Chapter 45 SHAKEN TRUST
Alex
Elias answered Katie’s call on the speaker.
“What did he say to you?” Elias asked immediately.
“Nothing that made sense. He called asking if you were happy. If you’d really moved on. If Alex was treating you well.” Katie’s voice was sharp. Angry. “I told him to lose my number and never contact our family again.”
“He’s been harassing us,” Elias said. “Texting from different numbers. He called Alex yesterday. Sent screenshots of our conversation to try to cause problems.”
“Jesus. That’s insane. Do you need me to do something? I can call him. Tell him to back off.”
“No. Don’t engage with him. That’s what he wants.”
“Then what are you going to do?”
“Change my number. Block everything. Hope he gets bored and moves on.”
After Katie hung up, Elias sat on the couch. Head in his hands. Shoulders tense.
Alex sat next to him. Not touching. The space between them felt necessary somehow.
“I’m sorry,” Elias said. “I never thought he’d do this. He was never like this when we were together.”
“What was he like?”
“Controlling. Critical. But not stalker-level crazy.”
“What changed?”
“I don’t know. Maybe me leaving. Maybe hearing I stayed for someone else. Maybe he can’t stand that I’m happy without him.”
Alex’s phone buzzed. He looked at it. Unknown number.
Unknown: You should ask Elias about the real reason we broke up. Ask him what he did.
Alex showed Elias the message. “What is he talking about?”
“I have no idea.”
“Elias.”
“I don’t. We broke up because he said I was too much. That loving me was exhausting. That was it.”
Another text came through.
Unknown: He cheated. Did he tell you that? Or is he keeping that secret too?
Alex’s hands started shaking. “Did you?”
“Did I what?”
“Cheat. On Carter. Is that why you broke up?”
Elias’s face went pale. “No. Absolutely not. I would never.”
“Then why is he saying that?”
“Because he’s trying to destroy us. Because he wants you to doubt me.”
“Is it working?”
Elias looked at him. “Is it?”
Alex didn’t know. Didn’t know what to believe anymore. Carter was clearly unhinged. But the messages kept coming. Kept poking at every insecurity Alex had.
“I need space,” Alex said.
“What?”
“I need space. To think. To process all of this.”
“Alex, please don’t do this.”
“I’m not doing anything. I just need time alone.”
“We live together now. Where are you going to go?”
“The library. Campus. Anywhere that’s not here.”
Alex grabbed his jacket. Elias stood up.
“Don’t leave like this,” Elias said.
“I have to. If I stay, we’re just going to keep fighting.”
“So we fight. That’s better than you leaving.”
“Is it? Because I don’t feel like fighting right now. I feel like screaming or crying or breaking something.”
“Then do that. Here. With me. Don’t run away.”
“I’m not running away. I’m taking space so I don’t say something I’ll regret.”
Alex walked to the door. Elias followed.
“How long?” Elias asked.
“I don’t know. A few hours. Maybe the day.”
“And then what? You come back and we pretend this didn’t happen?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t thought that far ahead.”
“Alex. Please. Don’t let Carter win.”
“This isn’t about Carter. This is about us. About trust. About you lying to me and me not knowing what’s real anymore.”
“I told you what’s real. I love you. That’s real.”
“Is it? Because right now it feels like I’m living with a stranger.”
The words hit like a slap. Elias stepped back. His face went carefully blank.
“Okay,” Elias said quietly. “Go. Take your space. I’ll be here when you’re ready to talk.”
Alex left before he could change his mind. Down the stairs. Out into the August heat. His chest felt like it was splitting open.
He walked to campus. To the library. Third floor. Their spot by the window.
Sat there for an hour staring at nothing.
His phone buzzed constantly. Elias is checking in. Carter is sending more poison. Des asked what was wrong.
Alex ignored all of it.
At noon, Sana found him.
“Des told me you were here,” she said, sitting down. “What happened?”
Alex told her everything. The messages. The lies. The fight. The space he needed.
