Background noise

Mele’s sobs echoed softly inside the car, her voice small and broken beneath the hum of the engine. Fali could do nothing but drive, the road ahead blurring as his heart ached for her.

She hadn’t said a word since they’d left the city. Only the tears spoke for her.

He didn’t feel the same sharp grief she did - not in the same way - but he understood it. The boy, Akam, had been found guilty. There’d been more than enough evidence, and in the end he’d even pleaded guilty himself. The ruling had followed swiftly: life in prison, both for his own safety and for the weight of his crime.

The world would never see him again.

And that hurt Mele.

She blamed herself, again. It was like watching her slip back into that same dark pit he’d spent months pulling her out of. He’d known this would happen - had expected it - and still, seeing her break again tore him apart.

For now, though, it was best to let her feel it. To let her process it in her own time.

He sighed quietly and kept his eyes on the road, letting the rhythm of the turns and rises soothe his crowded thoughts. The sun was dropping low, casting long ribbons of gold across the rolling hills. It reminded him of flight paths traced against the horizon - the way the light could guide you home if you trusted it enough.

He hadn’t enjoyed the proceedings either.

As one of the closest witnesses, and with his public profile, he’d been called again and again to the stand. Each time, Mele had edged closer to tears. Eventually he’d moved his chair beside hers and, after a long hesitation, put his arm around her. She’d leaned in.

The crowd had let out a collective awww.

It hadn’t been intentional - but the timing had been perfect, leaving a quiet, almost unfair impression on the jury.

Not that he was in a good place himself. Every new piece of evidence, every testimony, had replayed the nightmare for him in excruciating detail. He’d seen her bleeding in his arms over and over, the same fear gripping him every time, no matter how many times he reminded himself she was sitting right there beside him.

And when his mind ran out of the bad memories, it turned cruelly to the good ones - the nights spent by her hospital bed, the first time she smiled again. Each one ended with relief, but made the next memory hurt more.

Sometimes he wondered who had leaned on whom more - her, or him.

The thought made him sigh again. He’d never been so grateful for something to be over.

The sun slipped lower. They’d reach home after dark. The light occasionally caught his eyes, but years of scanning the sky for danger had made him immune to it.

Mele’s sobs eventually faded, tapering off into the hush of the evening. Silence took over the car, heavy but not unwelcome. Words didn’t belong here yet.

Fali reached for the radio and turned it on low.

A news announcer’s voice filled the car - something about a web novelist choking to death - before he quickly switched stations.

Music replaced the static. Too bright, too cheerful for the mood, but at least it gave them something else to focus on as their thoughts spun quietly, each trapped in their own noise.

“Fali… I know you can't answer this question, but why me? Why must I endure all of this?”

Fali smiled softly, running his fingers through Mele’s hair as they lay together in her bed, like they always did. Night had fallen long ago, and the faint calls of distant farm animals drifted through the open window.

“I don’t know,” he murmured. “I don’t know why either of us ended up the way we are. But look at it this way. If we weren’t who we are, we wouldn’t have met.”

She nodded, though the motion carried little satisfaction.

“But why all the suffering? It just doesn’t feel right.”

“You’re not talking about yourself, are you?”

She sighed, the sound almost lost to the night.
“Yeah…”

“Thinking of Akam?”

Another quiet nod. He smiled gently, brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

“He’ll be alright. They put him in jail for his own safety as much as for anything else.”

She nodded again, unconvinced.
“But he looked so sad… like he’d realized something. He didn’t look like the violent teenager the news made him out to be.”

He chuckled softly.

“You should know better than anyone that you can’t trust the news.”

She smiled faintly.

“Yeah, I know… even so. At the end of it, I just wanted to hug him.”

He raised an eyebrow.

“That bad, huh?”

She nodded.

“Yeah… I’m sorry for not telling you sooner.”

“No, it’s fine. Wouldn’t have changed anything anyway. We had no control over that courtroom.”

She nodded once more. He smiled, warmth returning to his voice.
“We should get some sleep. Big day tomorrow.”

“Okay. Goodnight… darling.”

His heart skipped a beat, but he managed to keep his voice steady as he replied with a teasing grin.

“Goodnight, honey.”

Before he could see her reaction, he rolled onto his side. A few seconds later, she moved closer, wrapping her arms around him from behind. Her unfeeling legs brushed against his, her breath soft and warm against his neck. The pressure of her chest against his back, the shared warmth between them - it was unnecessary, but comforting.

Sleep came easily after that, the monsters in his mind powerless against the woman beside him.