Chapter 373 The Midnight Confession

Chapter 373: Chapter 373 The Midnight Confession

Talia’s POV

I saw the dark red liquid staining my hands, but I did not stop.

I kept punching, and the pain spread through my fingers and up into my wrists, but I did not care. I kept going.

I kept going because stopping meant thinking, and thinking meant feeling, and feeling meant I would have to face everything I was trying to outrun.

Then I felt a hand wrap around my wrist.

"Talia," Kaelen said, and his voice was soft.

I froze, with my fist still raised in the air, and I turned my head slowly to look at him.

He was standing behind me, and I could see the worry written all over his face.

I did not know how long he had been standing there, and I did not know how long he had been watching me. But I could see the pain in his eyes, the pain of seeing me like this, and I felt a surge of guilt.

His gray eyes were soft, and his jaw was tight, and I knew he had been watching me for longer than I realized.

"Kaelen," I said, and my voice came out hoarse. "You should be sleeping."

Kaelen shook his head, and he did not let go of my wrist. "I woke up, and you were gone." His gaze dropped to my hands, and I watched his face change. "Your knuckles, Talia. You are bleeding."

I looked down at my hands, and I saw the torn skin and the blood dripping onto the dirt. "It is nothing," I said. "I am fine."

Kaelen looked at me, and I saw the disbelief in his eyes. "You are standing in the training yard at midnight, punching a post until your hands bleed. That is not nothing, Talia."

I pulled my hand away from him, and I pressed it against my side. "I just needed to move. I could not sleep."

Kaelen stepped closer, and he reached for my chin, tilting my face up so that I had to look at him. "Talk to me, Talia. Tell me what is going on inside your head."

I shook my head, and I felt the tears burning in my eyes. "I do not know how to say it, Kaelen. I do not know if I can."

Kaelen looked at me, and I saw the patience in his gray eyes. He did not push me, and he did not demand anything from me. He just waited.

I looked at him, and I felt the words caught in my throat. I wanted to tell him, and I wanted to let him in, but I was afraid. I was afraid that if I said the words out loud, they would become real.

"Talia," Kaelen said, and his voice was soft. "Whatever it is, you can tell me. I am not going anywhere."

The silence stretched between us, and I could hear my own heartbeat in my ears. The moonlight fell across Kaelen’s face, and I could see the love in his eyes, and the fear, and the hope. ℯℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

I took a breath, and I felt the words rising in my throat. They were the words I had been holding back for so long, and the words I had been too afraid to say.

"I am scared, Kaelen," I said, and my voice cracked on the words.

Kaelen looked at me, and I saw the relief in his eyes, like he had been waiting for me to say those words for days. He pulled me into his arms, and I felt his warmth against me.

"I am so scared," I whispered into his chest. "I am scared of losing you, I am scared of losing my mother, and I am scared of failing everyone who is counting on me." My voice cracked, but I continued to speak. "I am scared of dying, Kaelen. I am scared that I am not strong enough for this."

I felt his arms tighten around me, and I felt the warmth of his body against mine. I had been holding this in for so long, and now that I had finally said it, I felt like a weight had been lifted from my chest.

"I have been trying to be strong for everyone," I said, and my voice was muffled against his chest. "I have been trying to be the Luna everyone needs me to be. But I am just one person, Kaelen. I am just one person, and I am so tired."

Kaelen held me tighter, and I felt his lips press against the top of my head. "I know, Talia," he said. "I know."

I pulled back, and I looked up at him, and I felt the tears streaming down my face. "I have never admitted that to anyone. Not to my mother, not to Piper, and not even to myself. I have been pretending to be strong for so long that I forgot how to be honest."

Kaelen reached up, and he cupped my face in his hands. His thumbs brushed away my tears, and I felt the warmth of his touch. "You are strong, Talia. Admitting that you are scared does not make you weak. It makes you brave."

I shook my head. "It does not feel brave. It feels like I am falling apart."

Kaelen looked at me, and I saw the love in his gray eyes. "Then we will fall apart together. And we will put ourselves back together. That is what we do."

I pressed my face into his chest, and I let myself cry. The tears came fast and hot, and I did not try to stop them.

Kaelen held me, and he did not let go.