Stephen fiddled with his fingers as he sat on the couch in silence, awkwardly waiting for Heart to respond to his question.
"Heart." He repeated once more.
"Yes, Wardell?"
"Come on, baby girl."
He dreaded the answer - hell, he dreaded the phone call in general, but he knew it had to be addressed somehow.
"This isn't the time--"
"I know you're busy and everything, but I've barely heard from you all week. You & I both it had to come to this point sooner or later."
"I just don't really want to talk about it." She sighed.
"I just want you to tell me the truth."
"The truth about what, Wardell?"
"Are we okay? It seems like things haven't been the same these past weeks and it's been killing me. I just want to hear you say that we're okay and that we'll make it through this." He felt his temperature rise from the anxiety. His heart started to rise as he heard her sigh once more, taking it as a bad signal. He didn't want to hear it, but he did at the same time.
"The truth?"
"Yes, Heart. The truth."
"I don't know anymore."
"Is it because of--"
"We're not talking about that. I already told you. I need to go, Wardell."
How could someone so close to feel so far away? Stephen closed his eyes due to the pain he felt from the four words she just spoke.
The uncertainty killed him.