Chapter 10: The Things We Don't Say

I should've been happy. I was happy, right? I mean, Isaiah kissed me. He wanted me. He kept saying all this shit about not leaving, about being there for me. But in the back of my mind, the voice wouldn't shut up. The one that told me it was too good to be true. That I wasn't worthy of this. That it was all going to fall apart sooner or later.

But when he smiled at me, when he touched my arm or leaned in close, I couldn't help but melt. That voice started to quiet down. I started to believe maybe, just maybe, I could have something real for once.

Still, I had this thing in me—this part of me that just couldn't let go. I didn't know how to trust that this wouldn't all crash and burn. I didn't know how to let myself fall when I'd been so damn good at keeping my distance for years.

But it was hard to ignore how his hand felt in mine. How his laugh made me feel like everything was gonna be okay. So maybe I didn't have all the answers, but maybe I didn't need them right now.

"Yo, Amir, what's up with you today?" Isaiah's voice pulled me from my thoughts. He was sitting next to me on the steps outside his house, looking at me like he knew I wasn't all the way there.

I let out a shaky breath and shrugged. "Just thinking."

"About me?" He smirked, that cocky little grin I couldn't help but find charming.

"About... a lot of things," I said, biting my lip.

"Wanna talk about it?"

I glanced at him, considering it. It'd been a while since I'd really talked to anyone about the things in my head. About the things that scared me, the stuff I didn't want anyone to know. But with Isaiah, it felt like... maybe I could say something.

"I don't know, man. I just..." I trailed off, trying to find the right words. "I don't want you to end up like everyone else. I don't want you to leave, too."

His eyes softened, and before I knew it, he was leaning in closer, his hand brushing against mine. "Amir... I'm not going anywhere. You don't have to be scared of me."

Isaiah's POV

I watched Amir as he struggled with something I knew was tearing him up inside. He wasn't good at letting people in. He had this wall up, this guard that wouldn't let anyone get too close. But he was letting me in little by little. And that meant everything to me.

I knew about his past—about the things that had hurt him and shaped him. Hell, I'd been there myself, dealing with my own shit. But Amir... he was something else. He didn't trust easily, didn't let people love him, and yet, there he was, letting me close enough to see him for who he really was.

It made me want to protect him. To make sure he didn't feel alone anymore.

"I'm not going anywhere, Amir," I repeated, because I needed him to believe me. "I'm not them. I'm not gonna leave. You don't have to worry about that."

He didn't say anything right away. Instead, he just nodded, but I could see the doubt in his eyes. I could feel it in the way he wouldn't look at me for too long, like he was afraid if he did, I'd see right through him.

I wanted to kiss him again, just to show him how serious I was. But I also wanted him to come to me when he was ready, not when I was ready. I needed him to trust me. I needed him to know I was patient enough to wait.

"Isaiah..." Amir's voice was soft, but it was enough to get my attention. "You really mean it, don't you?"

"Mean what?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"That you're not going anywhere. That you'll stick around no matter how messed up I am."

I smiled, my heart tightening in my chest. "Yeah, I mean it. You're not messed up, Amir. You just... got a lot going on in your head. And I get it. I really do. But I'm not going anywhere."

His eyes met mine then, and for a second, I swear the world stopped. It was like time slowed down, and it was just the two of us, sitting on those steps, no fear, no walls between us. Just honesty.

And that, right there, felt like the first real step forward.