How to escape reality

Bound by secret,broken by truth

A week had passed since that night in the kitchen, and everything felt heavier between Liam and me. We managed to keep things hidden, but the tension only grew. The weight of our secret was always there, lingering in every glance, every brush of our hands.

It was a Saturday afternoon, and I was sitting alone at a secluded park on the edge of town. This place had always been my escape, where I could think without interruptions. The tall oak trees swayed gently in the autumn breeze, and the sound of distant children playing softened the air. But today, not even this peaceful place could quiet my thoughts.

I heard footsteps crunching on the gravel behind me, and before I could turn, I knew who it was. Liam.

Without a word, he sat down beside me on the weathered park bench. For a moment, neither of us spoke. We just stared out at the small lake in front of us, watching the way the sunlight reflected off the rippling water.

"I thought I'd find you here," Liam finally said, his voice low, like he was afraid to disturb the fragile peace between us.

I sighed. "I needed to get away. Think."

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, his eyes fixed on the horizon. "About us?"

I nodded, my heart heavy with the unspoken weight of it all. "What are we doing, Liam? How are we supposed to keep pretending like nothing's changed when everything has?"

Liam didn't respond right away. Instead, he reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a small notebook. It was worn, edges frayed, like he had been carrying it around for a while. He handed it to me without explanation.

Curious, I opened the notebook, flipping through its pages. Inside were sketches, drawings of landscapes, random doodles, but there was one page that stopped me in my tracks. It was a drawing of me-sitting on this very bench, my face peaceful, lost in thought. It was so lifelike, so raw, that it took my breath away.

"You drew this?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.
Liam nodded. "I come here sometimes, just to be near you. I don't know how else to say what I'm feeling."

I didn't know how to respond. The vulnerability in his gesture, the way he had captured me on paper, felt like a confession in itself. I closed the notebook, holding it tightly in my hands as if it might ground me in some way.

"I don't want to lose you either," I admitted, my voice breaking the silence between us. "But how do we go on like this?"

Liam turned to face me, his expression soft yet intense. "We take it one day at a time, like we said. We don't have to figure everything out right now."

I wanted to believe him, wanted to take comfort in the idea that we could somehow navigate this impossible situation together. But deep down, I knew it wasn't that simple. There were too many risks, too many consequences that neither of us could ignore forever.

Still, in that moment, with the quiet of the park surrounding us, I allowed myself to believe in the possibility of us. Even if only for a little while longer.

I reached for his hand, intertwining our fingers. "Okay," I whispered, more to myself than to him. "One day at a time."

And with that, we sat there in silence, the world around us unchanged, but everything between us undeniably different.

*********

A few more days passed, and the tension between Liam and me had only grown more intense. We had shared that moment in the park, promising to take things one day at a time, but it felt like the weight of everything was constantly bearing down on us. Every stolen glance, every brush of our hands was a reminder of the impossible situation we were in.