💜 Close To My Breath💜
2252 Words
_Underground Bunker. 12:13 AM_
The yellow beam of the flashlight flickered.
Shadows crawled across the walls like hands reaching out, then retreating.
Both of their mugs of milk sat half-empty. A thin, cold film had formed on top.
Silence.
Not peaceful silence. The kind that sits heavy on your chest.
So deep that even the raindrops hitting the roof above sounded like drums.
And them... for the first time in 9 years, looking at each other without hate.
Nine years.
Nine years of sarcasm, sharp words, and pretending the other didn’t exist.
And today? Trapped underground, sharing the last of the milk.
Gray’s hair was soaked. Water droplets still slid down his collar.
Fever had painted his cheeks red. His lips were cracked.
He looked like the 18-year-old Gray... but exhausted. The kind of exhaustion sleep can’t fix.
Aria’s hair hung loose and wet, sticking to her shoulders and neck.
The dark circles under her eyes were deep enough to drown in.
She hadn’t slept in two days.
She hadn’t eaten in two days either — *just four almonds, two dried dates from a jar in Gray’s bunker, and half a cup of milk he’d forced her to drink.*
Her body felt hollow. Her head was spinning. But she refused to show it.
Then... a sound from above.
_Vroooom..._
Soft at first. Then louder.
Two cars. Tires sliding on wet mud in the rain. Mud splattering.
Both of them went rigid at the same time.
Like prey that had just heard a predator.
Gray’s face turned to stone instantly. All softness vanished.
He set his mug down carefully. His fists clenched.
White marks formed across his knuckles.
Aria’s heart shot to her throat.
It felt like it might burst out of her chest.
_Not now. Please, God. Not now._
Then — _BANG!_
A gunshot. Distant, but close enough to echo down the stairs.
Then a second.
Then a third.
Aria’s breath caught. She clapped both hands over her mouth, like that could keep the sound in.
Tears burned her eyes. Every muscle in her body trembled.
In nine years, she’d never heard a gunshot.
Her safe, boring teacher life... ended two hours ago.
Gray?
He sat there completely calm.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, despite the burning in his wound.
And a strange smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
It wasn’t a good smile. It was a knowing one.
Like he’d already won the war.
Like he knew they couldn’t get in.
Like he’d been waiting eighteen years for this night.
Voices shouted from above, muffled by the rain.
“Clear the area! He’s here somewhere! Check every corner! He shouldn’t even be allowed to breathe!”
Another muffled shot. Then silence.
Aria grabbed Gray’s hand in fear. Her nails dug into his skin.
Gray opened his eyes. Looked at her. Tired, but terrifyingly calm.
“Shhh,” he whispered. No fear in his voice at all. “It’s over. For now.”
Aria was still shaking. Her teeth chattered.
“A-are... are they going to kill us?” Her voice shook. “Will they find us? Down here?”
Gray took her hand in both of his. Hot, even through the fever.
“No,” he said. Fire burned in his gray eyes. “As long as I’m alive... nothing will happen to you. Got it? I promise.”
Aria just nodded. She couldn’t speak.
That was all she had.
Then came the sound of car doors. _SLAM. SLAM._
The roar of engines. Tires spinning away.
Then only rain. And dogs barking somewhere far off.
Ten minutes passed.
Or maybe ten seconds. Time didn’t matter.
Nothing.
Just the low _hum_ of the old heater in the corner.
And Aria’s fast, shaky breathing.
She exhaled slowly. She was still holding Gray’s hand. She didn’t want to let go.
If she did, maybe he’d disappear too.
“They’re gone,” Gray said. His voice was heavy. He leaned his head back against the cold wall. His face was flushed with fever. Sweat dripped down his temple.
He closed his eyes. “They’ll be back. They always come back. We have time. For now.”
Aria immediately pressed the back of her hand to his forehead.
It was burning.
His whole body was on fire.
Her hands were still trembling, but her voice was steady. Teacher voice.
“Get up,” she said. “You need medicine. We need to change your bandage. Or you’ll get an infection and we’ll both die.”
