Aria’s POV
After he left, I stayed where I was, still sitting on the floor, my back against the cold wall, staring at the door like maybe he’d walk back through it if I waited long enough. But he didn’t. The house stayed quiet. The silence stretched until it started to sound like something alive, crawling around inside my chest, filling every space he’d left empty.
I didn’t cry at first. I just sat there with my hands gripping the edge of my knees, trying to feel something that wasn’t this hollow ache, but it kept growing anyway. It started small, just the weight of it in my throat, then it spread, pressing against my ribs, making it hard to breathe. It wasn’t anger, not anymore. It wasn’t even fear. It was that feeling you get when you finally stop running and realize you have nowhere l
