at the quiet street.

"You remember when Mum used to worry?"

Davi's smile faded into something gentler.

"...Yeah."

"She kept asking if you were lonely."

"I wasn't."

"I know."

Another pause.

"You just liked hearing life from a distance."

Davi watched the streetlights shimmer faintly after the rain.

"I still do."

Henry nodded.

"I know."

No more questions.

No attempts to change her.

He understood now.

Always had.

He took one last sip of water before pushing himself away from the railing.

"Don't stay out too long."

"I won't."

"And don't finish all the hot chocolate."

She smiled.

"I make no promises."

Henry laughed quietly as he slipped back inside.

The balcony door clicked shut behind him.

Davi turned back toward the sleeping neighbourhood.

She didn't hear the door slide open again a few moments later...

...or notice the footsteps approaching behind her.