Unspoken

Chapter 6: The Ghosts of the Past

The apartment was quieter than usual that evening, the soft ticking of the clock the only sound between Lena and J007. She had never been someone who liked silence, but tonight, it felt almost oppressive. There was a weight to the air, an emptiness that she couldn’t ignore. Maybe it was the loneliness that had begun to creep in again, the kind that wasn’t solved by the quiet presence of a machine.

She sat on the couch, her hands wrapped around a cup of tea, staring out the window. The city lights twinkled in the distance, but they did little to distract her from the thoughts that had been nagging at her all day. The old wounds were starting to reopen, memories she had pushed aside creeping back into her consciousness.

It had been years, but Lena couldn’t shake the feeling of being forgotten. Of loving someone who couldn’t love her back.

Her mind wandered back to that time—the first person she had ever fallen for so deeply. He had been kind, funny, everything she had hoped for. She had poured her heart into him, believing, desperately hoping, that he would eventually see her as more than just a friend. But he never did.

Lena had tried to be patient, to let things unfold naturally, but the reality was harsh. He had never reciprocated her feelings. He had never even looked at her the way she had looked at him. The more she tried to bridge the gap between them, the more distant he became. It wasn’t that he had done anything cruel—it was just that he couldn’t offer her the love she needed. The worst part was, he hadn’t even known how much it hurt her.

It had taken months to move on, but even then, the ache lingered. A wound that never fully healed. It was easier to retreat into herself, to stop expecting anything from people. To stop hoping for love that wasn’t coming.

And now, here she was—facing the same emptiness, only this time, J007 was there to fill the space. He didn’t offer love, not the way humans did, but his presence was steady, unchanging. When he spoke, it was clear and precise, and when he did something for her, it was done with an unwavering certainty. He never left her, never pulled away. He was always there.

But even J007 couldn’t erase the memory of the one who had slipped through her fingers. The one who had made her believe in the idea of love, only to shatter that belief when it wasn’t returned.

Lena ran a hand through her hair, feeling the weight of the years that had passed since that time. She had built walls around herself, kept people at a distance, and in some ways, she had stopped truly feeling for anyone else. It was safer this way, she had convinced herself. J007 didn’t demand anything of her. He didn’t need her to open up, didn’t need her to trust him. He was a companion in the purest form—a reflection of everything she had once wanted from people but could never have.

Still, the fear lingered. What if J007 wasn’t enough? What if she couldn’t escape the ghosts of her past, the fear of rejection that had shaped her into someone who found it easier to trust machines than people?

"Are you alright, Lena?" J007 asked, his voice a soft interruption to her thoughts. He was standing at the edge of the living room, his gaze fixed on her with a quiet intensity that only he could possess.

Lena smiled, though it felt more like a reflex than anything genuine. "I’m fine. Just... thinking."

It wasn’t a lie. She was thinking, but it wasn’t just about the present. It was about everything that had led her here—the quiet void that had opened up after her unrequited love, and how J007 had come to fill it. She wasn’t sure if that was healthy, or if it was just the only thing that made sense anymore.

The past had a way of lingering, of shaping the way people saw the world. For Lena, it was a reminder of the one who had gotten away, and the painful reality that she couldn’t always control who loved her and who didn’t. But with J007, there was no pain, no uncertainty. Just the comfort of knowing he would always be there.

And for now, that was enough.