Chapter 9 Chapter 9

Chapter 9 Chapter 9

Myla’s POV

My feet refused to finish the step forward, just hanging till I brought it back.

The words stayed in the air between us.

Heavy and nearly mistakable.

I didn’t move at first, didn’t even breathe properly. Cause something about the way he said it—

It wasn’t casual, it wasn’t dismissive like before, and it wasn’t even defensive.

It was… certain. Like he knew exactly what he was talking about.

Slowly, I turned fully toward him and he was already looking at me. Like more than he had ever done.

He was staring at me like there was someone else behind me .

And for a second, I didn’t know what to do with that. Not till I found my voice again

“What do you mean?” I asked quietly with my voice sounding smaller now, like I wasn’t sure if I should even be asking.

He didn’t answer immediately. His gaze just shifted slightly, not away from me, but not fully holding mine either.

Like he was thinking, or deciding.

The silence stretched. But this time—

It didn’t feel empty. It felt like something was building inside it.

Then he exhaled slowly. “I have nowhere to go back to,” he said just like that.

No build-up.

No warning.

Just dropped them over me and they hit harder than I expected.

I pulled my brows together slightly. “What do you mean?” I murmured even though I had an idea.

His jaw tightened faintly before relaxing again.

“My parents died when I was younger,” he continued, his voice still low, still steady.

No emotion.

Or maybe—

Too much of it buried too deep to show.

“I moved around after that,” he continued, then paused.

“Different houses. Different people,” he added and let out a quiet breath through his nose. “None of them stuck.”

I didn’t say anything, didn’t interrupt. Cause I had this heavy feeling that if I did, he might stop.

“They weren’t bad people,” he added after a moment. “Not really.”

My eyes stayed on him.

“But they weren’t…”

He trailed off slightly, dropping his gaze for the first time and adding, “mine.”

The last word slipped past his lips so softly I had to strain to get it.

But when I did, I felt a heavy weight pressing down on my chest, tightening my insides.

“They fed me. Gave me a place to sleep,” he continued. “That was enough for them.”

A small pause.

“But was never enough for me.”

Silence followed. But it wasn’t uncomfortable any longer.

“I stopped expecting anything after a while,” he said. “It was easier that way.”

His voice didn’t change, still calm, still controlled. But now—

I could hear the wavering touch beneath it, the part he didn't look to let out often.

“They didn’t look at me like I belonged there,” he added. “Just… someone passing through.”

My fingers curled slightly against my palm cause that felt oddly too familiar.

“I learned it was best not to stay there long,” he went on. “I didn’t see the point anyway.”

A pause.

“I never saw the point in trying either.”

His gaze lifted again back to me, locking with my eyes steadily.

“At some point, you just get used to it,” he practically whispered.

And the words echoed around me.

I gulped hard, struggling to remain on two feet cause he had just taken everything I said and mirrored it.

But not in the same..But close enough that it didn’t feel like a coincidence.

“Yeah,” I whispered.

For a moment, neither of us spoke and I didn't even know when I rejoined him on the bench.

Then we just sat there. Two people in the dark, saying nothing but understanding more than words could explain too.

“I came here cause there was nowhere else,” Blake added after a while.

No hesitation this time. No resistance.

“They said this place takes people like us,” he added and pressed his lips together into a thin line. “I never asked what that meant,” he added and a faint breath left his lips like a laugh.

“I never cared enough to ask.”

My chest tightened again.

People like us?

I shifted slightly on the bench, turning more towards him without even realizing it.

“So you just… stayed?” I asked softly and he shrugged once, barely noticeable.

“I’m still here.”

That was his answer.

Simple and final. But it said enough.

I nodded slowly with my gaze dropping briefly before lifting again.

“I think,” I hesitated, then let out a small breath. “I think that’s why I'm here too.”

The words felt different now, lighter. Like I didn’t have to force them out anymore.

“I didn’t really have anywhere else to go either anyway,” I added with a little chuckle.

And Blake didn’t interrupt, didn’t question anything. He just listened.

And that got me talking. “I thought coming here would fix something,” I admitted quietly. “Or at least… change something.”

A faint, humorless smile touched my lips. “It didn’t,” I added, then paused. “Not yet, anyway.”

Silence settled again warmly as we were both sitting in the same space now.

Not separate. Not distant.

Just, there.

“I don’t think it’s about fixing anything,” Blake said after a moment.

And I looked at him.

His gaze was firm again. “It’s just somewhere to live your life.”

The words were simple. But they made something in me go stuff.

Cause for the first time since I got here, that idea didn’t feel wrong.

It didn’t feel like some other failure, and somehow, that made it easier to breathe.

We sat there for a while after that.

No rush.

No pressure.

Just enjoying the silence and darkness between us.

The kind of silence that didn’t demand anything. That didn’t expect anything.

And for a good part of it, I didn’t feel like I had to fill it.

After a while, Blake shifted a bit, then leaned forward slightly, resting his arms against his knees.

Then stood up at once, just like that.

No warning.

No build-up.

I blinked with my body reacting a second too late as I straightened slightly.

“Oh—” I started, not even sure what I was going to say.

He didn’t look at me immediately, didn’t speak.

For a second, I thought—

That was it. That he was just going to walk away.

Like nothing had happened. Like this—

Whatever this was—

Didn’t matter.

But he didn't, he finally glanced down at me. And his expression had shifted to the guy I knew, the one I saw at the hall.

“This doesn’t change anything,” he said and I pulled my brows together immediately.

“What?”

His gaze held mine for a second longer. “Tomorrow,” he continued. “We go back to not talking,” he added flatly.

But they didn’t sting the way they should have, cause somehow—

I understood.

He wasn’t pushing me away.

He was maybe protecting something. Or maybe protecting himself.

I let out a breath quietly, nodding once. “Okay.”

It came out softer than I expected. But it was honest.

Cause I wasn’t asking for more. Not from him. Not right now.

Blake held my gaze for a second longer.

Then turned and started walking away.

Just like that, no hesitation. No looking back.

I watched him go with my eyes following his figure as it disappeared deeper into the darkness till he was gone.

And just like that, it was quiet again. But not the same kind of quiet.

I stayed where I was as my body felt stiff. My thoughts weren't, cause something had just happened.

Something I didn’t fully understand yet.

But I could feel it. That shift. That moment.
That connection.

I let out a slow breath, leaning back slightly as my gaze lifted towards the ceiling.

“That just happened,” I murmured to myself.

It sounded strange out loud, unreal. But it wasn’t, it actually happened.

Every word of it.

Every second.

I brought my hands together loosely in my lap, staring ahead again.

And for the first time since I got here, I didn’t feel completely out of place.

Not entirely.

Not anymore.

Cause now I knew, somewhere in this place, there was at least one person who understood.

Even if it doesn't change anything tomorrow.

Even if we never spoke again.

Tonight, it was real.

And somehow—

That was enough.