Sienna's POV
It’s been a week since I left the city. A week since the last time I saw Noah and Liam. I woke up with a heavy head, as if I’d been wrapped all night in an invisible weight. The morning sunlight slipped in through the curtains of this small apartment, located not far from the shoreline. The sound of the waves, which used to be soothing, now felt more like a roar breaking my concentration.I sat at the edge of the bed, looking around. Silence. No Noah’s laughter. No soft knocks on my bedroom door asking me to read a story. No Liam standing awkwardly, words caught on his lips. There’s only me, and this emptiness that refuses to leave.I pulled my knees to my chest, letting the crumpled blanket wrap around me like a shield. Maybe this is what people mean when they say “a silence that’s too loud.” Because even though there’s no sound at all, my head is full of echoes—Noah’s laughter, Liam’s heavy footsteps down the hallway, the soft souSienna's POV My eyes were still heavy, the lids glued shut as if with wood glue. My head felt stuffed with cotton, maybe because I had stayed up too late the night before. But the sound of the doorbell kept ringing once, twice, three times—with patient, consistent persistence. I groaned softly, pulled the blanket over my head, hoping whoever it was would give up.They didn’t. The bell rang again. And again.With a resigned breath, I dragged myself out of bed, shuffling toward the door like a zombie rising from its grave. My hair was no doubt a tangled nest, and my pajamas were far from presentable for receiving visitors.The moment the door opened, I froze.“Morning, Sienna.”Liam.He was standing there, holding two large grocery bags that looked filled with food. But what unsettled me most was the broad smile on his face. A smile I had never seen before, the kind someone wears when they’ve just found a reason to live again.“What brings you here?” I
Liam's POV Noah nodded firmly. “Yes. I told Teacher that I have a mommy who’s beautiful, smart, and likes to write stories. Then Teacher gave me blue paper. That’s Mommy’s favorite color, right?”I could only stare at him. A subtle tremor stirred in my chest, something I couldn’t put into words. Sometimes, I forgot how deeply Noah missed Sienna. Even though he didn’t often say her name, I knew that longing never truly left him.Noah kept munching on the candy in his hand, while I just sat there watching his every move. How simple the world seemed through a child’s eyes. He could laugh so freely over a piece of candy or a sheet of drawing paper, as if nothing bad had ever really happened. But I knew, deep down in his still-pure heart, there was an empty space he kept carefully hidden. A space shaped like his mother.I leaned back slightly against the sofa, letting my body relax after such a long day. But my mind wasn’t at ease. The image of Sienna’s face lingered, mi
Liam's POV Streetlights lined up like man-made stars that never dimmed, illuminating the path I followed out of the parking lot. The hum of the car engine blended with the rush of the night wind, creating a silence that only amplified the echo of my thoughts. My hands were still gripping the steering wheel tightly, as if letting go even a little might make me lose my way—not just on the road, but in life itself.I didn’t drive straight onto the main road. Instead, I let the car roll slowly, passing block after block of identical buildings. Somewhere in one of those upper-floor windows, I knew there was light from her apartment. Even though I couldn’t see clearly, the shadow of her presence lingered in my eyes. I forced myself not to look too long, not wanting to appear like someone utterly desperate. But inside, I knew I was already at that point.Memories spun back quickly, uncontrollably. Sienna with her laughter, with the way she used to call my name half-annoyed, wi
Sienna’s POV I moved to the tiny kitchen, pulled out a clean glass, and filled it with water. My motions were stiff, mechanical, like a machine. I drank half of it down, hoping the cold liquid would extinguish the fire raging in me, but it only left a bitter taste on my tongue.The waves of memory crashed again. I remembered how that sofa once held our laughter, where we shared trivial stories until late at night. And now, he sat there again, not with laughter, but with silence heavy with scars. How ironic, that a piece of furniture could hold so much history I wished I could erase.I set the glass back on the counter, staring blankly at the floor. Each breath weighed me down, each heartbeat reminded me of how fragile I still was in his presence. I wanted to scream, to demand he leave, but the words were stones lodged in my throat.I walked back to the living room, stopping a few paces away. He was still there, like a shadow refusing to fade. I wrapped my arms arou
Sienna’s POV As I slid the key into the lock and pushed open the door to my apartment, I could feel Liam’s eyes on my back. Silent. Unassuming. Yet still pressing against me like an unwelcome weight.I stepped inside without a word. No goodbye. No thank you. I thought that if I held onto my silence long enough, he would finally understand—that I still wanted distance. That I still wanted to hide the wounds that had never fully healed.But deep down, I knew that from this day forward, that line of separation had begun to blur. And I wasn’t sure if I was ready for whatever might come after this.The click of the lock sounded too loud in my ears. Louder than the crash of the waves or the echo of his footsteps trailing behind me earlier. I leaned against the door for a moment, closing my eyes, letting the stillness of my small apartment wrap around my tired body.This space was narrow, modest, but it had always been enough of a fortress for me. A place where I coul
Sienna's POV I stared at the city lights in the distance, glittering like shards of glass scattered in the night air. The wind carried the scent of salt and a faint trace of fuel from fishing boats docked somewhere far away. My legs wanted to move forward, but my body stayed rooted in place, caught between the urge to disappear and the awkwardness that kept me still.Behind me, I could feel his presence clinging like a shadow. Not because I turned to look, but because the air between us was heavy with something invisible—a mix of distrust, memories, and vigilance neither of us was willing to loosen.The only constant sound was the waves breaking on the shore. Each crash felt like the ticking of an hourglass, forcing time to move. Strange, how a distance of only a few steps could feel like miles inside my head.I glanced at the watch on my wrist. Five minutes. Just five minutes to walk home. But those five minutes could easily turn into five hours if I had to