Page 6 of June

There he was. Aaron.

I pause, every instinct screaming to walk back inside, but my feet stay rooted to the pavement. I don't speak. I don't soften. He's the one who wanted space. Well, here it is.

"Hi,"

he says, voice small.

I cross my arms.

"Why are you here?"

He pushes off the car, takes a step closer, then stops. His eyes are glassy. He looks like a wreck—like the ghost of the man who used to build dance floors with me and kiss my fingertips when no one was looking.

"I had to see you,"

he says.

"I can't sleep, I can't think. I keep replaying everything and I don't know how to live with what I did."

"Then don't."

My voice is cold. I don't recognize it.

"Just say it, Aaron. Say what you came to say."

He nods, swallows hard. His face is pale, jaw clenched.

"I think I have feelings for her," he says.

There it is.

The words slice straight through me. My legs go a little weak, but I plant my heels deeper into the ground. He doesn't even say her name. Like that makes it easier.

"Selene,"

I whisper. Just to confirm.

He nods. Looks down at the pavement.

"I don't want them. I don't. I've tried to push them down ever since I met with her, I tried to ignore them, but they keep coming back and I—I can't spend my whole life wondering what if. I can't lie to you like that."

I close my eyes. I want to un-hear him. Un-know this.

His voice breaks as he steps closer.

"But I love you. I love you so much, June. I swear to God, I do."

"Then choose me,"

I say, barely above a whisper.

"Right now. I'm giving you one last chance. Choose me."

He looks at me like I've asked him to slice himself in half. His jaw trembles. His eyes flood. He tries to speak. Doesn't.

That's all the answer I need.

"You don't love me,"

I say, my voice sharp and quiet.

"You know how I know? Because I do."

Then my voice breaks and I continu.

"And I would never have betrayed you like this. Never."

"I am so sorry, I didn't mean to—"

"I don't care."

He flinches like I hit him.

"I didn't go looking for it. I swear. It just... happened. And now I don't know how to make sense of any of it. I see her and I remember everything...I hate that I'm saying this because I do love you, June—I do—but I don't know what to do."

I stare at him. My nails dig into my palms.

"Then you shouldn't have built a life with me just to walk away the moment it asked for real work."

He opens his mouth, helpless.

"I didn't plan this. I don't know what's wrong with me. I feel horrible, but I'm—"

"Coward,"

I whisper.

He looks like I slapped him.

"I guess this is it,"

I say. My chest already aching.

"I gave you the chance. You didn't take it."

I turn and walk past him, legs trembling, trying to make it back to the studio before I collapse.

The second the door closes behind me, the pain hits full force. My chest tightens. My lungs forget how to breathe.

I gasp—but the air doesn't come in. Not enough.

My hands go numb. The floor feels too far away, my skin too tight.

I can't breathe.

I can't breathe.

The mirrors blur. My knees buckle, and I reach out blindly, catching the barre just before I collapse completely. My heart pounds so fast it hurts. I think I'm dying. I want to scream, but my throat locks.

The panic swallows me whole. Then—

"June?"

Leo's voice. Somewhere distant. Then his hands. Steady. Warm. Pulling me into a sitting position. He's on the floor with me now, voice firm but gentle.

"Hey, hey—it's okay. You're okay. Just breathe with me, alright? In—good. Now out."

I try. I can't.

"Look at me,"

he says.

"You're safe. I'm right here. Just keep breathing. You're not alone."

I cling to his voice like it's the only thing tethering me to the ground. After few minutes or hours, I fell the lights are soft here. The bed is warm. Someone adjusted my blanket. I think it was Leo. A nurse walks in, followed by a doctor who introduces himself gently.

"You had a panic attack,"

he says.

"You're okay now, but that was your body's way of saying it's been under too much stress for too long. You're going to need to take it easy. Rest. Prioritize your mental health."

I nod, slowly. I don't ask where Aaron is. Because I know. He made his choice. Now, I have to survive it.