Chapter 12: Silence Between Us
408 Words
The weekend passed in silence.
No calls. No messages. No Luca waiting by the stairs or leaning against the lamppost outside my dorm.
It was as if he’d disappeared—or maybe I had.
I buried myself in textbooks and empty coffee cups, but my mind kept drifting. I replayed the way he looked at me that night—hurt, desperate, trying to explain. And I hated how a part of me still wanted to believe him.
By Sunday night, my roommate, Lily, finally asked, “Did something happen with that guy you’ve been seeing?”
I hesitated. “We... fought.”
“You want to talk about it?”
I shook my head.
Because I didn’t even know how to talk about Luca. What was he to me? A mistake? A phase? A risk I had fallen too hard for?
Or something more?
Just as I was about to close my laptop, a soft knock came at the door. My heart leapt before I could stop it.
Lily opened it.
Luca stood there.
He looked different—no leather jacket, no cocky grin. Just jeans, a faded gray hoodie, and something tired in his eyes.
“I just need two minutes,” he said, eyes locked on mine.
Lily glanced at me, waiting. I nodded.
He stepped inside, hands shoved deep in his pockets. “I didn’t handle it right. I should’ve called you the second she showed up.”
“You should’ve told me she was still in your life at all,” I said.
“I didn’t know how to. I’m not used to this. To you.” His voice cracked slightly. “I didn’t think I deserved it. Any of it.”
I watched him, silent.
He took a breath. “I pushed people away my whole life. It was easier. But you walked in and ruined that. You make me want to try.”
I stared at him—this beautiful, wild boy who looked so completely undone.
“I don’t need perfect, Luca,” I said. “But I need honest.”
He nodded. “I can do that. No more ghosts. No more hiding.”
And when I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around him, he melted into me like he’d been holding his breath for weeks.
We didn’t say anything more that night.
We just held each other.
And for the first time in days, I felt whole again.
- Writer
