Rafa's POV:
The house was quiet.
Too quiet.
No shouting.
No footsteps.
No chaos.
Just silence.
I dropped my bag by the door, the sound echoing through the hallway.
Yeah.
This was my life now.
Well—
it always had been.
Just… no one knew.
The place was huge.
Way too big for one person.
High ceilings.
Glass windows.
Rooms I didn't even use.
Most people would call it perfect.
I didn't.
I kicked off my shoes and walked further inside, my footsteps the only sound.
No parents.
No family.
Not anymore.
I left that behind.
A long time ago.
And I wasn't going back.
Ever.
I let out a slow breath and dropped onto the couch, staring up at the ceiling.
Three days.
Three days of this.
Alone.
Again.
My phone buzzed.
I glanced at it.
📩 Felix
I hesitated.
Then opened it.
"You alive?"
I let out a small breath.
Of course that's what he'd say.
I typed back.
"Barely."
A second later—
📩 Felix
"Dramatic."
I almost smiled.
Almost.
"You got suspended too, by the way?" I typed.
📩 Felix
"Worth it."
I shook my head slightly.
Of course.
I leaned back, staring at the ceiling again.
"…idiot," I muttered quietly.
But I didn't sound annoyed.
Not really.
Another message came in.
📩 Felix
"What are you doing?"
I looked around.
At the empty house.
At the silence.
At everything.
Then typed—
"Nothing."
A pause.
Then—
📩 Felix
"Same. This is boring."
I huffed quietly.
"You're not alone."
📩 Felix
"Yeah but it's still boring."
I stared at that for a second.
Then typed—
"I like being alone."
The message sent.
And for a second—
I regretted it.
Too honest.
Too real.
A few seconds passed.
Then—
📩 Felix
"You don't have to be."
My chest tightened.
I stared at the screen.
Didn't reply right away.
Didn't know what to say.
Because—
that wasn't something I was used to.
At all.
I stood up, walking toward the large window.
Looking out at the empty driveway.
The gate.
The quiet street.
Everything felt distant.
Like it wasn't real.
Like it wasn't mine.
"…you don't get it," I muttered under my breath.
But at the same time—
part of me wondered if he did.
A small part.
A dangerous part.
My phone buzzed again.
📩 Felix
"Rafa?"
I exhaled slowly.
Then typed—
"I'm fine."
Lie.
📩 Felix
"You're not."
Of course.
Always.
I leaned my forehead lightly against the glass.
"…stop being right," I whispered.
📩 Felix
"Come to school after suspension ends."
I blinked.
What?
📩 Felix
"Don't disappear."
That made something shift.
Something small.
But real.
I stared at the message for a long time.
Then—
slowly—
I typed back.
"I won't."
And for the first time all day—
the silence didn't feel as heavy.
But still—
the house stayed quiet.
Too quiet.
And deep down—
I knew something else was coming.
Something bigger.
Because things like this—
they never stayed calm for long.
I stayed by the window for a while.
Longer than I meant to.
Watching nothing.
Thinking too much.
My phone buzzed again.
📩 Felix
"You're being quiet."
I huffed slightly.
Of course he noticed.
"Maybe I don't feel like talking." I typed.
A few seconds passed.
Then—
📩 Felix
"Liar."
I rolled my eyes.
"You don't know that."
📩 Felix
"I do."
I stared at the screen.
"…annoying," I muttered.
But I didn't put the phone down.
Another message.
📩 Felix
"Where are you?"
I hesitated.
Looked around the house again.
At the empty space.
At everything no one else knew about.
Then—
I typed.
"Home."
📩 Felix
"Yeah, I figured. Where?"
My fingers hovered over the screen.
I could lie.
Say something normal.
Small.
But instead—
"You wouldn't believe me."
Sent.
Instant regret.
Why did I say that?
A pause.
Longer this time.
Then—
📩 Felix
"Try me."
I exhaled slowly.
"…this is a bad idea," I whispered.
But I still typed.
"Big house. Just me."
Sent.
I waited.
For a joke.
For him to not believe it.
For something.
Instead—
📩 Felix
"Send location."
I blinked.
"…what?"
Another message.
📩 Felix
"I'm serious."
My heart sped up slightly.
"No," I said out loud.
Absolutely not.
That's—
too much.
Too real.
📩 Felix
"Rafa."
I stared at his name.
At the screen.
At everything.
Why did he always push like this?
Why didn't he just—
drop it?
My chest tightened.
Because part of me didn't want him to.
"…you're such a problem," I muttered.
Slowly—
I opened the location.
Hovered.
Hesitated.
Then—
sent it.
Immediately locking my phone and throwing it onto the couch.
"Idiot," I muttered to myself.
Why did I just do that?
Why—
My phone buzzed again.
I didn't pick it up right away.
Didn't want to see it.
Didn't want to deal with it.
But I did.
📩 Felix
"I'm coming."
My stomach dropped.
"…no."
No way.
Absolutely not.
I grabbed my phone quickly.
"No you're not."
Sent.
Instant reply.
📩 Felix
"Too late."
I stared at the screen.
