Chapter Four – A Truth Too Heavy
The smell of liquor lingered in the air, seeping through every corner of the house. Amanda sat stiffly in the living room, pretending to watch the horror movie flickering across the screen. But every scream from the TV only deepened the shadows inside her.
She tried to laugh at the ridiculousness of it, but fear gnawed at her. The silence behind Trahy's closed door was worse than the monsters on the screen.
Finally, unable to take it any longer, she padded down the hallway and tapped on his door. No answer. Her heart hammering, she pushed it open.
The room was dim. Trahy sat on the edge of his bed, shoulders slumped, the bottle half-empty beside him. His eyes lifted slowly to hers—dark, wounded, unreadable.
"Trahy…" she whispered, her voice trembling. "I'm… scared."
He didn't move, but something in his expression shifted. A crack in the armor.
"I didn't mean for any of this," Amanda blurted out, tears stinging her eyes. "I never wanted to hurt you. I—" She swallowed hard. "I think I care about you more than I should."
The words hung in the air, dangerous and raw.
His eyes widened, then softened, stripped bare by sorrow and drink. And then, without thought, he reached for her.
Their lips met—messy, desperate, filled with years of silence and everything they had both tried to bury.
When they pulled apart, Amanda stumbled back, her breath shaky. Trahy dragged a hand down his face, his chest heaving.
Neither of them spoke. The silence was louder than any confession. From the living room, the horror movie played on, but here—in this room—something far more terrifying had begun.
Nothing would ever be the same again.
—To be continued…