The Secrets Between Us | ✓

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Icarus had been avoiding Anaya, taking refuge on the floor above hers in a desperate attempt to escape the emotional entanglement that threatened to consume him. His behavior cut through her, but she believed that giving him space was the right thing to do.

Well, no more.

After five days of unbearable silence, she decided that she at least deserved the chance to explain herself. Or maybe she just needed to see him and hear his voice to calm her anxious heart. She knew it was her fault for keeping secrets, but she had been searching for the right moment, which never came and here they were.

She hesitated for what felt like an eternity before finally mustering the courage to knock on his door. The sound echoed like a thunderbolt in the quiet hallway, but there was no response from him. She twisted the handle left and right, hoping the noise would drag him toward her out of sheer annoyance. She was ready to bear his anger but she couldn't afford the silent treatment a minute longer. "Come on, Icarus." To her surprise, the door creaked open, letting her enter the room.

Darkness greeted her along with an eerie stillness, instilling her with discomfort. She reached for the light switch. As the room flooded with light, her heart plummeted to her stomach.

There, lying on the floor, was Icarus. She knelt beside him and shook his shoulders, but he remained motionless and cold.

"No, no, no," she cried out, tears streaming down her face. She clung to him, hoping for any sign of life in his still form. "Please don't leave me."

Her mind went haywire, replaying every moment they had spent together, every laugh, every smile, every touch. She couldn't imagine never experiencing those again.

She caressed his face, his features so familiar and yet so foreign.

"What are you doing?"

She jolted out of her grief-stricken daze and turned around, blinking through the curtain of tears that clouded her vision. A disheveled Icarus stood by the door, his eyes tracing her with deep concern. She opened and closed her mouth, unable to find the words to explain what just happened, before standing up and flinging her arms around him.

"You...I thought..." She couldn't stop the sobs that broke through her, both from fear and relief, making her almost incoherent.

He wrapped her in his embrace, holding her close to him. He could feel her shaking against him, still reeling from the shock of her hallucination. "Shh, I'm here," he whispered in a reassuring voice, running his fingers through her hair. She buried her face in his chest and closed her eyes. His touch made her feel alive like being cocooned in a warm blanket on a wintery night, driving away the chill that had been creeping up her spine.

She pulled away and wiped her cheeks with the back of her hands. "Can you please let me explain?"

He nodded and settled on the bed, giving her his undivided attention.