Love Me Justly

Part IX

Part IX

Trigger warning for mentioned SA

Adla was waiting for Aiden. They had agreed to meet up after his shift, and while the young woman had been to her best friend's apartment many times, she had never felt this anxious. After receiving his message questioning her relationship with Leah, Adla had avoided an answer via text. Hence, the meeting was in person.

She was determined to tell him the truth, no matter how fearful she felt. Until now, Adla didn't have to lie. It had been an omission. But no longer.

Aiden entered the living room, handing Adla one cup of coffee before sitting with his own. Adla noticed her hands trembling as she tried to take a sip. Carefully setting the cup down, the tension between them was palpable. It was an uncommon feeling for them. Neither said a word for a few seconds before Adla decided to speak up.

"I know this is awkward, and I've been distant lately," she admitted. "The truth is...I didn't know how to tell you, which is odd because I'm used to telling you everything."

"What changed?" Aiden asked cautiously.

"There are some things in my life that I had to figure out for myself before I was ready to share them," Adla replied as calmly as she could. "And one of those things was my relationship with Leah," she continued while her voice began shaking. "I was...very confused and scared because I had developed feelings for her that weren't platonic. Both of us were unsure of what it meant for a while. And I didn't want to involve you in that mess."

Adla took a very deep breath to center herself. It didn't work, but it was worth a try anyway. The whole time she spoke, her eyes were fixated on the coffee table, unable to look her best friend in the eye. She feared his reaction, although he had never given her a reason to. It was a deep-seated fear of abandonment and judgment that had nothing to do with Aiden. Possibly losing one of the most important people in her life was too scary to face, but the policewoman did her best.

"Is that why you didn't want to continue dating me?" Aiden questioned since Adla hadn't said anything more.

"Yes and no," Adla responded quietly before carefully looking up and meeting the dark-brown eyes. "My feelings for Leah are the biggest reason, but I was also scared of what might happen to our friendship if things didn't work out romantically. I think...a part of me couldn't get past that fear because your friendship is more important to me than you might realize."

Adla noticed Aiden's expression change. There was disappointment but understanding. He nodded softly, clearly letting everything sink in. Seeing his reaction, Adla felt guilty for even thinking less of him. He had been there for her unconditionally, and while she wasn't forthcoming with her feelings, one of the biggest changes during her time with Leah had been Adla's increased effort to open up.

Looking at her best friend, she was reminded of many instances where he had supported her. The most important one for her, he didn't even realize. Inhaling deeply to calm down, Adla decided to take things deeper than she had ever gone with him or anyone. She felt like it was the right time and began speaking softly.

"Remember that one summer when I went to Italy with my family," she began and saw Aiden's surprised expression at the sudden change of conversation.

"Yeah," he replied.

"The next summer, my family wanted to go back, but I didn't want to," Adla's voice grew unsteady while nervously playing with her fingers. "The reason why I didn't want to go back was..." The brunette woman cleared her throat in an attempt to sound more stable. "Uhm...an extended family member did something inappropriate to me when we were in Italy," she revealed and saw Aiden's whole demeanor change.