𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒔, 𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒂 𝒎. ¹

𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘺 𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦

when olivia climbs through aria's window, the girl was sat in her with her book in her hand. "hey." olivia was taking off her shoes, still in her church dress as she made her way to aria's bed. the girl didn't look up from her book, she was barely visible under the lamp light.

"how was your day?" olivia pulled her hair into a bun, sitting down on the bed but again, aria didn't say anything.

"am i getting the silent treatment?" she asked, a soft teasing tone to her voice.

"can you please talk to me?" aria didn't even blink, clearly more interested in her book while olivia picked at the skin of her fingers, looking away from the girl beside her.

olivia didn't say anything for a while but the lack of an explanation was driving her out of her mind. she picked at her nails for a while, then with the ends of her dress before she finally spoke. "i understand if you're angry with me, i just want you to tell me."

aria sighed this time, softly as olivia nodded. "sorry." she mumbled, laying back down. for some reason she couldn't make herself leave.

"for what?" aria was still looking at her book.

"im not sure." that was what olivia truly meant to say. she didn't understand why aria was so angry with her.

aria finally turned a page, the crisp sound filling the silence between them. olivia watched her, waiting for some kind of reaction, but it never came. it was like she wasn’t even there.

olivia exhaled sharply, falling onto her back beside Aria, the mattress dipping under her weight. "are you mad at me or just ignoring me for fun?" she tried again, staring up at the ceiling.

aria didn’t answer right away. Instead, she closed her book with a quiet thud and placed it on her nightstand. "both," she admitted, finally turning her head to look at olivia.

"that's fair," olivia said, rolling onto her side to face her. "can i at least know why?"

"you don't know why?" aria didn't even seem surprised this time.

olivia sighed softly, feeling a weight on her chest, "can you just tell me what you're thinking?"

aria paused before she shut her book, olivia sat up now when aria faced her, "what are you hiding from me?"

the secret phone calls, going out of town out of the blue, always somewhere else, something was clearly wrong and olivia didn't want aria in.

"nothing." olivia got up, her bare feet on the cold floor as she walked to the window. she pulled out a cigarette, a clear sign that she must be lying about something.

aria sat up, crossing her arms as she watched olivia light the cigarette with steady hands. the glow from the lighter flickered across her face, but her expression stayed unreadable. "you only smoke when you're stressed," aria pointed out, voice quieter now, like she was trying to rein in her frustration.

olivia took a slow drag, exhaling the smoke toward the open window. "maybe i’m just stressed," she muttered.

"maybe," aria said, tilting her head, studying her. "or maybe you're keeping something from me, and you don’t know how to tell me."

olivia's jaw tightened, her fingers twitching slightly as she tapped the ash against the windowsill. "it's not like that."

"then what is it like?" aria pressed, scooting closer. "because from where I’m sitting, it feels like you’re slipping away."

"why can i keep one secret from you?" olivia asked, "you don't have to know everything about me."

aria's expression didn't waver, but something in her eyes flickered—hurt, maybe, or frustration. "i don’t want to know everything," she said carefully. "i just want to know the things that matter."

olivia let out a quiet laugh, shaking her head as she took another slow drag from her cigarette. "and who decides what matters?"

"you do," aria said simply. "but if it’s making you lie to me, if it’s making you act like this, then maybe it matters more than you think."

olivia didn't answer right away. she just stared out the window, the cigarette burning between her fingers, the smoke curling up into the night. finally, she exhaled, barely above a whisper, "i don’t know how to tell you."

"maybe i just want this one thing." olivia took another drag, desperate for the hit, "maybe it's something i want to keep for myself. am i not allowed that?"

aria watched her carefully, the tension between them thick enough to suffocate. "of course, you are," she said, voice quieter now. "but that doesn’t mean i won’t worry about you."

olivia let out a bitter laugh, shaking her head. "you worry too much."

"and you don’t worry enough," aria countered, shifting forward, her knee pressing against olivia’s. "you think i don’t notice when you disappear for hours, when you come back looking like you’ve been somewhere you shouldn’t be?"

olivia clenched her jaw, flicking the cigarette ash out the window. "you’re reading too much into it."

"am i?" aria’s voice softened, almost pleading now. "or are you just scared to let me in?"

olivia shook her head, "i am not scared, im just not ready." olivia gritted out, "if im not with you, im either at work, getting high or in pittsburgh." she explained, "why are you being so weird?"

aria blinked, caught off guard by olivia’s sudden honesty. it wasn’t what she expected—not that olivia was lying, but that she’d just... said it. like it wasn’t a big deal. like it didn’t mean anything.

"pittsburgh?" aria echoed, her brows pulling together. "what’s in pittsburgh?"

olivia took another slow drag, her lips tightening around the cigarette before she exhaled. "nothing you need to worry about."

aria scoffed, shaking her head. "you can’t say something like that and expect me to drop it."

"well, i expect you to," olivia shot back, finally turning to look at her, her gaze sharp. "i don’t owe you every detail of my life, aria."

aria flinched at that, the words hitting harder than she wanted to admit. "i never said you did," she muttered, arms crossing tightly over her chest. "i just don’t get why you always shut me out."

olivia sighed, running a hand through her hair before pressing her fingers against her temple. "because it’s easier that way."

"maybe for you."

"yeah," olivia admitted, her voice is quieter now. "maybe for me."

silence settled between them, heavy and unyielding. Aria stared at her, searching for something in olivia’s expression—an opening, a crack in the walls she kept building. but olivia just looked tired.

finally, olivia sighed and put out her cigarette. "can we just... not do this tonight?"

aria wanted to push, to demand answers, but she could see it now—olivia wasn’t going to give them. not tonight. maybe not ever.

so instead, she just nodded. "fine."

olivia hesitated, like she wanted to say something else, but then she just sat back down on the bed.

neither of them moved to close the distance between them.

"i'm sorry." olivia whispered.

aria didn't say anything.