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

( 024. 'facemask & forgiveness' )

THE GLOW of the bathroom lights cast a warm hue over ariella's bedroom as she sat cross-legged on the floor. blake was beside her, carefully applying a generous amount of a bright green face mask to her own skin, all while humming along to a playlist they both liked.

ariella, on the other hand, was only half-focused on her mask. she'd let blake convince her to try it out as a way to unwind after a long week of school and everything else, but her mind kept drifting back to walker. 

"you know, i still don't get why you're punishing him this much," blake said as she finished applying her own mask, setting the bottle down. she turned to her sister, raising an eyebrow. "i mean, he's been trying, right?"

ariella let out a long, frustrated sigh, not even looking at her. "he messed up, blake. big time. i don't just forget stuff like that. he didn't even tell me about kayla. and then the whole thing with... with what happened on the roof. i can't just act like it didn't happen."

blake paused, her fingers stilling as she studied her sister. the silence in the room felt heavier than before, but she kept her tone light as she nudged ariella playfully. "i get it. i really do. but you also know that walker isn't a bad guy. he's just... well, he's not great with feelings. and yeah, maybe he made a mistake, but does that mean you should throw everything away? over one dumb thing?"

ariella's shoulders tensed, and she turned to look at her sister, her eyes narrowing slightly. "it wasn't just a dumb thing, blake."

blake's face softened. she wiped off some excess mask from her fingers and set it aside before turning fully to face her sister. "i'm not saying it's not a big deal. i know it hurt, i saw how upset you were that night. but he's been beating himself up over it, ariella. i've never seen him so miserable. it's obvious he wants to make things right."

"i don't know," ariella muttered, her fingers nervously playing with the edge of the towel draped around her shoulders. "it feels like it's too late. i don't know if i can trust him again."

blake tilted her head slightly, setting the mask container aside. "look, you're not the type to hold grudges forever. you never have been. you're mad, i get it. but... if you can't forgive him, then you're just going to carry this around forever. and that's not fair to you, or to him. you've got to give yourself a chance to move on."

ariella shifted uncomfortably. "it's just... hard. you don't understand. you haven't seen how upset i've been."

blake smiled softly, her voice dropping into a gentler tone. "i understand more than you think. and you don't have to make any big decisions right now. but just listen to me for a second, okay?"

ariella nodded, sensing where this was going.

" you don't need to have it all figured out today or tomorrow. but i think you owe it to yourself to see if there's something there with him. if it's worth trying, at least once more. and if it doesn't work out, you walk away knowing you gave it your all." blake's voice was steady, filled with sincerity, her gaze unwavering. "but, if you don't even try... if you shut him out for good, then you'll always wonder. trust me, i know."

ariella chewed on her bottom lip, her mind racing. she hadn't really thought about it that way before. blake was right about one thing—ariella did tend to shut herself off when things got hard. maybe that wasn't the healthiest way to deal with her feelings. she couldn't just hold onto this forever, could she?

"i don't want to regret this," ariella murmured, looking down at the floor. "i don't want to look back in a few months and wish i'd at least given it a shot."

blake reached over and gently squeezed her sister's hand. "exactly. you're too smart to let fear control your decisions. but you can't keep building walls around yourself. take a step back, think about what you really want, and decide if he's worth taking that risk. you owe yourself that."

ariella sat in silence for a moment, the weight of blake's words sinking in. she thought back to all the good moments with walker—the way he made her laugh, the way he listened when she talked, and how comfortable he made her feel. she also thought about the time they'd spent together on their trip, how it had felt like things were finally falling into place between them. and then the bad stuff. the miscommunication. the doubts. the hurt.

she glanced up at blake, who was waiting patiently for her to speak. "okay... i'll think about it."

blake's face broke into a small smile. "that's all i'm asking. just don't close yourself off completely. you're stronger than that."

ariella gave a small nod. "thanks, blakey."

blake grinned. "anytime. now let's let these masks sit for a bit before we ruin our skin, okay?" she reached for her phone, switching to a new song. 

ariella chuckled softly, feeling a weight lift off her shoulders. as much as she had tried to avoid thinking about walker, hearing blake's perspective made her realize something important—maybe she wasn't ready to throw everything away just yet. maybe there was a chance, even if it scared her. after all, she couldn't really move forward unless she took that leap of faith.

but as she sat in the quiet with her sister, she couldn't push the thought of walker completely out of her mind. she remembered how she'd felt when he showed up at her door—how he had tried so hard to make things right, bringing her flowers and a lego set. at the time, it had felt like a sweet gesture, but the hurt had overshadowed everything. it didn't change the fact that he'd messed up. it didn't erase the feeling that he hadn't been totally honest with her.

but maybe blake was right.