｡𖦹°‧ 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐧' 𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚 𝐬𝐰𝐢𝐫𝐥 ⭑°‧꩜ .ᐟ

( 021. 'breaking silence' )

WALKER WOKE UP to the sound of ariella moving around in bed. the light from the morning sun filtered through the curtains, casting shadows across the room. it had been a long, restless night. his eyes barely closed as he lay on the couch, replaying every word, every gesture, every moment from last night's confrontation with ariella. the word kayla still stung in his mind. he'd never meant to hurt her, but somehow, that one slip had fractured the fragile trust they'd built.

he had to fix it. he had to. but as he lay there, staring at the ceiling, a wave of dread washed over him. ariella hadn't said a word to him since. she hadn't looked at him, hadn't acknowledged his presence. it was like he had become invisible in his own room.

the clock on the wall ticked steadily, mocking him with its persistent rhythm. the silence between them was suffocating.

ariella stirred again, a soft sigh escaping her lips, and for a brief second, walker thought maybe she was about to speak. but she didn't. she simply turned over, facing the other side of the room.

'she's not going to talk to me' he thought, the realization hit him hard, and his chest tightened. 'not today. maybe not ever again.'

his stomach twisted with guilt. the kayla thing—it had been a stupid mistake. not telling ariella about his past with her had been an even worse one. but the kiss kayla had forced on him... it was a moment of weakness, one that he'd pushed away, dismissed as an attempt to get his attention. but the damage had already been done.

taking a deep breath, walker pushed himself up from the couch, his feet hitting the cold floor with a soft thud. he didn't know what to do next. but he had to do something.

he moved quietly across the room, careful not to wake ariella. as he reached the window, he could see the sun casting a golden hue over the city. it was beautiful outside, but inside their room, there was nothing but heavy tension.

finally, he couldn't stand the silence any longer.

"ariella..." his morning voice was hoarse as he spoke, and the sound of her name in the quiet space felt too loud, too desperate.

ariella didn't even flinch. she kept her back turned, her shoulders stiff. walker couldn't tell if she was pretending to sleep or if she was truly trying to block him out. either way, it was clear she wasn't interested in anything he had to say.

"please, just let me explain," walker said, his voice softening, almost pleading. "i never meant for any of this to happen. i just—"

"don't, walker," ariella's voice cut through the air, icy and dismissive. "please. don't do this."

the words hit him like a punch to the gut. she hadn't even looked at him, but the rawness in her voice told him everything. he had hurt her. badly.

he stood there, frozen, unsure of how to proceed. for a moment, he just watched her, his mind whirling with thoughts. he wanted to reach out, pull her into his arms and tell her everything would be okay, but he knew she wouldn't let him. not yet.

"i'm sorry," he whispered, the words feeling inadequate. "i'm so sorry."

ariella didn't respond. instead, she pulled the blanket up tighter around her, curling into herself even more. the message was clear. she didn't want to talk. she didn't want to look at him.

walker's heart sank, and he slowly backed away, retreating to the couch. he didn't know how much time passed—minutes, maybe hours—but it felt like a lifetime. he sat on the couch, his head buried in his hands, trying to figure out how to fix this, how to make it right. he couldn't lose her. not like this.

after what seemed like an eternity, ariella finally moved. she sat up in bed, running a hand through her hair. walker's eyes lifted, but she didn't meet his gaze. instead, she stared blankly at the wall.

"i just don't understand," ariella murmured quietly, her voice shaking slightly. "you said she was in your past. you said she didn't matter anymore. but then you—" she stopped, clenching her jaw. "you kissed her. why would you do that, walker?"

"i didn't want to," he said quickly, his voice low. "it wasn't... it wasn't like that. it was a mistake. a stupid mistake, and i—" he stopped himself, his throat tight with emotion. "i should've told you everything about kayla. i should've told you what happened. but i was afraid... i didn't want to lose what we have."

ariella's eyes flicked toward him for a split second, but she quickly looked away again, her fingers tracing the fabric of the blanket. "you didn't think i deserved to know?" she asked, her voice tight with hurt. "is that it?"

walker shook his head. "no, it's not that. it's just—" he ran a hand through his hair, struggling to find the right words. "i've been running from her, from all of it. and when i met you, everything felt real, like it was something i could finally have for myself. but i messed up. i didn't want you to think i was still... tangled up in that."

the room was heavy with silence again. ariella sat there, unmoving. finally, she spoke, but it was barely above a whisper. "i don't know if i can trust you right now, walker."

those words sliced through him. it wasn't anger in her voice—at least not the kind he expected—but something far worse. disappointment. the thought made his stomach churn.

walker stood, pacing the small room, trying to gather his thoughts, but the weight of ariella's silence made it hard to breathe. he had no idea what else to say. he had tried to explain, but she wasn't ready to listen yet. and he couldn't make her forgive him just by asking for it.

"i'm not going to push you," he finally said, his voice raw. "take all the time you need. but i need you to know, i don't want anyone else. i don't want to go back to that... that mess with kayla. i want to move forward with you."

ariella didn't respond, instead she got up and went to the bathroom to get ready for her day, and walker could feel the finality of her silence as if it was an invisible barrier between them. he turned away, giving her space, knowing she needed it.

the next few hours were agonizing. ariella went out with her friends, going to get there nails done for tomorrow, while walker spent the time pacing around the room, trying to distract himself with anything—checking his phone, flipping through tv channels, even attempting to organize his thoughts. but nothing worked. his mind kept returning to ariella. the thought of her staring at the wall, the way she hadn't said anything to him... it all felt like a crushing weight on his chest.

as night fell, he could feel the shift in the air. he knew the group would be gathering downstairs to hang out, but walker had no energy to join them. he didn't want to face anyone, especially not after the disaster of the last few hours. he just wanted to talk to ariella again, to make things right.