CHAPTER EIGHT:REFLECTIONS
626 Words
Claire noticed something was off the moment Ava walked in.
It wasn’t anything dramatic—no tears, no spiraling. It was the way Ava dropped her bag by the door and leaned against the kitchen counter like she’d been carrying something heavier than groceries.
“You look like you’re thinking too hard,” Claire said, sliding a mug across the table. “Which usually means you’re avoiding something.”
Ava huffed a quiet laugh. “You know me too well.”
“That’s literally my job as your best friend.”
Ava wrapped her hands around the mug, letting the warmth seep into her palms. She stared into it like the answers might rise with the steam.
“It’s Elias,” she admitted finally.
Claire’s eyes lit up—not surprised, just interested. “Okay. Continue.”
“I think I pushed him away,” Ava said. “Not intentionally. I just… shut down.”
Claire didn’t jump in right away. She waited. She always did.
“He asked if I was okay,” Ava continued, voice low. “And instead of answering, I made it sound like he crossed a line.”
Claire winced. “Did he?”
“No.” Ava shook her head. “That’s the problem.”
Silence settled between them, familiar and safe.
“You know,” Claire said carefully, “this isn’t the first time you’ve done that.”
Ava stiffened. “I know.”
“And I get why,” Claire added quickly. “After Leo, anyone would be cautious. But Elias isn’t Leo.”
That name landed softly—but it still landed.
Ava swallowed. “I don’t want to punish someone new for someone old.”
“Then don’t,” Claire said gently. “But don’t disappear either. That hurts too.”
Ava leaned back in her chair, staring at the ceiling. She hated how right Claire usually was.
Across town, Elias sat in his car long after work ended, phone pressed to his ear.
“You’re overthinking it,” Jonah said on the other end, chewing loudly on something Elias didn’t want to identify. “Which means you care.”
Elias sighed. “I don’t want to push her.”
“And you don’t want to vanish either,” Jonah countered. “There’s a middle ground, man.”
Elias watched people pass on the sidewalk, couples, strangers, lives intersecting without fear. “She looks like someone who’s been hurt.”
Jonah snorted. “So do you.”
That made Elias smile despite himself.
“She didn’t shut you out,” Jonah continued. “She just didn’t know how to stay in the moment. Give her time—but don’t retreat completely.”
Elias nodded, even though Jonah couldn’t see it. “Yeah. I think you’re right.”
Later that evening, Ava stepped into the hallway just as Mrs. Harper was struggling with a bag of laundry.
“Oh—Ava, dear,” the older woman said, breathless. “These stairs will be the death of me.”
Ava took the bag without hesitation. “I’ve got it.”
Mrs. Harper smiled knowingly as they walked. “That nice boy next door helped me yesterday. Elias.”
Ava’s chest tightened. “Yeah. He’s… kind.”
Mrs. Harper hummed. “The quiet ones usually are.”
The comment lingered longer than it should have.
That night, Ava lay in bed staring at the ceiling, thinking about Claire’s words. About Jonah’s unseen advice. About Elias’s careful distance.
She realized something uncomfortable.
They were both standing on opposite sides of the same crack—afraid that one wrong step would make it widen.
And for the first time, Ava wondered what would happen if she stepped forward instead of back.
- Writer
