DENIED BEFORE ASKED

POURING OUT MY HEART

CHAPTER 1

The apartment was completely dark, except for the weak, yellow streetlight bleeding through the thin curtains.

It painted long, sad shadows across the old wooden floor. The air inside felt heavy, thick with things left unsaid for far too long. The clock on the wall ticked slowly, marking the passing seconds of a night that felt like it would never end. Outside, the city was alive and loud. Cars honked, people shouted, and sirens wailed in the distance. But inside room number four, the silence was so loud it actually hurt the ears.

Peaches stood by the window, her back to her older sister. Her hands were clenched into tight, white-knuckled fists at her sides. She had kept this dark secret locked deep inside her chest for three long years. It was a heavy, cold stone that made it hard to breathe every single day.

"You don't get it, do you?" Peaches whispered. Her voice was so soft it barely broke the quiet room.

She turned around slowly. Her eyes were red, shining with unshed tears in the dim light. She looked so tired, so broken.

"I never got over him. Not for one second. Not even for a single minute."

The words tasted like broken glass in her mouth. They scratched her throat as they came out. She wanted to take them back, to hide again, but the truth was finally spilling out, unstoppable and raw.

"I still love him with every breath I take. Every single beat of my heart belongs to him."

Her legs suddenly felt weak. The strength left her body all at once. Her knees gave out, and she sank down onto the cold, hard floor. She pulled her knees to her chest, making herself as small as possible, trying to hide from the world. She felt like she was drowning in her own memories. The smell of his cologne, the sound of his laugh, the way he used to look at her—it all flashed in her mind, bright and painful.

Nora gasped and rushed over. Her bare feet slapped against the wood. "Peaches, please..." Nora reached out, her face full of worry and deep pain. Nora’s heart broke into pieces. She had watched her strong younger sister fall apart day by day, and she felt completely helpless to stop it.

But Peaches held up a trembling hand. "Stop. Just let me finish."

Nora froze, her hand hovering in the air.

"Because even if he came back tomorrow... even if he gave me the chance to be his again..." Peaches’ voice cracked, breaking into a million tiny pieces. "I would refuse."

"Peaches, that doesn't make sense," Nora whispered, tears now spilling down her own cheeks. "You love him. Why would you say no?"

"Because loving him from afar is a dull ache," Peaches cried, the hot tears finally sliding down her pale cheeks. She buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs. "It hurts, yes. It hurts every single day. But it is a pain I can survive. Having him... holding him, loving him out loud, and then losing him for real? That would completely destroy me. I cannot survive losing him twice."

Silence fell over the room again. The only sound was Peaches’ shaky, uneven breathing.

Nora didn't say another word. She knew there was nothing she could say to fix this deep wound. Instead, she slowly sank down onto the cold floor right beside her sister. She wrapped her arms around Peaches and pulled her into a tight, warm embrace. She rested her chin on Peaches' shoulder.

There were no more words. There didn't need to be. They were just two sisters, holding onto each other in the dark, sharing the heavy weight of years of quiet, hidden grief.

Outside, the city kept moving. The loud noises of traffic and life continued. But inside, Peaches was completely still. The girl who once believed that love felt like coming home had learned a bitter lesson. She had learned that sometimes, home is the one place you can never, ever go back to.

Suddenly, the heavy silence was broken.

It wasn't a sound from the busy street. It came from right inside the apartment.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

Peaches’ phone, sitting on the kitchen counter, lit up the dark room with a bright, harsh screen.

Nora pulled back slightly, looking at the glowing screen. Her eyes went wide with shock. "Peaches..." Nora whispered, her voice shaking with fear. "That's his name."

Peaches stopped breathing. Her heart slammed against her ribs like a trapped bird. Before she could move, before she could even think, a new sound echoed through the room.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

It was coming from the front door. The doorknob gave a slight rattle. He was trying to open it. Peaches squeezed her eyes shut, her hands shaking violently. He wasn't supposed to be here. He wasn't supposed to know where she lived.

Then, a low, familiar voice called out from the hallway. "Peaches? I know you're in there. Please open the door."

Love Quote: "The cruelest part of loving someone is learning how to survive without them."