The Silence Between Us

Episode10

Everyone turned as Lucas carried Marilyn down the stairs . Her arms were limp around his neck , her face buried into his chest , her trembling barely visible under the coat he had wrapped around her . The noise of the party dulled for a moment, replaced by stunned silence .

Whispers followed them like shadows .

“Isn’t that Xavier’s brother ?”

“What happened to her ?”

“Why is she crying— ?”

Lucas didn’t stop . His jaw was clenched , eyes focused like steel . He pushed through the crowd , kicked open the front door , and walked into the night air with Marilyn held tightly in his arms .

Inside the car , Marilyn curled up in the passenger seat , tears still streaming silently down her cheeks . Her eyes were red and puffy , her mascara smudged beneath them like ink stains . She didn’t speak for several minutes , her shoulders rising and falling with shallow breaths .

Lucas glanced at her , guilt churning in his chest like a storm .

“I’m taking you home , ” he said quietly , hands steady on the wheel .

Marilyn shook her head violently . “ No… please , ” she choked out , her voice thin and raw . “ Don’t take me home . I can’t let my parents see me like this . I— I just need… somewhere peaceful . Somewhere quiet . ”

Lucas paused , then nodded . “ Alright . ”

He took a sharp right turn , away from the main road , toward the outskirts of town .

They drove in silence for nearly half an hour , the hum of the engine the only sound between them . The streetlights faded , replaced by the moon’s glow and the gentle rhythm of waves crashing in the distance .

Eventually , Lucas pulled up to a small wooden house nestled beside the beach. It looked 000untouched by time—modest, but clean . Solitary . Safe .

“ This is my place , ” he said as he opened the door for her . “ No one knows about it . Not even Xavier . ”

Inside , the air smelled faintly of pinewood and sea breeze . The walls were painted pale cream , with minimal furniture—just enough to be functional . A bookshelf , a small couch , a kitchenette , and a bedroom down the hall . Everything was neat , precise , lived-in only by a man who needed solitude .

Marilyn stood by the window , arms wrapped around herself , staring out at the moonlit water .

Lucas watched her carefully . She looked so small , so broken , and yet… there was still a quiet strength in the way she held herself .

“Do you want water ? Tea? ” he asked .

She shook her head. “ No… I’m okay . Thank you, Lucas . ”

He stepped toward her , slowly , not wanting to startle her . “ You’re safe now, ” he said softly .

She turned to him , her lower lip trembling . Then , without thinking , she reached for him, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist and burying her face into his chest .

Lucas froze for a moment , caught off guard . But then he let out a breath and wrapped his arms around her , holding her close . She fit against him like she belonged there—like she’d been carved to rest in the space his arms had always reserved for someone , though he’d never realized it before .

“Please,” she whispered against him, her voice cracking , “protect me… always .”

Lucas felt something inside him shift .

He was used to control. Used to logic, reason, power. But this—her vulnerability, her raw pain—it unraveled him .

He gently stroked her hair. “I will ,” he murmured. “I promise you, Marilyn. He won’t touch you again .”

She looked up at him, their faces inches apart, the moonlight highlighting every curve of her soft expression, every unshed tear in her eyes . In that moment, Lucas felt the dangerous stirrings of something he hadn’t let himself feel in years .

Longing .

He leaned forward , just slightly , his eyes falling to her lips—but then stopped himself , closing his eyes tightly .

No. Not now. Not like this .

Instead , he pulled back and guided her to the couch . “You should rest ,” he said, his voice quieter now , hoarser .

Marilyn nodded , lying down and clutching a cushion close . As she drifted into a fragile sleep , Lucas stood at the window, staring out into the ocean .

And then—his phone buzzed .

Xavier .

Lucas stared at the screen , rage bubbling just beneath his skin . He stepped outside before answering .

“What the hell do you want? ” Lucas growled into the receiver .

“I just— I need to talk ,” Xavier stammered . “ Where is she? Is she with you ? ”

“She’s safe , ” Lucas snapped . “ Which is more than I can say for what you tried to do . ”

“ It wasn’t like that ,” Xavier said quickly. “ It was a misunderstanding. I just wanted to talk to her. She freaked out . ”

Lucas’s voice dropped into lethal calm. “ I heard you. I heard everything you said to Theo. The bet. The drugs. You planned to hurt her . ”

There was silence on the other end .

Then Xavier muttered, “ You don’t understand— ”

“I understand enough,” Lucas said . “You’re not going near her again. ”

He hung up and threw the phone onto the porch bench . The waves crashed against the shore , echoing his turmoil .

That night , as he sat beside the couch where Marilyn slept , Lucas studied her face in the dim light . She looked peaceful now, despite the trauma that had torn her apart just hours ago.

How could Xavier have been so cruel to someone like her?

Marilyn was unlike anyone Lucas had ever met. Grounded, intelligent, kind. She radiated a light that both soothed and stirred something within him—something dangerous and unfamiliar.

He didn’t want to feel this. Couldn’t.

He had walls built so high even he had forgotten what stood behind them.

But now—this girl, this broken, brave soul—was finding her way past every barrier.

He brushed a strand of hair from her face and sighed.

Don’t fall for her, Lucas.

You’ve already failed once to protect someone you loved.

But as the moonlight spilled over the room and the girl on the couch stirred slightly in her sleep, mumbling his name so softly it barely reached him—

He knew it was already too late.