Silently Falling

Chapter Twenty Nine (Edited 12/14/2020)

12/14/2020 - Got another 93% on my second finals so I'm feeling good :) This chapter is entirely rewritten, so please get those inline comments back up! Have fun reading hehe

Also, thank you TikTokQueenzzz for the cover!

Silently Falling: Chapter Twenty Nine

Everything goes silent as I stare at West. I no longer hear the rain outside or the dull roar of the heat turning on. Instead, all I hear are West's words on repeat in my mind.

He knew. He knew this entire time.

My thoughts flash to that day in the hallway the other week; when West pinned Warren against the lockers after Warren mocked me for being mute. They were speaking so quietly to one another and I was too scared of Warren to step forward and listen. I had no clue what they were talking about, no one did. I believed West when he later said that he was threatening Warren with whatever tire information he got from juvie, and West made my heart flutter when he admitted that part of his actions was payback for the stunt Warren had pulled when West drove me and Alyse home from the library.

But that was nothing but a lie. West wasn't angry that Warren nearly hit us and he wasn't threatening Warren with some information about how to get away with slashing tires. He was angry that Warren knew how he got sent to juvie, and he was using my secret, my greatest nightmare, to give himself the upper-hand.

A clap of thunder pulls me out of my thoughts and back into the living room with West, but the room now feels smaller, like the walls are closing in. It suddenly feels like West is sitting way too close to me as his guilty eyes bore into me. My heart begins to thud faster as I stare at him, anger and betrayal seeping into my veins. I start to back away from West, finally breaking eye contact as tears blur my vision. They burn the back of my throat as I force them away. I can't let them fall. I can't let him see how weak I am. Not anymore.

"Raine, you have to understand that I never meant to-"

I snap my icy gaze to his and he cuts himself off, his own eyes starting to become glossy with emotion.

"You knew this entire time why I'm not able to talk. Why I'm afraid of parties. Why I only trust my closest friends, and then you forced your way into my heart to gain my trust, too, and the whole time you knew my deepest secret. Was I some charity case to you?"

"No! Raine, I wanted to get to know you way before I found out what Warren did to you. I started to care about you the moment we met, and all I knew at that point was that you intrigued me and I wanted to get to know you better. Learning about your past had nothing to do with my feelings for you. It has nothing to do with my feelings for you."

I want to believe him, I want to trust him, but now I can't. Not after this.

"So you've never felt the need to protect me because of what you learned?"

West furrows his brow. "Of course I've felt the need to protect you. To make sure he never hurts you-"

"That's my point!" I sign quickly, cutting him off. "I never wanted you to know because it paints me in a different light, you saw me as a girl that needed saving."

"Not as a girl who needed saving, Raine. It only made me see how strong you are. I told you, I wanted to get to know you the minute I met you and I didn't know then."

I shake my head, unable to believe him no matter how badly I want to.

"You knew that there was some court case surrounding Warren. The day you and I met he came to our table and you could tell we all hated him. You mean to tell me you had no suspicions of that?"