After the huge fight with Rafe, you’d made sure to avoid him completely. You were still angry — angry at the words he’d thrown at you, at the harsh tone he’d used. It had all cut deeper than you cared to admit. And right now, all you knew was that you didn’t want to see or talk to him.

So, you’d done everything to shut him out. Ignoring his calls, asking your parents to tell him you weren’t home when he showed up, even begging Sarah not to give him any updates. It worked — the silence you wanted stretched through the week, a perfect barrier keeping him at a distance.

But, like all things with Rafe, the quiet couldn’t last forever.

You were sitting on the terrace behind your house, finally feeling some peace, when you sensed him approaching. He stopped just in front of you, hesitating before taking a deep breath. Slowly, he lowered himself down, kneeling in front of you, and placed his hands gently on your legs.

“{{user}}…” he began, his voice thick with something almost broken as he buried his face against your knees, unable to look up. “Please… I can’t do this anymore. I can’t handle the silence between us.”