"…you've got to be kidding me."
I ran a hand through my hair, pacing slightly now.
This is bad.
This is—
too much.
Too fast.
Too real.
My house.
My space.
No one comes here.
No one knows this.
No one—
Except now—
him.
I stopped pacing.
Heart still racing.
"…why does he do this?" I whispered.
But deep down—
I knew.
And that made it worse.
Or better.
I didn't know anymore.
Minutes passed.
Too fast.
Too slow.
Then—
Headlights.
Through the window.
My heart jumped.
"…he actually came."
I stood there.
Frozen.
Watching.
As the car stopped outside the gate.
This was real.
Too real.
My phone buzzed one last time.
📩 Felix
"Open the gate."
I didn't move.
Didn't breathe.
Just stood there—
staring at the screen.
Because once I opened that gate—
there was no going back.
Because once I opened that gate—
there was no going back.
I swallowed.
My hand tightened slightly around my phone.
"…this is stupid," I whispered.
But my feet were already moving.
Slowly—
toward the door.
Every step felt louder than it should.
Like the whole house was watching me.
Judging me.
I reached the control panel near the entrance.
Paused.
For just a second.
Then—
pressed the button.
Outside—
the gate slowly opened.
Too late now.
No going back.
I stepped outside.
The cold air hit instantly.
Different from inside.
Real.
Felix stepped out of the car almost immediately.
Like he didn't even hesitate.
Of course he didn't.
He looked up—
and saw me.
Then his eyes flicked past me.
To the house.
And stopped.
"…you weren't lying," he said.
I crossed my arms slightly. "I told you you wouldn't believe me."
"I believe you now."
His voice was quieter than usual.
Less teasing.
More… real.
He looked back at me.
"…you live here?"
"Yeah."
"…alone?"
I hesitated.
"…yeah."
A small silence.
He walked a little closer.
Looking at everything again.
Then back at me.
"You weren't joking," he said.
"I don't joke about stuff like this."
"Yeah," he said. "I can tell."
Another pause.
Then—
"Why didn't you tell anyone?" he asked.
I looked away.
"…because it's none of their business."
"And mine is?"
That made me pause.
"…you showed up," I said.
"Yeah," he said. "Because you sounded like you needed someone."
I didn't answer.
Because—
that wasn't wrong.
He stepped closer again.
Slower this time.
Careful.
Like he didn't want to push too far.
"You really stay here alone?" he asked.
"Yeah."
"All the time?"
"…yeah."
"That's—" he stopped. "…a lot."
I shrugged slightly. "I'm used to it."
He looked at me.
Like he didn't like that answer.
"…you shouldn't have to be," he said.
I let out a small breath.
"There's a lot of things I shouldn't have to be," I replied.
Silence.
Heavy.
Real.
He didn't joke this time.
Didn't tease.
Didn't push.
He just—
stood there.
With me.
"…can I come in?" he asked quietly.
I hesitated.
Again.
Because this—
this was different.
This wasn't school.
This wasn't chaos.
This was real life.
My life.
And no one came into it.
No one.
Until now.
I looked at him.
At the way he was waiting.
Not forcing.
Not rushing.
Just—
there.
"…fine," I said.
His expression softened slightly.
"Okay."
I turned and walked back toward the door.
He followed.
Of course.
When we stepped inside—
he stopped.
Just for a second.
Looking around.
At everything.
"…Rafa," he said quietly.
"Don't," I said quickly.
"What?"
"Don't make it a big deal."
"I'm not," he said. "…it just is one."
I didn't respond.
Just walked further in.
He followed slowly.
Still looking around.
"This is huge," he said.
"I know."
"You live here alone."
"I know."
"That's insane."
"I know."
He huffed slightly. "You keep saying that."
"Because it's true."
A pause.
Then—
"Doesn't it get lonely?" he asked.
I stopped walking.
"…no."
He didn't say anything.
But I could feel it.
He didn't believe me.
Again.
"…okay, yes," I muttered.
He stepped closer.
"I figured."
I turned to face him.
"…don't say anything."
"I wasn't going to."
"Good."
A small silence.
Then—
"You really let me in," he said.
"…don't make it sound like that."
"Like what?"
"Like it's a big thing."
"It is a big thing."
I looked at him.
"…you're annoying."
"Yeah."
"But you're still here."
"Yeah."
He stepped closer.
Closer than before.
No teasing now.
No jokes.
Just—
him.
"You don't have to do this alone," he said softly.
My chest tightened.
Again.
Stronger this time.
"I've been doing it alone," I said.
"Doesn't mean you have to keep doing it."
I didn't answer.
Because I didn't know how to.
He reached out—
slowly—
and took my hand.
I didn't pull away.
Didn't even think about it.
"…Rafa," he said quietly.
I looked at him.
"…what?"
"I'm here."
Simple.
Again.
But it hit.
Harder than anything else.
For a second—
I didn't move.
Didn't breathe.
Just stood there.
Looking at him.
Feeling everything at once.
"…you're really not leaving, are you?" I said softly.
He shook his head.
"No."
And for the first time—
being alone
didn't feel the same.
Not even close.