Chapter Eleven:Things Left Unsaid
298 Words
" It’s not always the words we say that end something. Sometimes it’s the ones we swallow and leave behind."
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The fundraiser was tomorrow.
And Hailey hadn’t heard from Chase since the last awkward silence they shared.
No texts.
No teasing.
Not even a passive-aggressive emoji.
Just... nothing.
She kept telling herself that was good. Space was good. Silence was safer than slipping again. She had her writing. Her peace. Her boundaries.
But still, she hated it.
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That night, she found herself sitting on the floor of her living room, surrounded by notes, markers, and ribbons for tomorrow’s event. The silence pressed in around her like static.
Her fingers hovered over her notebook again.
But instead of poetry or fundraiser lists, she started writing something she hadn’t touched in months — a love story.
About a girl who flinched when she was finally seen.
About a boy who walked away too gently.
She wrote until her hand cramped.
And her tears blurred the ink.
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At the same time — across town — Chase sat in his car outside her building. Coffee in the cup holder. Unsent message on his screen.
He didn’t go up.
Didn’t knock.
Didn’t text.
Because this time, he wouldn’t be the one to cross the line again.
Not if she didn’t want him to.
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The next morning, Hailey arrived at the community center before anyone else.
The banner was already up. The booths already set. The playlist already queued.
And a note sat on the front table with her name on it.
“I won’t push. But I meant it. Every word.”
– Chase
She held the note in her shaking hands, her heart thudding.
Too many things left unsaid.
And maybe no time left to say them.
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- Writer
