POV: Elena
11:00 AM — The House Feels Like a Stranger
Everything looks the sa, but it doesn’t feel the sa.
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 .
11:03 AM — He’s Standing in the Hallway
Aaron.
Hair ssier than usual. Shoulders heavier. His eyes don’t look angry.
They just look... tired.
We both speak at the sa ti.
"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 Ho
Milo left to get groceries. Jas is at the hardware store. He didn’t tell — but he left the keys on the hook and I took the hint.
So now it’s just and Aaron.
Alone.
Again.
I turn to leave.
"Don’t," he says.
I stop. Turn back. "Don’t what?"
"Don’t leave this ti."
That hits harder than it should.
11:10 AM — Sitting Across From Him Again
We sit at the kitchen table.
The sa table where we used to have family dinners.
The sa 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 sohow that stayed the sa.
"I didn’t co back to start this again," I say.
"I didn’t co 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 so ssed 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 sotis," I admit. "Not what we did. Just... how quiet it was. How safe I felt."
Aaron nods. " 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 judgnt 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 for a long ti.
"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 sohow, 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 sotis grief needs physical proof that it once ant sothing.
Then I pull away.
Because healing ans 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 ," he says. "In his own sarcastic way."
We smile.
For the first ti, it’s not painful.
Just... soft.
Like maybe sothing good can co from the ruin.
📘 End of Chapter 34
💬 YOUR TURN!
The silence broke.
The feelings didn’t disappear — but they’ve changed.
👇 Drop a comnt: Can Aaron and Elena ever just be family again... or will there always be a ghost of what they were?
❤️ Like this Chapter if their hand touch hit you deep.
🔔 Follow now — because Chapter 35 is Jas and Aaron, and one of them finally says everything he’s been holding back.
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