unbreakable heaven • awsten knight

1.14 hear it in the silence

houston tx
december 2008

Awsten stays with Ellie until it's starting to get dark outside.

She cries to him, and he hugs her as if he could make it all better— he can't, but he wishes he could.

Ellie hands him the letter that her mother left for him to read; Awsten is hesitant at first, because it's something extremely personal— he wants to make sure that she is one hundred percent okay with him seeing whatever is written, before he does anything.

Ellie is okay with it. She finds that she wants to share things with Awsten. Occasionally, she still wants to hold back, to avoid feeling like she's burdening him with her problems; but he often assures her that he's more than okay with being a listening ear for her.

Things feel easier to deal with when she shares them with him.

As the evening sky starts to fade, and the dark clouds begin setting in, Ellie grows more and more worried about her father. Until, finally, the reflection of headlights through her window signals that there's a car pulling up in the driveway.

She leaps up from her bed, where she'd been previously sat in Awsten's arms, with more energy than she's had all day.

"Is it him?" Awsten questions, cautiously, now sat on the edge of her bed.

Ellie stands on her tip toes, peaking out of the window, letting out a relieved sigh when the headlights shut off, allowing her to see the familiar grey car, and her dad stepping out of it.

"Yeah, it's him," she nods, the relief evident in her tone.

"Should I, uh—" Awsten begins, clearing his throat. "Do you need me to go?"

"No, no," Ellie shakes her head quickly, turning back to face him. "Uhm, I mean— If you need to go, then that's fine. Sorry, I didn't realise how late it was," she adds, more sheepishly.

"Oh, no, it's not that," he dismisses. "I can stay as long as you need me to. But, I didn't know if you'd want me here with your dad coming back," Awsten explains.

"If you can, I'd really like it if you stayed a little longer," Ellie murmurs. "I just— You've really helped. I don't think my dad will mind. He knows about you, so it probably won't come as much of a surprise anymore."

Awsten nods, as Ellie walks over to him again, resting her head against his shoulder.

"Can you come downstairs with me?" She hesitantly.

"Of course," he agrees easily.

Ellie takes his hand loosely, leading the way out of her bedroom and down the stairs; they're stood in the hall by the time her dad is unlocking the door.

Ellie squeezes Awsten's hand momentarily, when the door begins to open, before dropping it when she spots her dad entering the house.

He barely gets the chance to shut the door behind him, before Ellie is running into his arms.

Mr Bennett hugs her back tightly, as if she's all he's got left, and Awsten's heart aches at the sight, despite feeling a little awkward, stood at the end of the hall.

There's no words exchanged between Ellie and her father, but they pull away after a few moments, and Ellie looks back at Awsten.

"Uh, Dad," she speaks up, quietly at first, before clearing her throat. "I asked Awsten to come over when I got home and found out that...you know," Ellie tells him, honestly, causing her father to finally notice Awsten's presence. "He knows everything. Is that okay?"