What We Don't Say
Ava's POV
The door clicked shut behind him, and suddenly the air in the living room felt heavier—like it knew we were about to cross some invisible line neither of us had dared touch before.
Jace stood awkwardly in the entryway, his eyes scanning everything except me. I folded my arms over my chest, bracing myself.
"You said you wanted to talk," I said. "So talk."
He nodded, stepping further in. "Right. Yeah."
I waited. Seconds passed. He said nothing.
"Jace."
His eyes finally found mine. "I miss this."
I blinked. "The project?"
"No. You." His voice was quiet. "I miss us. Even if we were just fighting half the time."
I didn't know what to say to that. Because the truth was—so did I.
I looked away, focusing on the coffee table between us. "Why now?"
"Because I'm tired of pretending we're fine. We're not. We're barely talking. And everything feels... wrong."
He was right. But hearing him say it out loud made it real in a way I wasn't ready for.
I sank onto the couch, the cushions giving under my weight like a sigh. "It's not that simple, Jace."
"I know it's not," he said, sitting across from me. "But that doesn't mean we stop trying."
My throat tightened. "You hurt me Jace over the past few years ,You shut me out like I didn't matter."
"And you walked away like I wasn't worth fighting for."
The words hung there, sharp and raw. My heart stuttered under the weight of them.
This wasn't just about the project anymore. This was everything we hadn't said, spilling out like water through a crack in the dam.
"I didn't know how to fix it," I whispered. "So I left."
He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "Maybe we don't fix it. Maybe we just figure it out one step at a time."
I met his gaze. "What if we can't?"
"Then at least we'll know we tried."
---
Jace's POV
She was so still, it scared me.
Ava Carter was never still. She paced. She fidgeted. She chewed pens and tapped her fingers and rolled her eyes like the world never moved fast enough for her.
But now? She looked like she might break if I said the wrong thing.
I moved slowly, settling beside her on the couch. "I know I messed up. I got frustrated. I said things I shouldn't have."
She gave a small, humorless laugh. "You think?"
"I'm serious."
"So am I."
Silence again. But this time, it wasn't tense—it was fragile. Like we were both waiting to see who would shatter first.
"I kept hoping you'd say something," she admitted. "Even just a text. Something stupid. Anything."
"I didn't know if you wanted me to."
"I didn't," she said. "But I needed you to."
Those words hit harder than I expected. I looked down at my hands, flexing them like I could rewrite everything I'd done wrong.
"I should have shown up sooner."
"Yeah," she said quietly. "You should have."
I nodded, swallowing the guilt like glass. "But I'm here now."
Ava turned to face me fully. "And what does that mean, Jace? Are we just supposed to forget everything that happened? Pretend we didn't fall apart?"
"No. But maybe we remember it—so we don't make the same mistakes."
Her eyes searched mine, and for once, I didn't look away.
"I don't know if this project will work anymore," she whispered.
"I believe it will. But only if we stop trying to win and start listening."
A long breath slipped from her lips, like the truth had been too heavy to carry alone.
---
Ava's POV
The thing about Jace Collins was that he never made things easy.
Even now, sitting next to me with his eyes full of honesty and regret, he still made my heart ache in all the worst ways. Because I believed him. And that terrified me more than anything.
He brushed his fingers against mine—barely a touch, almost shy. "Can we try to forget about what happened at the past and try again?"
I didn't answer. Not with words.
Instead, I leaned my head on the couch, Just for a second. Just to remember what it felt like not to fight.
He exhaled, the sound more relieved than I expected. I closed my eyes and let the silence stretch between us again, this time warm and full of something almost like hope.
---
Jace's POV
She didn't say yes. But she didn't pull away either.
That was enough—for now.
We sat like that for a while, the soft hum of the refrigerator the only sound in the quiet house. I didn't want to move. I didn't want to ruin the fragile peace we'd built with one vulnerable moment.
But eventually, Ava straightened up, wiping at her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater. "We should finish the project. Together."
My heart kicked up. "Yeah. We should."
She grabbed her laptop from the table and opened the doc, pulling it up between us like it could shield us from falling apart again.
But as we read through our combined notes, I saw it—that spark again. Not just of a good partnership, but of something more. Something unfinished.
---
Ava's POV
It was almost midnight when Jace finally stood to leave.
We hadn't talked much after deciding to work together again. Just quiet comments about edits, suggestions passed back and forth like peace offerings.
But something had shifted.
As I walked him to the door, the weight in my chest eased just a little. Maybe it was the honesty. Maybe it was the small step toward forgiveness. Or maybe it was just knowing I wasn't the only one who still cared.
"Text me when you get home," I said without thinking.
He smiled faintly. "You got it."
He turned to go, then paused. "Hey, Ava?"
I met his eyes.
"I meant it. About missing you."
I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Oh erm alright"
He left without another word.
And I stood in the doorway, watching the night swallow him up, the stars scattered above like broken promises waiting to be made whole.