The next morning, Aria woke up with a sense of quiet unease. She didn't want to admit it, but the feelings she had been trying to bury over the past few weeks were beginning to rise again. The space between her and Elias felt… different now, more fragile than ever. They had started to rebuild something, but there were cracks, small but significant, threatening to break it all apart.
As she made her coffee, her eyes flickered to the clock. It was getting late, and Eli would need to leave for school soon. The rhythm of their days had become predictable, comforting in its way, but Aria couldn't shake the nagging feeling that she was standing on the edge of something she wasn't sure she could handle.
Elias was already at the table, as he had been most mornings. It was still a little strange to see him there, a quiet presence in her kitchen. He had been showing up early every day, without fail, but it wasn't just for Eli. It was for her, too. She knew that. But she wasn't sure if she was ready to face whatever it was they were trying to rebuild.
"Good morning," she said softly, breaking the silence between them.
Elias looked up, his expression warm but cautious. "Morning."
Eli came running into the kitchen then, still in his pajamas, his hair a mess from sleep. "Mama! Daddy said we could play soccer today!"
"Did he now?" Aria said, her voice amused.
Elias smiled, ruffling Eli's hair. "I did. We'll head out after breakfast."
Aria nodded and poured Eli's cereal. She could feel Elias's gaze on her, but she didn't meet it. Not yet. There was too much left unsaid between them, too much that still hung in the air. She didn't know if she was ready to open that door again, even if Elias was standing there, waiting for her to turn the knob.
Eli chattered on about his plans for the day, excited about the soccer game they would play later, but Aria's mind wandered. She thought about the conversation they'd had in the park the other day, and how Elias had opened up about wanting to prove himself to her. It had been a moment of raw honesty, but it hadn't been enough. Not yet.
As the morning dragged on, Aria felt the weight of the words she hadn't spoken, the words that were slowly building up inside her. She wasn't sure how to say them, but she knew they couldn't remain unspoken forever. The last few months had been about small moments, the slow rebuilding of trust, but now she was faced with the reality that it wasn't enough just to show up. She needed more.
After breakfast, Elias stood up, ready to go. "Let's get going, buddy. You ready?"
Eli bounced on his heels. "Yes!"
Aria watched them for a moment, the knot in her chest tightening. There was a part of her that wanted to keep it simple, to let Elias come and go as he pleased, to avoid the complexity of confronting the unspoken tension between them. But she knew that wouldn't work. Not for her. Not for them.
"I'll be right here when you get back," Aria said, forcing a smile.
Elias paused as if considering her words, but he didn't say anything. He simply nodded and walked toward the door with Eli, both of them full of energy and excitement. As they left, the sound of their laughter echoed in the hallway, and Aria was left standing in the quiet.
For a few moments, she just stood there, staring at the door. The silence was deafening, and the words she had been holding back felt like they were clawing their way to the surface.
She took a deep breath and grabbed her phone, typing out a message to her sister, Lila.
Aria: Can we talk today? I need some advice.
Lila replied almost immediately.
Lila: Of course. You know I'm always here. What's going on?
Aria: It's about Elias… and me. I don't know where we're headed, and I'm not sure I can keep pretending everything's fine.
Lila's response came in a flurry.
Lila: You don't have to pretend, Aria. If it's too much, it's okay to step back. Just take a deep breath, okay?
Aria let out a slow exhale, feeling a little lighter. She wasn't sure if she was ready to have the conversation with Elias just yet, but talking to Lila had helped her gain a little clarity. She knew it wouldn't be easy, but it was time to stop pretending.
When Elias and Eli returned later, there was a lightness in their step, a sense of joy that only a game of soccer could bring. Eli rushed inside, his face flushed and sweaty from running around.
"Mama! I beat Daddy! He was too slow!"
Elias followed behind, shaking his head in mock frustration. "I let him win," he said with a grin.
Aria chuckled. "Sure you did."
Eli bounced over to her, tugging at her sleeve. "You should've seen it, Mama! I kicked the ball so hard!"
"That's awesome, buddy," she said, tousling his hair.
Elias lingered by the door, looking at her with an unreadable expression. For a moment, neither of them spoke. The tension was back, thick and heavy, like a wall that neither of them knew how to scale.
Aria broke the silence. "Elias…"
He looked up at her, his expression softening. "Yeah?"
"I think we need to talk."
The words hung between them, charged with so much unspoken emotion. Elias didn't move, but his eyes darkened, as if bracing for something he knew was coming but had been avoiding.
"About what?" he asked, his voice steady but laced with an underlying tension.
Aria hesitated, unsure how to start. "About us. About what we're doing here. I don't want to keep pretending everything's fine when I'm not sure if it is."
Eli ran off to his room, sensing the shift in the air. Elias waited, his gaze never leaving Aria's.
"I'm here, Aria," he said quietly. "I'm here, and I want to make this work. But I need to know that you're with me too. That you're not just doing this because of Eli."
Her breath caught in her throat. "I don't know what I'm doing, Elias. I don't know if I can give you what you're asking for. I'm scared."
"Scared of what?" he pressed gently.
"I'm scared of getting hurt again. Of making the same mistakes."
Elias stepped closer, his voice lowering. "I'm not asking you to let go of your fears, Aria. I'm asking you to trust me. Slowly. One day at a time."
Her heart pounded in her chest. "I don't know if I can, Elias. I don't know if I can go through it again."
He reached out, his hand hovering near hers but not quite touching. "Then let me prove it to you. Let me show you that I'm not going anywhere. That we don't have to be perfect. We just have to try."
Aria felt the walls she had built up inside her crack, just a little. Maybe this was the first step toward something new, something different. But she wasn't sure if she was ready to take it.
"Can we try?" Elias asked softly.
She looked at him, her heart in her throat. "I don't know. But I'll try."