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What We Dont Say
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2025-12-06 06:57:33The next week crawled by with the slow, uneasy anticipation of a storm that refused to break. Lola went about her days pretending everything inside her wasn’t shifting in dangerous ways. The Walkers were scheduled for Tuesday, and though she didn’t want to admit it, she counted down to the moment she would see them again.
But she didn’t expect Melvin to arrive alone.
The doors slid open at 9:31 a.m., the morning light spilling around him. No wheelchair. No Emily. Just Melvin, carrying a worn messenger bag and a heaviness that nearly staggered him.
Lola stood immediately. “Melvin? Are you....... where’s Emily?”
He approached the counter slowly, as if each step cost him something. “She’s home today,” he said quietly. “Too weak to come.”
Concern washed through Lola. “I’m sorry.”
His jaw tightened. “She told me to go without her. Said I looked like I needed fresh air.” His laugh was rough and humorless. “Not exactly fresh air here, but… I didn’t argue.”
He looked up at Lola then, really looked at her, and the exhaustion in his eyes hit her like a physical blow.
“Are you okay?” she asked before she could stop herself.
He shook his head. “Not really.”
She swallowed. “Do you want to sit? You don’t have to go back immediately.”
He hesitated, torn between propriety and desperation. But then he nodded.
Lola stepped out from behind the desk and guided him to the quieter corner seating area. He sank into the chair like a man collapsing inward, elbows on his knees, hands clasped tightly.
For a minute, neither spoke.
Lola sat beside him, hands folded in her lap. “You don’t have to talk,” she said softly. “You can just… be here.”
He exhaled shakily.
“I feel like I’m drowning,” he whispered. “Like every day I wake up to a little less of her.”
Lola’s eyes burned. “I’m so sorry.”
He rubbed his eyes, catching a tear with the back of his hand. “She was always the strong one,” he said. “Always. And now… now I’m just waiting. Watching her fade.” His voice cracked. “I hate that she’s in pain. I hate that I can’t fix anything.”
Lola reached out before thinking, placing a hand gently over his. “You’re doing everything you can.”
He didn’t pull away.
Instead, his hand turned slowly until their fingers intertwined. A soft, forbidden warmth bloomed between them.
“We shouldn’t…” he murmured, not finishing the sentence.
“I know,” she whispered. “We won’t. I mean, this doesn’t have to be anything.”
His eyes lifted, meeting hers with a vulnerability that stole her breath.
“Lola,” he said, her name sounding like a confession.
She didn’t move her hand.
For one suspended moment, they just breathed, fingers laced, hearts stumbling.
When he finally let go, the absence of his touch felt like an ache.
Melvin stood, clearing his throat. “I should go.”
Lola nodded, though her chest tightened. “Please take care of yourself.”
He offered her a small, broken smile. “I’ll try.”
And as he walked away, Lola felt something unravel inside her, something she wasn’t sure she wanted to stop.
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Among the Quiet Ruins Chapter 6
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Among the Quiet Ruins chapter 4
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Among the Quiet Ruins chapter 2
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