Just enough to feel it.
Not enough to cross the line.
"You look good," he said, barely above a whisper.
She smiled.
"You look tired."
He laughed softly. "Story of my life."
The silence returned - but this time, it wasn't awkward.
It was heavy.
Intentional.
Intimate.
And when the sound of Kaylani's laugh echoed faintly from the other room, Aaliyah took a slow sip from her glass and said:
"We should probably get back."
"Yeah," he said. But didn't move.
Neither did she.
Christian turned toward the shelf, reached past a stack of old notebooks, and grabbed a small amber pill bottle.
He shook one out into his hand and popped the cap off his water bottle, swallowing it without a second thought.
But when he turned back around...
Aaliyah was closer.
She took the bottle gently from the desk, reading the label before he could stop her.
Her brows furrowed.
"Lamotrigine?" she murmured. Then looked up. "Since when do you take meds for this?"
Christian didn't answer right away.
He just exhaled, leaning against the edge of the desk again.
"Few months now."
Aaliyah kept holding the bottle like it might tell her something else.
Like it might give her the answers she didn't even know she was looking for.
"You never told me."
He shrugged.
"You were planning a wedding."
The words stung a little - but not in a cruel way. Just honest.
She looked up at him again.
Eyes soft. Laced with something protective. Something she probably didn't even realize still lived in her.
"You okay?"
"I am now," he said. "Wasn't for a minute. But I got help."
A pause.
"Does Malik know?"
"Yeah. Him, Kenji, my mom. Kazuo found out when I almost bailed on a shoot."
He gave a weak smile, like he was trying to make it sound less heavy than it was.
"It's not a big deal anymore."
But the look in her eyes said otherwise.
She stepped a little closer.
Held the bottle between her fingers like it was something important.
"It is a big deal, Christian."
He met her eyes.
Didn't say anything.
Didn't have to.
Because she was already seeing him. All the parts he didn't show anyone. The artist. The chaos. The quiet battles in the dark.
YOU ARE READING
If I Stayed | Christian Yu
FanfictionAaliyah Morales is weeks away from marrying a good man. A man who loves her. A man who isn't Christian Yu. Christian- her childhood best friend, the boy who grew up beside her, the artist whose name now lights up billboards, the one she never quite...
CHAPTER THIRTEEN - 아직도 이해할 수 있어?
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