The Silence Between Us
Elena didn't tell anyone.
Not the nurse who asked if she was feeling faint.
Not the roommate who noticed she had stopped drinking coffee.
Not even Liam—especially not Liam he cause all this.
The second pink line on the test had sent a shiver down her spine that hadn't left since.
She carried it like a secret in her bones.
Every step felt heavier, every glance in the mirror like she was looking at a stranger. Her clothes were beginning to tighten, and the nausea came in unpredictable waves, rolling in like a punishment for something she never truly consented to, yet couldn't bring herself to regret.
Because it was his.
Luca's.
She hadn't seen him since that night. Since he came out of the darkness and rescued her from the chaos. Since she clung to him like her body had been waiting for him. Since everything shifted—sharply, irrevocably.
And now, he was gone again.
Elena stared at her phone daily. There was no new message. No call. No voice. Not even a sign he had been near.
But still, sometimes, she felt him.
A chill when she walked past an alley.
A shadow on the rooftop when she returned home late.
The way her door was locked—tightly—even when she swore she forgot.
He was watching.
Not close. Not anymore. But he hadn't abandoned her completely.
---
Liam had started acting strange too.
Too present. Too interested. Too... controlling.
One evening, he showed up uninvited at her place with takeout and a too-bright smile.
"You barely eat anymore," he said, stepping inside like he belonged.
"I'm just tired," Elena murmured, keeping her distance.
He tried to reach for her hand. She pulled back.
There was a flicker in his eyes. Something cold.
"You've changed," he said after a moment. "You're not letting anyone in anymore."
"Maybe I don't want to," she answered quietly.
Liam stared at her for a long beat before his tone shifted. Soft, persuasive. "You know I've always liked you, Elena. Even before—"
"Don't," she said sharply.
The air between them went cold. Liam's smile faded. "I'm just saying you don't have to pretend you're alone. I can be the one you need."
She stood taller then. "But I don't need you."
There was a silence. A dangerous one.
He left not long after, tension crackling like static between them. Elena double-locked the door the second he was gone. She sat on the edge of her bed, heart pounding.
Liam wasn't safe.
Not anymore.
---
Later that night, as the rain tapped against her window, Elena pulled out her journal. She didn't write much. Just a name.
Luca Romano.
Then beneath it, shakily:
> If you ever come back... I kept it safe. I kept you safe. Even when you weren't here.
She closed the book and curled beneath her blanket, hand resting lightly over her stomach.
She didn't know how she'd tell him.
But one day, she would.
And maybe, just maybe...
He'd still be watching.
---