Chapter 31
Aro
The hallway feels too long. Or maybe it’s just the silence stretching between the three of us.
I stop outside the unused guest suite that Sean ditched ages ago to crash with me instead.
“In here.”
They follow, and the door clicks shut behind us. I move to the small sitting area and sink into the armchair, leaving the couch open for them.
For a moment, no one speaks. We just stare. It’s surreal, seeing them again. Both of them. A part of me wished for this for so long, but now that it’s happening… I don’t know what to say. What to do. Where to begin.
Axel breaks the silence.
“So, this is the part where you explain what the hell is going on,” he says—not to me, but to Nik. His brow lifts, but there’s no amusement in it.
Nik rolls his eyes, leaning back into the couch. “It’s like Johnny said. We’ve decided to combine resources and work together. It’s strategy. Nothing more.”
Axel scoffs. “There’s always more when it comes to Johnny.”
Nik shoots him a sharp look. “Don’t start.”
Watching them bicker is... confusing. Not just because it’s tense, but because I can’t read it.
I can’t pin down their relationship. Are they still friends?
Still together? Their words are barbed, but something in the way they sit, the space they don’t put between them.
.. it's electric. Familiar. And it makes me question everything.
Axel exhales sharply, leaning forward, resting his forearms on his knees. Then he turns to me. His eyes land with force. That deep, unwavering gaze that used to undo me without a single word.
“I forgot how easily you could see me,” I say softly, before I even realize I’m thinking it.
“I never stopped,” he replies, just as quiet. “Even when you weren’t looking.”
Nik doesn't move, but I feel him watching me. Watching us. And I’m caught in the pull of two different kinds of gravity. The silence stretches again, heavier this time. There’s too much in it. Unspoken things. History. Hurt.
Finally, I break it. “So, are you two still… together?”
Nik’s jaw flexes, while Axel looks at me like the question physically stung.
Nik answers, plain and direct. “Yes.”
Axel nods beside him. “We never broke up. We just… broke.”
I stare at them. My breath catches.
“You’re still…” I trail off. Still what? Lovers? Partners? Home? I don’t even know anymore. But they nod. Warmth blooms in my chest for them. Even when we were young and na?ve, I knew what they shared was special.
Axel leans forward. “Look, we didn’t come here to argue about the past. We came because we never stopped thinking about you. Wondering about you. Wanting to know the woman you became.”
Their eyes meet. Something unspoken communicated between them.
Nik turns to me fully. “We were kids back then. Now? We want to get to know you again. As adults.”
I should be careful. Or cynical. Or something more guarded than this ache rising in my throat.
Instead, I whisper, “I saw you.”
They both look confused. Of course they do.
“Once. At UT,” I clarify. “It was years ago. You were on campus, and you were with… some girl. Blonde. Tiny. She was laughing, touching Axel’s chest, and you—” I glance at Nik, “—you kissed her. Both of you. Right there in the quad. It was like I didn’t exist anymore.”
It comes out sounding more accusatory than I mean it too, but fuck it. It was painful. It’s still painful.
Their eyes widen.
“I don’t think you saw me,” I continue. “But I saw you. And I know I had no right to feel anything. We were already over. I left. I disappeared. But it—” My voice cracks. “It still hurt.”
Just like that, the dam breaks. Tears rise and spill, and I can’t stop them. My arms cross tight over my chest like I can hold myself together if I just try hard enough.
“I’ve never said it out loud,” I whisper. “But it broke me, seeing that. I told myself I didn’t care. That I was better off. But I did. I cared. So much.”
There’s no immediate response. Just the heavy quiet around us.
Then, they move. Axel’s arms come around me pulling me out of the chair. A second later, Nik joins. There’s no hesitation, no awkwardness, just them. The familiar weight of both of them holding me like I’m something worth keeping.
Axel speaks into my hair. “No one ever took your place.”
Nik’s voice is low. “No one ever came close.”
I want to argue. Want to shield the parts of me that still feel fragile, but I can’t. I bury my face in Axel’s chest and breathe him in. It’s like I’ve been underwater for years and just found air.
They don’t rush me. They don’t try to fix it. They just hold me and let me cry.
Eventually, I pull back, wiping my eyes.
“I don’t know what this means,” I admit. “Or what happens now.”
Nik nods. “That’s okay. We’re not asking for answers. Just… a chance.”
Axel runs a knuckle over my cheek, catching a tear. “Can we do that? Start over. Try again?”
I nod slowly. “Yeah. We can try. I want to try. I want to know you.”
“And we want to know you,” Nik murmurs from behind, arms still wrapped around my waist.
∞∞∞
I leave them and find Sean, sitting on my bed waiting for me, legs stretched out like he owns the place. Which, honestly, he kind of does.
He looks up as I walk in. “Well? Are we declaring war or peace?”
I drop down beside him, exhausted. “Neither. Ceasefire, for now.”
He raises an eyebrow. “That sounds like feelings happened.”
I groan and let my head fall back against the headboard. “They want to get to know me again. As adults.”
Sean nods slowly. “And?”
“And I… may have cried.”
“Oh shit.” He sits up straighter. “You cried? Real tears?”
I shoot him a look. “Don’t make it a thing.”
He throws up his hands. “Hey, I’m proud of you. You never cry. You bottle that shit up like vintage wine.”
I laugh a little, surprised by the sound of it.
He leans his head against mine. “You okay?” he asks gently.
I think about Nik’s arms. Axel’s voice. The truth they gave me. The weight I’ve carried for years that finally feels a little lighter.
“Yeah,” I whisper. “I think so. I want to be.”
“Perfect.” He pulls us down into the bed and wraps me in his arms, spooning me. “Let me know what I can do to help, Baby.”
I pull the covers over us.
“Just keep doing what you’re doing. Just keep holding me.”