Someone Older

chapter 18

Sorry if I jumped between stories and time so fast. But now I won't anymore!!

Ravens p.o.v
It had been five days already, and my dad—well, my stepdad—had moved out. The house felt emptier, heavier, like the silence had grown too loud to ignore. Mom and I barely talked. When we did, it was mostly awkward small talk, as if neither of us knew how to handle the gaping hole he’d left behind.

Maverick had been texting me non-stop. Each message felt like a lifeline, but I couldn’t bring myself to answer. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t even know how I felt anymore—just that everything hurt and nothing felt right.

Today, though, something shifted. The quiet inside the house was suffocating me, pressing down on my chest until I couldn’t take it anymore. I needed to get out. I needed air. I needed... Maverick.

Without thinking too much about it, I grabbed my jacket and slipped out the door, heading toward his place. His house wasn’t far, just a short walk across the neighbourhood, but every step felt like it was dragging me toward something I wasn’t sure I was ready for. Still, I kept going, my feet moving almost on their own, pulling me to the one person who might make this all feel a little less overwhelming.

When I reached Maverick’s front porch, I hesitated. My heart was racing, my hand frozen in the air just inches from the door. What was I even going to say? I hadn’t answered him for days, and now I was just showing up out of the blue. What if it was weird? What if he—

Before I could spiral any further, the door swung open, and there he was. Maverick stood there, his messy hair falling into his eyes, his expression shifting from surprise to something softer the moment he saw me.

“Raven,” he breathed like he hadn’t expected me to actually show up. His eyes searched mine, and I could see the concern there, the worry he’d been carrying for days.

I swallowed hard, suddenly feeling small under his gaze. “Hey,” I whispered, my voice barely holding together.

He didn’t say anything at first, just stepped aside to let me in. I walked past him, feeling the warmth of the house wrap around me. It smelled familiar, like wood and laundry detergent, a comforting contrast to the coldness of my own home.

Maverick closed the door behind me, and I could feel his presence close, his eyes still on me, waiting. He didn’t push or ask questions. He just... waited, like he always did when he knew I needed space.

I sat down on the couch, hugging my knees to my chest, staring at the floor. The knot in my throat was back, tightening with every breath, but being here—being near him—it made it easier somehow. Like the weight pressing down on me wasn’t as unbearable when he was close.

Maverick sat down beside me, careful, giving me enough space but not too much. His presence was steady, like a quiet anchor holding me in place.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, finally breaking the silence. “For not answering. I just... I didn’t know what to say.”

He shook his head. “You don’t have to be sorry, Raven. I was just worried about you. I didn’t want you to feel like you had to go through this alone.”

The words hit me harder than I expected. Alone. That’s exactly how I’d been feeling. So alone in that house, even with Mom there. So alone in my own head, drowning in the mess of emotions I couldn’t make sense of.

“My stepdad moved out,” I said, my voice small. “He’s really gone. And now everything feels... wrong.”

Maverick didn’t say anything right away, but I could feel the shift in the air around us, like he understood without me needing to explain. He always understood.