“Okay,” Sana said when he finished. “First, Carter is clearly unhinged. Second, Elias should have told you about the texts. But third, you need to decide if you trust him or not.”
“How am I supposed to trust him when he keeps lying?”
“He lied about one thing. To protect you. Was it stupid? Yes. But was it malicious? No.”
“It doesn’t feel that simple.”
“It never does. But Alex, you moved in with him. You built a life together. You can’t throw that away because his psycho ex is sending messages.”
“What if Carter’s telling the truth? What if Elias did cheat?”
“Do you really believe that?”
Alex thought about it. About Elias’s face when Carter had accused him. About the way he’d looked genuinely confused.
“No,” Alex admitted. “I don’t think he cheated. But I don’t know what to believe anymore.”
“Then go home. Talk to him. Get the whole story instead of sitting here spiraling.”
“I told him I needed space.”
“And you took it. Now go back.”
Alex walked back to the apartment slowly. His stomach is in knots. His hands are shaking.
Inside, Elias was on the couch. Staring at his laptop but not typing. His eyes were red.
“Hi,” Alex said.
Elias looked up. “Hi. You came back.”
“I said I would.”
“I wasn’t sure you meant it.”
Alex sat in the chair across from him. Not on the couch. Still needing distance.
“I talked to Sana,” Alex said.
“What did she say?”
“That I need to decide if I trust you or not.”
“Do you?”
“I want to. But I’m scared.”
“Of what?”
“That there’s more you’re not telling me. That Carter’s messages have some truth in them. That I’m going to get hurt.”
“There’s nothing else. I told you everything. And Carter is lying. About all of it.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I was there. I know what happened in that relationship. And it wasn’t cheating. It was me being exhausting and him being cruel about it.”
Alex was quiet. Then: “I need you to be completely honest with me. About everything. No more protecting me. No more lies.”
“Okay. What do you want to know?”
“Why did you really break up with Carter?”
Elias set down his laptop. “He told me I was too intense. That I needed too much attention. That loving me felt like work. So he left. Packed his stuff while I was in class and just disappeared. Left a note saying he couldn’t do it anymore.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it. No cheating. No drama. Just him deciding I wasn’t worth the effort.”
“And you believed him? That you were too much?”
“Yeah. I did. Until you. Until you made me feel like loving me wasn’t a burden.”
Alex’s throat felt tight. “I don’t think you’re too much.”
“I know. That’s why I’m so scared of losing you.”
They sat in heavy silence. The apartment felt different now. Less like home and more like a place where they were both just existing.
“I don’t want to lose you either,” Alex said. “But I can’t do this if you’re going to keep things from me.”
“I won’t. I promise. No more secrets.”
“Even when you think it’ll hurt me?”
“Even then. Especially then.”
Alex finally moved to the couch. Sat next to Elias but not touching yet.
“We need to figure out how to deal with Carter,” Alex said.
“I know. Changing my number is a start. But I don’t know what else to do.”
“We could get a restraining order.”
“Based on what? Annoying texts? That’s not enough.”
Alex’s phone buzzed. Another unknown number.
Unknown: Ask him about the night I left. Ask him who he called crying. Ask him if he begged me to come back.
Alex showed Elias. “Did you? Beg him to come back?”
Elias’s jaw tightened. “Yes. Once. The day after he left. I called him crying and asked him to reconsider. He said no. I never contacted him again after that.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because it’s humiliating. Because I hate that I was that weak.”
“That’s not weak. That’s human.”
“It felt weak.”
Another message came through.
Unknown: He still loves me. He just won’t admit it. Give it time. He’ll come back. They always do.
Alex looked at Elias. “Do you still love him?”
“No. I hate him for what he’s doing to us. But I don’t love him.
But as they sat there, both exhausted and scared, Alex’s phone rang.
Blocked number.
He answered without thinking. “Stop calling me.”
“Is this Alex?” A different voice. Female. Familiar somehow.
“Who is this?”
“This is Professor Hartley. From the English department. We need to talk about Elias.“