"No one knows all that is hidden in a woman's heart,
the secret lovers,
the silent heartbreaks.
All the pain buried deep inside its chamber.
She must have loved you deeply,
If she let you see her naked soul"
✉
𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘈𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘦,
𝘐 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘶𝘨𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘐 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘩𝘪𝘮.
𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥.
𝘙𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘱𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦.
𝘞𝘢𝘴 𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘴𝘩? 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨? 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘥𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦.
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘐'𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘭𝘦𝘧𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘺𝘤𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵.
𝘕𝘰, 𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴.
𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘸𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯.
- 𝘈𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘦
"Are you okay?" Amari's concerned voice cut through the chatter of the cafeteria as she leaned closer to Annie, her eyes scanning her friend's face for any signs of distress.
Annie shifted uncomfortably in her seat, her mind swirling with conflicting emotions. Should she confide in her friends about the sudden end to her budding friendship with Leo? Or should she keep it to herself, burying the disappointment deep within her?
With a half-hearted shrug, Annie feigned nonchalance, her gaze fixed on the table in front of her. She couldn't bear the thought of burdening her friends with her troubles, especially when she wasn't entirely sure how to articulate them herself.
"I'm okay," she murmured softly, the words feeling hollow even as they left her lips. "Just tired, you know?"
Amari's brows furrowed with concern, sensing Annie's reluctance to open up. "Are you sure?" she pressed gently, reaching out to place a comforting hand on Annie's arm.
Annie nodded in response, her heart heavy with the weight of her unspoken worries. She hated the taste of deception on her tongue, but the fear of judgment and misunderstanding kept her silent.
✉
The sound of Jack's booming voice shattered the peaceful silence of Annie's room, jolting her from her focused study session. With a resigned sigh, she set aside her books and made her way to the top of the staircase, where her brother's enthusiastic grin greeted her.
"What is it, Jack?" Annie's voice carried a note of exasperation as she peered down to where he stood, anticipation evident in his expression.
"You got a visitor," Jack announced with a mischievous wink before disappearing from view, leaving Annie to wonder who could possibly be calling on her unannounced.
As she descended the stairs, her thoughts raced, trying to piece together the puzzle of this unexpected visitor. Jay and Amari were the only ones she could imagine dropping by without warning, but Jack's cryptic demeanour suggested otherwise.
When she reached the bottom of the staircase, Annie froze in her tracks, her breath catching in her throat as she beheld the familiar figure standing in her foyer.
"Leo?" The name escaped her lips in a soft whisper, her heart pounding in her chest as she struggled to process his presence in her home.
Leo offered her a sheepish smile, his gaze filled with a mix of apprehension and sincerity. "Hi... I'm uh sorry if it's weird coming here. I just wanted to talk."
Annie blinked in disbelief, her mind whirling with a myriad of emotions. She motioned for him to follow her upstairs, her steps slow and deliberate as she led the way to her room, the weight of their unspoken history hanging heavy in the air.
Once they were alone in the sanctuary of her room, Annie turned to face Leo, her arms folded protectively across her chest. "What are you doing here?" Her voice was barely above a whisper, laced with a vulnerability she couldn't quite conceal.
Annie's heart raced as she stood before him, her nerves tangling into a web of confusion and apprehension. She had never felt this level of vulnerability, her usually steady composure crumbling in the presence of Leo's sincere apology.
Leo's sigh echoed in the quiet of her room, his words weighted with remorse and earnestness. "Look, I know you don't believe me but I really am sorry. I didn't mean to disappear on you like that, I just... got weird or something. But Annie, believe me when I say that I am in no way using you or just talking to you when I'm bored."
The tremor in his voice stirred something within her, a mix of doubt and longing swirling in her chest. She searched his eyes for any hint of deception, but found only sincerity staring back at her.
"Then why are you?" Her voice wavered slightly, betraying the turmoil raging within her. She needed answers, even if they were painful to hear.
Leo's shoulders slumped as he took a seat on the edge of her bed, his gaze dropping to the floor in a gesture of defeat. He ran a hand through his hair, the tension in his posture speaking volumes of his inner struggle. "Because I... I like being around you, Annie. You just make me smile even if you don't say anything. And your smile? It lights up the whole room even though I don't think you ever let yourself fully smile. You're sweet and smart and adorable and... I just didn't realize I'd miss you so much when you're not around you."
Annie's breath caught in her throat, the weight of his words settling over her like a warm blanket on a cold night. She felt a surge of emotion swell within her, her mind reeling with the realization that someone saw her, truly saw her, in a way she had never dared to imagine.
For a moment, she was lost in the depth of his confession, the sincerity in his eyes melting away her doubts and fears. But as the silence stretched between them, she knew she needed time to process it all, to untangle the threads of her own emotions before she could respond.
Annie didn't say anything, her silence a testament to the whirlwind of thoughts and feelings swirling within her.
Annie surprised both Leo and herself immensely when, with a hesitant but determined stride, she approached him. Without a word, she reached out, her trembling hands finding his, coaxing him to stand.
With a gentle touch, she pulled him into an embrace, her arms wrapping around him with a tenderness that spoke volumes. In that moment, words felt inadequate, unable to capture the depth of emotions swirling within her.
Leo's heart swelled as he felt her arms around him, a rush of warmth flooding his senses. He returned the embrace with a tenderness born of understanding, a silent promise to be there for her in whatever capacity she needed.
In that embrace, time seemed to stand still, the world fading away to nothing but the comforting presence of each other. Leo held her close, silently vowing to never let go, to be the anchor she needed in the tumultuous sea of emotions.
✉