Chapter 18
668 Words
Chapter 18: Unspoken Things
The wind brushed through the open windows.
A mug clinked softly on the counter.
Sly [in a low voice, staring into his coffee]
“You ever feel like… you were just someone people put on hold?”
Feliz didn’t answer right away.
She glanced at him—his jaw tight, eyes locked on something far away.
He wasn’t teasing this time.
Sly [softly]
“My mom left when I was seven.
She said she just needed time, but she never looked back.”
Feliz sat on the armrest of the couch.
The silence between them was too still.
Sly
“My grandpa took me in. Did everything. He’s a good man.
But he wasn’t her.”
She looked down at her hands, lips pressed together.
Sly
“I waited. Every birthday. Every damn holiday.
I’d check the door, the mail. Anything.”
A dry, short laugh escaped him.
Sly
“And then she comes back. Like nothing happened.
With a nine-year-old kid.
With the same guy she left us for.”
Feliz [quietly]
“She really just… showed up?”
He nodded once. Sharp.
Like it hurt to remember.
Sly
“Grandpa wants us to be okay.
Begged me to give her a chance.
Said he’s old. Said he’s tired.
That he needs to see us fixed before he goes.”
He set the mug down gently.
The sound felt heavier than it should’ve.
Sly
“But I can’t pretend she didn’t leave me.
That she didn’t just erase me.
I was a kid. I needed a mom.
I needed her. And she just… didn’t pick me.”
Feliz stood slowly. Her steps were quiet.
She walked toward him—but didn’t sit.
Feliz [in a soft murmur]
“You were never an option, Sly.”
He looked up.
No smirk.
No armor.
Just him.
Sly
“No?
Then why does it still feel like I’m always the one left standing in the middle?
Like I’m easy to leave?”
She moved closer. Just a breath away.
Her fingers twitched—like she wanted to reach out—but didn’t.
There were things she wanted to say. Like: You mattered. Like: I see you. But the words felt too raw, too real—too dangerous. She knew that once they left her mouth, there’d be no going back. And maybe she wasn’t ready for that kind of truth. Not yet.
Sly
“That’s why I joke. Why I push.
’Cause it’s easier to be the one laughing
than the one begging to be wanted.”
A beat of silence.
Feliz
“You deserve better than begging.”
He stood.
They were close now. Inches.
Sly [softly, with a humorless chuckle]
“Then why won’t you let me in?”
She didn’t speak.
Her eyes gleamed—not with tears, but something heavier.
Her breath, unsteady.
Sly
“You pull me in…
then push me away like it’s muscle memory.”
Feliz
“Don’t.”
Sly
“Don’t what?”
Feliz [whispers, voice trembling]
“Don’t make me need you.”
He froze.
Her words sank deep.
He reached up, gently brushing a hair behind her ear.
Sly [low, aching]
“Too late, Feliz.”
Their eyes locked.
Her lips parted. Breath shallow.
A beat.
Another.
Their mouths almost touched—
Close enough for her breath to warm his cheek.
But she pulled back.
Feliz
“I should go.”
She grabbed her phone from the table, stepped away, heart pounding.
Sly [softly, not chasing]
“Yeah. Okay.”
She nodded—once, too fast—and turned to leave.
At the door, she paused.
Just for a second.
Like part of her wanted to stay.
But she didn’t.
And he didn’t stop her.
The door clicked shut behind her.
Her heels echoed down the hallway, each step fading.
Inside, Sly stood alone.
He stared at the door for a long time.
Then, barely audible—
Sly [whispers]
“Please… just once, choose me.”
- Writer
