Lahat ng Kabanata ng Between Closed Doors: Kabanata 21 - Kabanata 30

The cafe was warm, the air heavy with the scent of freshly brewed coffee and pastries.Jordy stirred his cup absentmindedly, glancing out the window while Leo rambled on about a girl he’d just met online.“…and then she sent me a selfie at like, 2 a.m., and I swear, Jordy, she looks… insane. Not in a bad way, just—wow,” Leo said, waving his hands dramatically.Jordy raised an eyebrow, smirking. “Insane, huh? That’s a great start to a relationship.”Leo laughed, leaning back in his chair. “I know, right? But you don’t get it—she’s like… different. Unique. And she plays video games. Like, can you imagine?”Jordy chuckled softly. “Sure, Leo. You’ve met your match.”Before Leo could respond, the bell above the cafe door jingled.Matt stepped inside, calm and collected, scanning the room. The moment he spotted Jordy, his lips curv

A few days passed before they saw each other again like this. Not quick meetups. Not rushed conversations in passing. Something longer. Something that should have felt easy. Instead, it didn’t.It started with a plan neither of them had really expected to happen so soon.Their families going out together.It wasn’t unusual in itself, both families already knew each other well enough. Casual visits, shared meals, familiar conversations that blurred into routine.But this was different.This was everyone together, outside, in a busy restaurant filled with noise and movement and too many eyes.Jordy didn’t think much of it at first.To him, it was just another outing. Another evening where adults talked too much and joked about things that weren’t always funny.Matt thought about it more than he admitted.From the moment his parents mentioned it, something had sat uneasily in his chest.By the

Jordy woke up to the sound of voices drifting up from downstairs. They weren’t loud, just steady enough to pull him out of sleep. He blinked slowly, turning his head toward the window where light slipped through the curtains. It felt later than it should be, and when he reached for his phone to check the time, that feeling was confirmed.He exhaled, rubbing his face as he sat up.“Great,” he muttered.He hadn’t meant to sleep in, especially not today. He had plans, even if they weren’t the kind you could map out clearly. Today was supposed to be for job hunting. Not anything stressful, not anything like the last place he worked where every shift felt like a test of endurance. Just something simple. Something he could manage without feeling drained all the time.He sat there for a moment, listening again to the voices downstairs. His mom’s laughter was easy to recognize, warm and familiar. The other voice was unfamiliar, but comfortable enough to suggest i

The knock came suddenly, sharp against the quiet of the house.Jordy froze for half a second, his heart jumping before his thoughts could catch up. Then he pushed himself up quickly and headed for the door, running a hand through his hair as he went, like that would somehow make him look more put together.He opened it.Matt stood there, leaning casually against the frame, like he had all the time in the world. There was something annoyingly confident about the way he held himself, like he already knew Jordy was going to let him in.He lifted his hand slightly. “Hi.”Jordy shook his head, but a smile still slipped through. “You’re actually unbelievable.”“Missed you too,” M

The house eventually settled into a calm rhythm that only made Jordy more aware of how wrong everything felt beneath it. His mother moved around the kitchen like she always did in the mornings, preparing tea, adjusting small things, speaking casually as though nothing unusual lingered in the air. Jordy responded when needed, kept his tone steady when required, and forced his expression to remain normal even though every second felt stretched thin.Because Matt was still inside the house.Hidden.Waiting.And that knowledge sat in Jordy’s chest like something alive, something that refused to settle.He leaned against the counter, pretending to drink water while listening to the faint movements from the kitchen. His mother’s presence grounded the room, but it also sharpened every other sense he had. Every sound in the hallway felt louder than it should. Every second of silence felt like a countdown.His phone buzzed.He stepped slightly a