All We Need Is Someone To Lean On Novels & Stories

Why do I feel so alone when I have so many people I can turn to? In my first coherent moment, I grab my phone and somehow find some inner strength as I dial Cameron’s phone number. I have no idea what I will say, but I know I need someone and he is my person. He understands me more than I give him credit for. I just need to hear his voice. Hear him say he loves me, that’s it. Then everything will feel better. I will feel better. “Hello?” He says, sounding out of breath. The moment I hear his voice, the floodgates open and my voice is lost. I sob into the phone, crying hard and feeling guilty for being a burden.

"You can't protect everyone by yourself. You know that, right?" "I can try." "Liam." I pull her close. Bury my face in her hair. Breathe in her scent. Cedar and something uniquely Neah. "Kessler said they'd come for the people you love," I murmur. "That means Caleb. Your mother. Diane. Everyone who matters to you. I can't let that happen." "So you're going to exhaust yourself trying to be everywhere at once?" "If that's what it takes." She pulls back. Cups my face. "I need you alive. Present. Not burned out from trying to shoulder everything alone. We have Jax. Theo. Marcus. Caleb. An entire alliance of warriors willing to fight. Let them help."

I said, my heart aching at her words "But we all need someone sometimes. And it's okay to admit that" "No, it's not!" she exclaimed, her voice echoing around the empty room "I've learned the hard way that the only person you can rely on is yourself. So, I don't need your sympathy, your help, or anything else you have to offer" Her words stung, but I could see the pain behind them, the fear and the vulnerability. "I didn't mean to..." I started, but I didn't know how to finish. I couldn't put into words how her performance had moved me, how it had exposed a raw, shared pain that connected us in a way I couldn't explain.

"Partnership means I don't leave you alone on the bathroom floor just because it's not fun." She was quiet for a long moment and when she finally spoke her voice was small. "I've been trying really hard to prove I don't need you." "I know." “Even now, married and pregnant, there's this part of me that thinks needing help makes me weak." She looked at me with tears in her eyes.” “Needing help doesn't make you weak, it makes you human. Partnership isn't about not needing each other, it's about choosing to lean on each other anyway."

"You haven't even known me for a week, Brian. You don't even know me." "Lena when I look at you I see a strong, beautiful woman who will put her life on hold for the sake of her loved ones. That tells me exactly what I need to know. Some people would had given up but not you. You can only be strong for so long and I want to help you," Brian says looking at me gently. I look up at him with tears falling down my face. "I... I just miss them so much. I'm all alone. Kade is just four. He doesn't understand yet. I have no one."

I needed him though. I wasn’t sure if I could still completely trust him, but a part of me is always going to want to lean on him. He became my strength, both physically and emotionally. I guess it wasn’t wise of me to rely on him, but I needed one person, just one person that I could me with, and without judgement.

“But I promised. And a promise is a promise.” She finally looked at him, her eyes glistening. “I dropped out of school. I took on three part-time jobs. I was a waitress, a cashier, and a cleaner. Anything. I learned to stretch a ten-dollar bill to last a week. I learned to fix leaky pipes and patch holes in the wall. I became a mother, a father, and a provider. And I learned… to never, ever rely on anyone but myself. Because the moment you let yourself need someone, they can disappear. And then you’re alone.”

Because we both knew what I meant. Fort had spent years making himself impossible to reach. But somehow, I had reached him. And somehow, he had reached me. ⸻ FORT’S POV I had spent most of my life believing that needing someone meant losing. It was a belief I had carried for so long that I never questioned it. People left. People changed. People disappointed you. The only thing you could truly rely on was yourself. That was what I believed. Until Elon. He did not break through my walls with force.

I didn’t know why I focused on that so much, but him holding that box along with the intense and slightly scary expression on his face while wearing one of his many expensive suits would always be a good memory for me. “I don’t think I know how to do this.” “Do what?” “Rely on someone. Lean on someone. I feel like I’m messing it up.” “I want to be that person to you, Hazel. I want to be the person you lean on. You’ve been crying yourself to sleep for months since Sandra died. I’m right next to you, but you turn away from me and try to hide your pain. You’re still grieving but you won’t let me see it, and now… now this. I want to be there for you. I don’t want you to do it all alone. You’ll l

Letting it all fall apart isn’t an option, no matter how bleak things might look right now. In this moment of reflection, I realize that I can’t do this alone. I need help, not just from Aria but from my team, from the people who’ve been with me from the beginning. I need to be open to their ideas, to listen to their concerns, and to trust that together, we can find a way through this.