Chapter Five: Things We Don’t Say
755 Words
The days after the café meeting felt strange for Linda. Not bad. Not good. Just heavy.
She moved through the house on autopilot—washing dishes, folding laundry, watering the plants—while her thoughts stayed somewhere else. Every quiet moment pulled her back to Carl’s face across the café table. The way he’d looked at her when she said she couldn’t do this. The way he didn’t argue.
That somehow made it worse.
Emma noticed.
Her mother had always been steady, even after her father died. Sad, yes—but grounded. Now she seemed distracted, staring off into space, forgetting what she’d gone into a room to do.
At breakfast, Emma finally spoke up.
“Mom, are you okay?”
Linda looked up, startled. “What? Yes. Why?”
“You’ve been… quiet,” Emma said carefully. “More than usual.”
Linda forced a smile. “Just tired.”
Emma nodded, but she didn’t believe it. And the guilt hit her hard.
I’m hiding things too, Emma thought.
Across the street, Carl was having the same problem.
He’d told himself the coffee meeting was closure. That Linda saying “I can’t” was the end of it. But his heart didn’t get the message. Every time he stepped outside, every time he heard her laugh through the open window, the feeling came rushing back.
Alex noticed too.
They were in the garage together, pretending to organize tools.
“You’ve been weird lately,” Alex said.
Carl snorted. “That’s rich coming from you.”
Alex froze. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Carl glanced at him. “You think I don’t notice? You’re smiling at your phone like it’s your best friend.”
Alex’s chest tightened. “I just… talk to people.”
Carl leaned against the workbench. “Is it serious?”
Alex hesitated. Just for a second. But it was enough.
Carl sighed. “I won’t push. Just—be careful.”
Alex nodded, relief and fear mixing in his chest.
If his dad found out it was Emma… that talk would not go well.
That evening, Emma and Alex met again—this time at the lake outside town. It was their place. Quiet. Hidden. Safe.
They sat on the hood of Alex’s car, watching the water ripple under the orange sky.
“I think my mom knows something’s up,” Emma said softly.
Alex frowned. “Mine too.”
Emma hugged her knees. “What if we’re running out of time?”
Alex reached for her hand. “Then we don’t waste what we have.”
She turned to him. “What if they tell us they’re together first?”
The words hung between them.
Alex swallowed. “Then… we tell them the truth.”
Emma’s heart raced. “All of it?”
“Yes.”
She searched his face. “And if they tell us to stop?”
Alex didn’t answer right away. Then, quietly: “I don’t think I can.”
Emma felt tears sting her eyes—not from sadness, but from how deeply true that felt.
Later that night, Linda sat on the porch with a blanket around her shoulders. The air was cool, the street quiet.
Then she heard footsteps.
Carl stood at the edge of her yard, hands in his pockets.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t be here.”
Linda should have told him to leave.
She didn’t.
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” she said instead.
He stepped closer, stopping a few feet away. “I’ve been trying to forget. It’s not working.”
Linda closed her eyes. “Me neither.”
Silence.
Then Carl spoke, low and careful. “I’m not asking for anything. I just needed you to know.”
Linda opened her eyes. “This scares me.”
He nodded. “Me too.”
They stood there, close but not touching, both knowing one step forward would change everything.
Finally, Linda said, “We should stop.”
Carl stepped back. “Okay.”
But neither of them believed that word.
Inside the house, Emma watched from the window.
Her breath caught.
Her mom. Alex’s dad. Standing together in the dark.
“Oh no,” she whispered.
Across the street, Alex stood frozen on his porch, seeing the same thing.
Their eyes met across the distance.
And without a word, they both knew.
The secret wasn’t just theirs anymore.
Two love stories, moving faster than anyone could control.
And the truth was getting closer.
- Writer
