The silence that followed was sharp, almost brittle, like something in the air might shatter if either of us moved.
I stared at him, something cold and hot clashing inside me all at once—an emotional whiplash I wasn't prepared for.
"What?" I asked.
He exhaled softly.
"I didn't say anything about ending it," he repeated, softer this time, but the gravity behind his words only deepened.
"You didn't say anything about ending it," I repeated slowly, the words unfamiliar, surreal, as if I had misheard him and was trying to walk them back into reality. "Then why—" My voice cracked, and I tried again, firmer this time. "Why bring it up at all?"
The silence that followed his declaration stretched unbearably, filling every crevice of the room. My pulse thundered in my ears, drowning out the d
