Until July *COMPLETED*

Chapter XXVII

Both Briella and Ryan walked out of Briella's apartment complex before turning left. They headed away from the city centre and towards the countryside.

Following the path before them, it would have led them to a big park on the outskirts of the city, right by the big river.

Embarking on such a journey took them about twenty minutes. Most of it was filled with silence, allowing nature - and her sounds - to thrive and boom through the air.

One beside the other, they walked. Occasionally, a person walking or on a bike would have passed them by, nodding in acknowledgement. To which, they'd have both replied with a smile.

And from there, silence would have once again descended upon them both.

The day was a warm one. Which was a surprise. Usually, around this time period, it would be rainy, and still cold with a chance of sleet here and there. In the longer run, it would have brought them a cooler Summer.

But this year, it would have been different. "They are predicting Summer that'll be warmer than usual..." Briella began.

To which, Ryan replied by looking up into the sky. Scattered, broken clouds ruled the sky, but they didn't leave an impact on the temperature. The sun would have found its way to peer through the sailing cotton balls and heat up the ground.

"Yeah..." he began. "If it's already this warm, I'll be expecting the upcoming months to be hotter than the usual.".

Muteness was deafening between them both until Ryan decided to speak up again. "But tell me, how are you keeping up?".

She briefly turned around and looked at him. "As best as I can, I guess... you?" Briella responded.

"Can't lie... same here...". Ryan felt the quiet descend upon them both once again, but he didn't allow for it to fully settle in. "But tell me... can you believe it's almost Summer?".

As a reply, Briella laughed at his words. "Are you excited to leave this hell of a hole? Because I know I would be...".

It was her words that left a bad impression on Ryan. He furrowed his brows before turning towards her. Only when Briella twisted her head and looked him in the eyes did she realise that maybe she shouldn't have said what she said.

"What sort of a question was that?... Why such pessimism?".

"P-pessimism? I-..." Briella began but stopped herself. What was she gonna say?... She didn't know...

Ryan, once again, steered his eyes towards her. He examined her body language. The way her hand tensed up into a fist.

"You're hiding something from me, aren't you?" He asked, and it was those words that had a weakening effect on Briella.

Ryan noticed this and couldn't help but let a small smile grow on his lips. "I am an author, don't forget that. Looking at behaviour and all the different languages a body expresses is something I must keep an eye on all day, every day. It's that 'show, don't tell' idea. You know?".

To this, Briella only replied with a nod, before another brief moment of silence descended between them both.

Briella was stuck in her thoughts when suddenly, Ryan's voice ejected her out of her trance. "I want you to know..." he began. She felt some sort of excitement, mixed with a sprinkle of fear, churn in the pit of her stomach when she detected his tone. It reminded her of that night when they fought. That side of Ryan that she saw then. "I will find out whatever it is you are hiding from me. Although, I do have a fairly good idea of what it may be...".

'H-have I read her right?...' he asked himself.

His final sentence caused her eyes to widen. But she didn't know why. She wasn't hiding anything from him.