Honest
New York City — 1:12am
The apartment was too quiet.
That was the first thing Leah noticed after they walked inside.
No music.
No TV.
Just rain against the windows and tension sitting thick between them now that the adrenaline of the airport reunion had faded.
Leah stood awkwardly near the kitchen island while Elle moved around silently grabbing water bottles from the fridge.
And suddenly it hit her properly.
Elle was angry.
Not screaming angry.
Worse.
Hurt angry.
"You should sit down," Elle said quietly without looking at her.
Leah obeyed immediately.
Which honestly said enough by itself.
Elle handed her a bottle of water before sitting opposite her across the kitchen counter.
Neither spoke for a few seconds.
Leah's stomach twisted painfully.
Because now she was here—
actually here—
she realised flying to New York didn't magically erase what happened.
Grace still kissed her.
And Elle still had every right to be upset about it.
"I need you to tell me exactly what happened," Elle said finally.
Soft voice.
Steady.
That somehow made it harder.
Leah rubbed tiredly at her face.
"We were talking about Australia."
Elle nodded once silently.
"And Grace admitted she still had feelings."
Pain flickered across Elle's face immediately before she could hide it.
Leah noticed.
Of course she noticed.
"She kissed me," Leah continued quietly. "I stopped it straight away."
"But she still kissed you."
Not accusatory.
Just true.
Leah swallowed hard.
"Yeah."
Rain hammered softly against the windows while New York glowed outside in blurred gold lights.
The silence stretched too long.
Then Elle laughed quietly under her breath.
And somehow that sounded worse than if she'd shouted.
"I knew it."
Leah frowned immediately. "What?"
"She's always loved you."
The words landed heavily.
Because maybe part of Leah knew that too.
Or at least suspected it.
Which made everything feel worse somehow.
Elle looked down at the counter briefly before speaking again.
"You know what actually hurts?"
Leah stayed silent.
"That you let her become the person standing beside you while I was sitting in New York wondering why you stopped talking to me."
God.
That hit directly in Leah's chest.
Because she was right.
Leah closed her eyes briefly.
"It wasn't like that."
"Wasn't it?"
The hurt in Elle's voice cracked slightly now.
And suddenly the guilt became unbearable.
"I was falling apart in Australia," Leah admitted quietly.
"And instead of talking to me, you disappeared."
Leah looked down at her hands.
Because there was no defence for that.
No excuse.
Just fear and grief and emotional self-destruction wrapped up together.
Elle stood abruptly then, pacing toward the windows.
"You know how humiliating it felt seeing photos of you two everywhere while you barely answered my calls?"
Leah physically flinched.
Because she hadn't thought about it properly from Elle's side.
Not really.
She'd been too trapped inside her own heartbreak.
"I thought maybe you regretted us," Elle admitted softly.
That shattered something inside Leah immediately.
"What?"
Elle laughed weakly, arms folding tightly across her chest now.
"You stopped letting me in. You stopped talking about the future. Every conversation felt like you were halfway gone already."
"No."
The answer came instantly.
Firm.
Certain.
Leah stood too now.
"No, absolutely not."
Elle looked at her finally then.
Eyes glassy.
Tired.
"You don't get to act shocked, Leah. You emotionally vanished for weeks."
Silence.
Real silence.
Because again—
she was right.
Leah looked devastated suddenly.
"I didn't know how to let you watch me break."
The honesty in it cracked through the tension instantly.
Elle's expression softened slightly despite herself.
Leah stepped closer slowly.
"I hated every second of Australia."
Her voice shook now.
"I hated smiling through interviews. I hated watching from the stands. I hated feeling useless."
Tears burned suddenly behind her eyes but she kept going anyway.
"And the worst part was I started feeling like maybe you deserved someone less... damaged than me."
"Oh, Leah."
"No, listen."
Leah looked wrecked now.
Completely open emotionally in a way Elle rarely saw.
"When Grace kissed me it made me realise how badly I'd messed this up."
Her voice dropped quieter.
"Because all I felt was panic that I was losing you."
The apartment fell silent except for rain outside.
Elle looked at her for a long moment.
Then finally whispered—
"You really hurt me."
And somehow that landed harder than anything else tonight.
Not anger.
Not accusations.
Just truth.
Leah nodded immediately, eyes glassy now too.
"I know."
No defensiveness.
No excuses.
Just guilt.
And maybe that was what made this real.
Not dramatic betrayal.
Not cheating.
Just two people who loved each other deeply and still managed to wound each other anyway.
Elle looked exhausted suddenly.
Emotionally exhausted.
"I need you to stop shutting me out when things get hard."
Leah nodded once immediately.
"I'm trying."
"No," Elle whispered softly. "I need you to actually do it."
Silence settled between them again.
But this time it felt different.
Still painful.
Still unresolved.
But honest now.
Finally honest.