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POV Gabriel
The silence had become unbearable.
Lauren was giving me an accusatory look.
But I was no longer the one she was fighting.
It was the inevitable.
— Get out, Gabriel.
— No. He's not going anywhere, Mom.
Avery tried to sit up despite the pain.
— I told you to leave this room immediately, Gabriel, Lauren snapped, her voice louder.
— He's not going anywhere.
She painfully pushed herself upright.
I tried to help her, but she brushed my hand away.
— This doesn't concern you, Avery.
— Of course it does. It concerns me just as much as it concerns both of you.
A quiet anger crossed Lauren's face.
She was on the verge of breaking.
— Avery…
— Could you stop pretending nothing is happening?
— Get out, Gabriel, Lauren repeated, turning toward me.
— Don't act like you can't hear me! I have the right to know what's happening!
— Leave.
— I want to know what's happening to me!
— Get out of here! Lauren shouted at me.
— No! Avery shouted back. I almost died today!
— I know!
The response cracked through the room harder than expected.
Lauren closed her eyes for a second.
As if she already regretted it.
But Avery didn't back down.
— No. You don't know. You have absolutely no idea.
Her voice trembled, but she kept going.
— You don't know what it's like when your chest tightens because you can't breathe.
When your throat is crushed by… by I don't know what.
When fear paralyzes you.
When you feel life slipping out of your body.
Her eyes filled with tears.
— You have no idea, Mom.
A tear rolled down her cheek. She wiped it away immediately.
— You weren't there.
The blow hit hard.
Lauren nearly staggered.
Avery pointed at me.
— But he was.
He was there.
He saw everything.
Her voice broke.
— He saw me pinned against the wall.
Fighting to stay alive.
Resisting something I couldn't see.
Something I didn't understand.
Something I didn't know.
The silence became unbearable.
— So please… I'm begging you, Mom…
Her voice collapsed.
— Tell me what happened to me.
Tell me what's happening to us.
Everything in her was pleading.
Her voice.
Her eyes.
Her trembling hands.
And standing in front of her, Lauren was falling apart.
Tears streamed down her face without her seeming to realize it.
I had never seen Lauren like this.
Never.
And I understood that it was no longer a matter of secrets.
It was a matter of survival for her.
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Lauren lowered her head.
Her shoulders trembled.
For a second, I thought she was going to speak.
That she was finally going to give in.
But something closed off in her eyes.
A wall.
Stronger than all the others before it.
She wiped away her tears with a sharp motion.
— That's enough.
Her voice had turned cold again.
Controlled.
Avery stared at her in disbelief.
— No… no, don't do this.
Lauren took a step back.
— You're exhausted. You've been through a shock.
We'll talk about all this later.
Later.
The word fell like a sentence.
— Mom…
Avery no longer had the strength to shout.
Only to beg.
Lauren avoided her gaze.
Again.
Always.
Then she walked toward the door.
— I will not accept losing someone again.
The sentence slipped through the room like a confession she had never meant to make.
Avery froze.
Lose… someone again?
But Lauren didn't turn around.
The door closed.
And the silence was worse than the screaming.
Avery remained motionless, her eyes shining, unable to speak.
I saw understanding begin to form.
Something had broken between them.
I walked out as well.
Not to obey.
To follow her.
I found her in the hallway, leaning against the wall, her breathing unsteady.
— You can't keep going like this, Lauren.
She didn't look at me.
— I'm doing what I have to do.
— No. You're doing what you think you have to do.
Her jaw tightened.
— I will not accept losing someone again.
This time, her voice broke.
I stepped closer.
— And if you keep hiding the truth from them… you risk losing everything.
She finally looked up at me.
And in her eyes, there was no more anger.
Only terror.
Pure terror.
The hallway was drowned in thick darkness.
The light above us flickered.
— Do you really think silence is going to protect her? I asked more quietly.
She closed her eyes.
— You don't understand.
— Then explain it to me.
A short laugh, devoid of joy.
— If I speak… everything will become real.
— It already is.
She shook her head.
— No. As long as it stays in the shadows… I still have control.
The word echoed.
Control.
— You saw her. You saw what's happening.
— Yes.
A whisper.
— It was the beginning.
A chill ran through me.
— The beginning of what, Lauren?
She hesitated.
One second.
Too long.
— Of what I've always feared.
Silence.
— You knew this would happen?
She looked away.
— I knew it was possible.
— But you decided not to tell her anything?
— Because knowing wouldn't stop any of it!
Her voice rose, then fell again.
— I always wanted my children to have a normal life.
The life I never had.
She inhaled slowly.
— So they could grow up.
So they could become strong enough.
So they would never go through what I went through.
I looked at her for a long moment.
I didn't blame her.
I pitied her.
— A normal life built on lies?
Her fingers tightened along her arms.
— It's not a lie.
— Then what is it?
She hesitated. One heartbeat.
— A dream…
— Or a delay, I said softly.
She looked at me as though searching for confirmation.
Her shining eyes, reddened with emotion, begged me to understand.
I knew no words would ever be enough.
The truth was too heavy, too close, ready to burst open.
Silence fell again, heavier than ever.
Between us, an invisible cord vibrated under the weight of everything that had been left unsaid.
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