Stardust and Kisses

Breaking the Silence

Heather

I sat at my desk, staring blankly at the pile of paperwork in front of me. The lines blurred together, numbers and words blending into a senseless mess. My head was throbbing, my body felt heavy, and the air in my office felt thick with everything I’d been pushing aside. Work. That damned speech Uncle Adam had made. Aaron. Everything.

It was all too much, crashing down on me like a wave. I couldn’t stop. I leaned back in my chair, closing my eyes, trying to breathe, but the anxiety was creeping in fast. There was no escape from this. I couldn’t compartmentalize anymore. I felt trapped in my own life.

My phone buzzed, pulling me out of the spiral, and I reached for it, half-expecting another work-related crisis or some bullshit social event reminder.

But it wasn’t that.

It was a text from Aaron.

“I’ll drop by your office tomorrow. Let’s talk.”

That was it. Simple. Direct. No dramatics. Just Aaron being Aaron.

I stared at the message for a long moment, my heart doing that weird flip it always did when I heard from him. I didn’t know how to feel anymore—about him, about us, about everything. But maybe talking would help. Maybe we could figure out what the hell we were supposed to do next.

“Yeah. Okay. See you tomorrow.” I texted back, feeling a mix of dread and relief.

---

The next day, I was more on edge than I wanted to admit. Every knock on the door made my heart race, even though I knew Aaron wouldn’t be here until the afternoon. I had tried to work, to keep myself distracted, but by the time he finally showed up, I hadn’t made any progress.

The soft knock was him. I knew it before I even looked up.

“Come in,” I called, sitting up straighter and trying to school my expression into something neutral.

Aaron stepped into my office, his eyes scanning the room before they landed on me. He was wearing that casual, effortless look—jeans, a plain shirt, but somehow, on him, it looked like a damn magazine ad. He closed the door behind him and leaned against it for a second, just watching me. His face was calm, but I could tell there was something brewing underneath.

“Hey,” he said, his voice low, almost hesitant.

“Hey.” I gestured to the chair in front of my desk. “Sit.”

Aaron sat across from me, his leg bouncing slightly, a sure sign that he was on edge. He rubbed his hands together, staring down at them like they held the answers to whatever the hell he was about to say. The silence between us was thick, the tension practically buzzing in the air. I could feel it, pressing down on my chest, making it hard to breathe. Something wasn’t right.

He looked up at me, his eyes darker than usual, his jaw clenched tight. "Heather," he started, his voice low and rough, "there’s something I need to say."

I swallowed hard, my stomach twisting into knots. "What is it?" I asked, though I wasn’t sure I actually wanted to hear whatever was coming next. I could feel it—the weight of whatever he was about to drop. It was bad. I knew it.

He hesitated, his gaze flicking away from mine for a second before he forced himself to meet my eyes again. "This... this is going to f**k things up. I’m sorry, but you need to know."

My heart sank. s**t.