I liked him. I just didn't know.
Liana
I didn't say anything when I came back.
Just kicked off my shoes, dropped my bag, and stood in the middle of the kitchen like I forgot what people usually do in their own homes.
Alex glanced up from the couch. "You okay?"
I nodded.
Then shook my head.
She didn't press.
Just reached over and slid a mug across the counter. Chamomile. No words.
I sat down and held it with both hands.
"I think I'm broken," I said quietly.
Alex snorted. "Wow. Starting strong."
"I'm serious."
"I know." She took a sip of her coffee. "But still, kind of a dramatic opener."
I looked down. "I've been feeling… weird."
Alex raised a brow. "Define weird."
"I don't know. Confused. Restless. I keep thinking about things I shouldn't think about."
"Like?"
A long pause.
Then I said, "There was a woman."
Alex blinked. "Go on."
I wrapped my fingers tighter around the mug.
"I don't know… I've been weird for a while now."
Alex didn't say anything.
"I didn't know it back then. I just thought it was me being… clingy. Or scared to be alone. But it's not that."
I swallowed.
"There was this woman," I said softly. "She came to the house a while ago."
Alex frowned. "What woman?"
"Her name was Scott." I let out a dry laugh. "Yeah, it's a woman. She was… tall, pretty, confident. The kind of person who knows how to take up space."
Alex tilted her head, listening.
"She showed up one afternoon. Said she was in the neighborhood, asked for Elias. He'd told me he was going out with someone that night, but I didn't think anything of it until she showed up at our door."
My fingers tightened around my sleeve.
"She went straight up to him. Like she knew where to stand, what to say. She even tried to kiss him." My voice dropped. "Right in front of me."
Alex raised an eyebrow. "And you were just… there?"
I nodded. "On the couch. Like an idiot."
There was a pause.
Then, almost in a whisper, I said—
"I couldn't breathe. I didn't even know why. I just remember thinking… she looked like someone who belonged with him."
Alex stayed quiet.
"I wasn't mad at her. I wasn't even mad at him. Just—" I struggled for the right words.
"It hurt. And I didn't know why it hurt so much."
I looked up, brows furrowed.
"I didn't understand it. I just… hated seeing it. Hated the way he talked to her like it was normal. Like he'd done this a thousand times before. And I— I was still figuring out how to talk to people without freezing."
My voice cracked, just a little.
"I went to my room. Told him I wanted to move out. I thought it was because I needed space, but… maybe that wasn't the whole reason."
Alex set down her coffee.
Then she smiled. Like something finally clicked.
She leaned back, gave me a smirk.
"Oh honey," she said. "That's not weird. That's just what liking someone feels like."
And in her head, she added—
Damn, girl. Everyone knows you're his whole world. But somehow, no one knew you liked him.
"Are you saying I like Elias?"
I panicked.
"You tell me," Alex said, still smiling.
"I… I don't know. Maybe? What do I do now?"
She shrugged. "Well, depends on what you want.
But just so you know… he's not as unshakable as he looks."
Later, I went back to my room.
Stared at myself in the mirror.
Whispered—
"I think… I like him."