Silent Battles

Chapter 20: Breaking through

Aides pov

The house was quiet now, save for the soft murmurs of Lily and Amara upstairs. I leaned against the counter, the cool surface grounding me as I swirled the drink in my hand. Across from me, Levi lounged in his usual relaxed way, but there was something in his eyes that told me he wasn't just here to hang out.

"So," he started, not bothering with any pretense, "what's the deal with you and Amara?"

I felt myself tense. I had known this was coming. Levi wasn't one to miss anything, and I'd been spending a lot of time with her. Too much, maybe. I glanced down at my glass, trying for casual. "What do you mean?"

He shot me a look, not buying it for a second. "You've been really... invested. More than usual. Why?"

The question hung in the air between us. For a moment, I considered deflecting, but what was the point? Levi wouldn't let it go, and maybe part of me needed to admit it to someone else, to hear it out loud.

"She reminds me of someone," I said quietly, my voice feeling strange in the stillness of the room. "Someone I lost."

Levi straightened up a little, his casual posture tightening. "Who?"

"My sister," I replied, feeling the familiar ache I'd tried to bury for years. It wasn't something I talked about. I hadn't for a long time. "She had this quiet strength, you know? Always trying to carry everything on her own, never letting anyone see how much it hurt."

Levi didn't say anything, just waited, letting me go on.

"When she got sick, I couldn't do anything. I was completely helpless. And I hated that feeling—of being useless, watching someone you care about suffer and not being able to change a thing." I swallowed the lump in my throat, gripping the glass harder. "It's stayed with me. That fear."

Levi's eyes softened. He'd known about my sister but not the full extent of what it did to me.

"With Amara," I continued, my voice tightening, "I see that same fight. She's holding herself together, but it's fragile. And I don't want her to go through it alone. I couldn't help my sister... but maybe I can help her."

Levi nodded slowly, taking it in. "You can't force her to open up, man. But she's trusting you—little by little."

"I know," I admitted, exhaling. "I just... I don't want her to shut me out. Not like my sister did."

"You're doing fine," he said with a reassuring grin. "But hey, if you get too deep, let me know so I can start working on my best man speech."

I couldn't help but laugh, shaking my head. "Slow down, Levi."

As he stood up to leave, I lingered in the kitchen for a moment, staring down at the now-empty glass. My thoughts drifted back to the day—watching Amara at the amusement park, the way her eyes lit up when she let herself smile, even laugh. She'd slowly begun to relax around me, bit by bit, like a flower opening up, and for the first time in a long time, I felt like I was breaking through to someone.

I didn't know where this was heading. But for once, I wasn't afraid of where it might go.

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