CHAPTER 34: CHAPTER 34: THE WORDS WE SWALLOWED

POV: Elena

11:00 AM — The House Feels Like a Stranger

Everything looks the same, but it doesn’t feel the same.

I’ve lived here for four years.

I know where the creaky tile is in the upstairs hallway.

I know which light flickers when the microwave runs too long.

But now every step feels like trespassing.

I walk through the kitchen like I’m on a film set of a show I used to star in — and got written out of.

The worst part?

They kept the show going without me.

11:03 AM — He’s Standing in the Hallway

Aaron.

Hair messier than usual. Shoulders heavier. His eyes don’t look angry.

They just look... tired.

We both speak at the same time.

"Hi."

It’s so painfully awkward, I almost laugh. But I don’t.

Because nothing about this is funny.

11:06 AM — No One Else Is Home

Milo left to get groceries. James is at the hardware store. He didn’t tell me — but he left the keys on the hook and I took the hint.

So now it’s just me and Aaron.

Alone.

Again.

I turn to leave.

"Don’t," he says.

I stop. Turn back. "Don’t what?"

"Don’t leave this time."

That hits harder than it should.

11:10 AM — Sitting Across From Him Again

We sit at the kitchen table.

The same table where we used to have family dinners.

The same table where I once spilled wine laughing at one of his stupid jokes.

Where I once brushed his hand by accident and felt a spark I wasn’t supposed to feel.

Now there’s just distance between us.

And a sugar jar.

Because somehow that stayed the same.

"I didn’t come back to start this again," I say.

"I didn’t come back to pretend it never happened," he replies.

Touché.

11:18 AM — The First Real Words

"I loved you," he says quietly.

Past tense.

I nod.

"I still do, in some messed up way."

So... not past tense.

"I know," I whisper. "I still do, too."

We sit in that silence.

It’s not romantic.

It’s not even sad.

It’s just... real.

A kind of silence that exists only when two people have nothing left to lie about.

11:27 AM — The Confession

"I think about the motel sometimes," I admit. "Not what we did. Just... how quiet it was. How safe I felt."

Aaron nods. "Me too. But I also think about how wrong it felt when we woke up the next morning."

"And still didn’t stop."

"Yeah."

There’s no judgment in his voice. Just truth.

We’re both guilty.

No one’s more wrong than the other.

That might be the most twisted part.

11:30 AM — The Question

"If your dad hadn’t found out," I ask, "what would we have done?"

He looks at me for a long time.

"Kept going. Lied to everyone. Probably ruined even more lives."

I flinch.

"But also," he says, "maybe... maybe figured out how to stop before it was too late."

"It was already too late."

"I know."

11:36 AM — The Almost Apology

"I’m sorry," he says.

I don’t ask what for. There are too many possible answers.

"I’m sorry, too," I whisper.

And somehow, saying it out loud makes it both better and worse.

11:40 AM — He Reaches for My Hand

I let him.

Just for a second.

Because sometimes grief needs physical proof that it once meant something.

Then I pull away.

Because healing means knowing when to stop.

11:44 AM — The Promise

"We can’t do this again," I say.

"I know."

"Even if we want to."

"I know."

"I’m staying in the guest room."

He nods.

"And you’re going to talk to your dad eventually."

"I will."

"And Milo—"

"Already forgave me," he says. "In his own sarcastic way."

We smile.

For the first time, it’s not painful.

Just... soft.

Like maybe something good can come from the ruin.

📘 End of Chapter 34

💬 YOUR TURN!

The silence broke.

The feelings didn’t disappear — but they’ve changed.

👇 Drop a comment: Can Aaron and Elena ever just be family again... or will there always be a ghost of what they were?

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🔔 Follow now — because Chapter 35 is James and Aaron, and one of them finally says everything he’s been holding back.