Desired by All and He Threw Away 84

Chapter 84 

Aiden’s POV 

The last of the voices drift down the street like the tail end of a storm–soft, scattered, fading one by one until the quiet finally settles in their place. 

Not a peaceful quiet. No, it’s the kind that comes after something snaps, after the air’s been stretched too thin and finally lets go. It feels heavy. 

dense.a little uneven around the edges like even the night is still trying to find its footing again. 

i stand there for a moment letting my lungs catch up to the silence thats left behind.its strange how loud a quiet street can feel how the absence of shouting makes every little thing stand out. 

The hum of the porch light.the rustle of leaves down the block.my own heartbeat tapping steady against my ribs like its checking to make sure im still here still grounded. 

Taylor sits on the porch steps.the sight of her knocks the breath from my chest in a way that has nothing to do with the chaos we just managed.her shoulders rise and fall like shes trying to steady something deep inside her. 

her hands rest in her lap fingers curled in on themselves small trembles rippling through them no matter how hard she tries to hide it. 

the porch light hits her hair catching the soft strands that cling to her cheek. Her brother finally went inside,, but the imprint of his fear is still on her body–like she absorbed every tremor he felt just to keep him upright. 

For a moment, I just watched her. Not because I don’t know what to do–my body already knows, already moves –but because the weight of everything she’s held together tonight sits over her like a shadow. 

And she still sits straight. Still breathes through it. Still tries to be the calm in her brother’s storm even when her own is tearing at the edges. 

Before I fully register the choice, I’m walking toward her. 

my jacket hangs over my arm warm from my body heavy with the scent of smoke from earlier and the faintest trace of the cologne i barely use.I dont think. 

I just move.and when i reach her i drape it around her shoulders letting the fabric fall down her arms like a shield.she tenses at first just a little before her body gives a soft almost imperceptible sigh. 

the warmth sinks into her swallowing the cold thats been hugging her bones all evening. 

She still doesn’t look up. 

but i feel it the way she inhales under the jacket long and shaky like shes borrowing enough air to put herself back together. 

“thank you again… no one has ever stood up for us like that,” she whispers. 

her voice is thin around the edges like she’s been holding it together for so long that anything softer than chaos feels foreign. 

i shake my head. 

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“you dont have to thank me,” i say my voice low, steady. ” you are mine to look after.” 

the words fall between us with a weight i didnt mean to let loose.they hang there warm and inescapable settling into the space like they belong to it. 

i feel her reaction before she gives it her breath catches her shoulders tightening beneath the fabric.when she finally looks up her eyes flick toward mine fast like shes afraid of what she might find there.she looks away again just as quickly. 

And I know. 

I know exactly what i have just said. 

What it implies. 

What cracks open. 

i didnt mean it the way it sounded when everything felt like it was spiraling out of control. 

back then it came out sharp,reactive, tangled in everything i didnt know how to say without breaking something.but now… it slips out quiet. honest.closer to the truth i keep trying not to breathe too loudly in case it changes everything. 

i sit beside her close enough that our knees brush lightly.the porch step digs into the backs of my legs, grounding me anchoring the rush of something warm that spreads in my chest. 

P 

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