Gray opened his eyes. Glassy, but he gave her a weak smile.
“Yes, ma’am, Aria.”
She let go of his hand and opened the first aid kit.
Old. Rusted. The red cross had faded.
Inside: three bandages, half a bottle of betadine, and two painkillers. That was it.
Her hands were still shaking, but she forced them steady.
She’d watched one YouTube video once. That was all she had.
When she peeled off the old bandage, blood welled up again. Dark red.
Gray clenched his jaw. The muscle in his cheek jumped.
He swallowed the scream.
“Does it hurt?” Aria asked. Her voice was soft. The first time soft in nine years.
No yelling. No blame. Just... asking.
“Your hands are cold,” Gray said, smiling through the pain. “Makes it hurt less.”
Aria didn’t answer. Her breathing quickened as she dabbed on the betadine.
The sharp smell of antiseptic filled the room.
She was halfway through wrapping the new bandage when Gray’s voice came, low and heavy.
“Aria...”
Her hands froze.
“Sorry... for that night.”
The bandage hung in midair.
She knew exactly which night he meant.
That night.
The worst night of her life.
Just like this one. Locked room. Darkness. Panic.
Except that night, she wasn’t being protected.
That night, she was being bullied.
After class. Everyone gone.
Gray and his three friends. Door shut.
“So you’re gonna be a teacher with those black eyes?”
“Don’t cry. It makes it more fun.”
It had been raining that day too. And her hands had been shaking that day too.
Aria closed her eyes. Held her breath.
Then let it out slowly.
Gray was watching her. Even through the fever, shame filled his eyes.
“I... I was such a kid that day. So cruel. I’m sorry.”
Aria said nothing.
She just picked the bandage back up. Her hands were still shaking, but not from anger.
From pain. From old wounds.
She tied it off. The knot was so tight her fingers ached.
“And... the teacher’s daughter?”
Gray lifted an eyebrow, despite the pain.
“Hmm?”
“The one who gave you a yellow flower on Teacher’s Day.”
Aria kept her eyes down. Pressed the bandage harder than she needed to. “Where is she now? When was the last time you saw her?”
Gray took a deep breath. Pain in his side. Pain in his chest.
“She lives close to my heart... close to my breath.”
The words hit Aria like ice water.
She swallowed. Her throat went dry.
“Then why didn’t you call her?” Bitterness slipped into her voice before she could stop it. “Like this? When you’re dying? When you need help?”
Gray closed his eyes.
“Some people, Aria... you don’t drag into this. I didn’t want to put her in danger.”
Aria’s hands stopped. The betadine bottle hovered in the air.
“So was I just the one you chose to hurt?” Her voice cracked. “Me? The one you hated for nine years? The one you made cry in front of everyone?”
Silence.
Heavy. Guilty.
“Aria...” Gray said softly. He opened his eyes. “I’m sorry. For everything.”
The words hung there.
Just the sound of the bandage tearing. And the rain outside.
Aria didn’t respond.
Instead, something else rose up in her. Something buried for years.
She looked up suddenly. Eyes wet, full of anger.
“If you didn’t forget her... then why were you chasing that *blonde girl* in college? Alana?”
Gray sat up straight, ignoring the pain. His eyes widened.
“What? Which blonde girl?”
Aria didn’t answer. She just kept wrapping the bandage, fingers moving fast.
She tied the knot so tight it might cut off circulation.
Two seconds later, recognition hit him.
And despite the wound, he burst out laughing. The bandage shifted and he groaned.
“You... you mean Alana?” He laughed until tears filled his eyes. “Oh, Aria... you still remember her?”
Aria turned away. Said nothing.
But her ears went bright red.
Gray caught his breath, wincing.
“I wasn’t chasing her. She was chasing me. From day one.”
His voice dropped. “Stupid me thought she was a friend. When I... teased you... she was right there. Clapping. Laughing.”
He looked down. “She liked hurting you. So I cut her off. One day she said, ‘Aria was crying in the bathroom.’ After that, I never spoke to her again.”
Aria finished the last knot. Her fingers throbbed.
She still didn’t speak.
