🖤
The room was quiet again but it wasn't the same kind of quiet as before. This one felt… closer, beavier in a softer way.
Cassy sat with her knees tucked slightly under her, the blanket still half-folded beside Caleb.
He hadn't moved much, just stayed there like he was afraid the moment might disappear if he did.
"You're thinking again," Cassy said gently.
Caleb blinked slightly. "…Am I that obvious?"
Cassy smiled faintly. "To me, yes."
A pause. He exhaled slowly. "I was just… remembering something."
Cassy tilted her head. "Good or bad?"
Caleb hesitated. "…I don't know yet."
That made her go quiet because that wasn't like him. Usually, he knew or pretended to. Cassy didn't push, she just waited and after a moment—
"I used to think control meant safety," he said quietly.
Cassy listened carefully.
"It made things predictable," he continued. A pause. "Manageable." His gaze lowered slightly. "But with you…" He stopped like the rest of the sentence surprised even him.
Cassy's breath caught just a little. "…With me?" she repeated softly.
Caleb nodded once slowly, careful. "It stopped working the same way."
Silence because that, that meant something deeper.
Cassy stayed still not interrupting, not reacting too quickly just letting him speak.
"I kept trying to fix things before they changed," he admitted. A pause. "But you never stayed the same long enough for that to work." That should've sounded like frustration but it didn't. It sounded like realization.
Cassy looked at him carefully. "…Is that a bad thing?" she asked softly.
Caleb shook his head slightly. "No." A pause. "It's just… unfamiliar."
Silence.
And then something slipped out, something he didn't seem to catch until after he said it. "…I think I'm scared of losing that."
The room froze not dramatically just… quietly. Cassy didn't speak immediately because that wasn't a statement he gave easily or ever.
"…Me?" she asked gently.
Caleb looked at her then fully and for once there was no distance in it. "Yes," he said. Simple, honest, no control hiding behind it just truth.
Cassy's chest tightened slightly not in panic, in understanding. "You're not going to lose me just because things are uncertain," she said softly. A pause. "But I can't promise I'll always stay close either."
Caleb nodded slowly. "I know." That acceptance, it mattered more than anything forceful could've.
Cassy shifted slightly toward him. "…You said you were scared," she repeated gently.
Caleb let out a small breath. "I didn't mean to say that."
Cassy gave a faint smile. "I know." A pause. "But you did."
Silence.
Because that was the thing once it's said it can't be taken back.
Caleb looked down for a moment then back at her. "…I don't say things like that," he admitted.
Cassy nodded. "I noticed." That made him almost smile, almost.
"I don't like not knowing where things are going," he added.
Cassy leaned back slightly. "I know that too." A pause. "But you're still here."
Caleb looked at her. "And so are you."
Silence.
Because that was the truth neither of them could avoid. They were still here still choosing this space between uncertainty and connection, still trying.
Cassy glanced at him softly. "You're learning a lot of new things," she said.
Caleb gave a quiet hum. "…Not all of them comfortable."
That made her smile more fully this time. "I didn't think they would be." A pause. "But you're not running."
Caleb met her gaze. "No." Simple, certain and somehow that said everything. The blanket shifted slightly as he adjusted it again not restless just present.
Cassy watched him for a moment then quietly said, "I like this version of you too."
Caleb looked at her. "…There are more versions?"
She smiled. "Probably." A pause. "I'm still figuring them out."
That made something lighter settle between them again not perfect, not resolved but warm, real and enough for now.