But her ears and cheeks were both red. And something twisted in her chest.
Gray studied her face, tired.
“Jealous?” he teased. Old habit. Even with a fever.
Aria glared at him.
“Pass out. You talk too much.”
Gray smiled. A real smile. Not cruel. Not fake.
The first one in nine years.
“Yes, ma’am, Aria.”
When she finished, Aria sat back down. Back against the cold wall. Knees pulled up.
The nine-year wall between them had cracked a little more. Enough to touch now.
Outside: endless rain.
Inside: just the _hum_ of the heater. And their breathing.
Two enemies. Now the only two people left in each other’s world.
“Aria?” Gray said suddenly. Eyes closed. Voice barely above a whisper.
“Hmm?”
“If we make it out of here alive... will you talk to me? Without hate? As friends?”
Aria looked at him. Really looked.
Gray eyes. Helpless. Drowning in fever.
The boy who used to throw chalk in class.
The man who’d just taken a bullet for her.
She thought for three seconds. Nine years compressed into three.
Then: “If we get out alive... I’ll think about it.”
Gray nodded slowly. Like that was everything.
Like he’d won the world.
Aria stood carefully. Her legs shook.
She grabbed the torn old blanket from the corner and draped it over him.
It smelled like dirt and rain, but it was warm.
Then she sat beside him. Not far.
Close enough that their shoulders almost touched.
Close enough that if he fell, she could catch him.
“Sleep,” she murmured. Exhausted. “And if you hear gunshots... wake me up. Okay?”
Gray didn’t answer.
He just reached out and took her hand.
Her ice-cold hand in his burning one.
And two minutes later, he was asleep. Feverish. Breathing heavy.
Aria stayed awake.
The heater’s _hum_. The rain.
She couldn’t sleep. Hadn’t in two days.
Hunger gnawed at her stomach.
Headache.
Her legs were going numb, like they weren’t hers.
She thought of her small apartment.
Her students.
How she’d only come to drop off papers and ended up here.
Minutes. Or hours. She lost track.
Then —
_Click._
The flashlight on the floor died. Battery gone.
Darkness.
Total darkness.
The kind that presses against your eyes.
Aria’s heart slammed in her chest.
She shook the flashlight. Tried to turn it on.
Dead.
“Gray?” Her voice was tiny in the dark. “Gray, wake up.”
No answer.
Just his heavy breathing.
And in that darkness...
From the iron door above came a _scraaaatch_.
Metal on metal.
Like someone was working a lockpick. Slowly.
Aria froze.
She shook Gray’s hand. Gently. Then harder.
He didn’t stir. Unconscious with fever. His forehead hotter than before.
Another sound. Clearer this time.
_Metal on metal._
_Click._
_Clack._
Someone picking the lock. Expertly.
Aria’s heart hurt from how fast it was beating.
All she had was a dead flashlight.
And in front of her... unconscious Gray.
And a door that should never open.
The door shifted. _Creeeeak..._
Slow. Careful.
Like whoever was outside didn’t want to make noise.
Like they knew someone was inside.
Then —
_BANG!_
The door burst open.
The sound cracked through the bunker.
Cold air rushed in. Smell of wet earth and rain.
And in the darkness... two shadows.
Tall. Black.
Fully armed.
Rifles slung over their shoulders.
Flashlights in their hands, blinding white light aimed straight at Aria’s face.
Aria shot to her feet.
Her legs shook so badly she thought she’d collapse.
Two days no sleep. No real food.
*Just almonds, dates, and milk from Gray’s jar.* Her body was done.
She stepped back once.
Twice.
Her back hit the wall.
The two men advanced. Heavy boots. _Thud. Thud._
Deliberate.
Straight toward her.
Aria glanced back. Gray was unconscious.
Looked forward. Death wearing a human face.
She felt the blood drain from her legs.
Her vision spun. Black spots.
Hunger. Exhaustion. Fear. All of it hit at once.
The last thing she saw...
The two shadows getting closer.
The light.
Gray’s pale face in the dark.
And then —
Darkness.
Everywhere.
Only darkness.
---
_To be continued...
- Writer
