Heartprints in the Void
⊰ 9 ⊱ Caught in the Crossfire

The gentle patter of rain against the window provides a soothing backdrop as I sit at the kitchen table, my fingers hovering over my phone. I've been staring at Aunt Irene's contact information for what feels like hours, gathering the courage to make the call. Our relationship has always been strained, a delicate balance of obligation and unspoken resentments. But now, with questions swirling in my mind about my aunt's involvement David, I know I have no choice but to reach out. *Here goes nothing.*

With a deep breath, I press the call button. The phone rings once, twice, three times before I hear the familiar click of someone picking up. "Hello?" Aunt Irene's voice comes through, crisp and formal as ever.

"Hi, Aunt Irene," I respond. "It's Elysian."

There's a pause, and I brace myself for the usual cool reception. But to my surprise, when Aunt Irene speaks again, her tone is almost... warm? "Elysian, it's good to hear from you. How are you?"

I'm so taken aback by her pleasant demeanor that it takes me a moment to respond. "I'm... I'm doing well, Aunt Irene. How are you?"

"I am well, thank you for asking." There's another pause, and I can almost picture her adjusting her perfectly coiffed hair, a habit she's had for as long as I can remember. "I heard you got married. Congratulations." *Oh?*

The congratulations sound genuine, which throws me off even more. "Thank you," I say, still wary. "I'm sorry I didn't call to tell you myself. Things have been... complicated."

"Life often is," she responds, but there's a hint of something in her voice-wisdom? Regret?-that I've never heard before. "But I'm glad you've found happiness, Elysian."

I feel a lump forming in my throat. This isn't at all how I expect this conversation to go. "Aunt Irene..." I start, then hesitate.

*How do I bring him up without sounding accusatory?*

A shaky breath parts my lips, and I breathe out reluctantly, "I actually called because I wanted to ask you about something." "Oh?" The warmth in her voice doesn't disappear, but I can hear a note of caution creeping in.

I take a deep breath. "Do you... do you know anything about a man named David Sinclair?"

The silence that follows is deafening. I can hear Aunt Irene's breathing on the other end of the line, quick and shallow.

"Aunt Irene?" I prompt gently, my voice barely above a whisper.

When she finally speaks, her voice is tight, controlled. I can almost see her knuckles turning white as she grips the phone. "I'm sorry, Elysian. I can't... I can't talk about this. I have to go." "Wait, Aunt Irene, please" Panic rises in my chest, threatening to choke me.

The line goes dead before I can finish. I stare at my phone in disbelief, my mind racing.

*What just happened?*

The surprisingly pleasant conversation, the abrupt ending...it all feels surreal.

I sit there, on one of the kitchen stools, trying to make sense of it all, when I hear the front door open. The familiar sound of Cade's keys clinking by the door echoes through the house. *Cade's home.*

As he walks into the kitchen, I can immediately tell something's off. His shoulders are tense, jaw set in a hard line. He looks... frustrated.

"Hey," I say softly, setting my phone down. "Everything okay?"

He grunts in response, heading straight for the fridge and pulling out a beer. The sound of the cap popping off is unnaturally loud in the tense silence.

After the way we ended our conversation yesterday, angry and the issue unresolved, I'm almost afraid to press any further. But a part of me knows that until we get to the bottom of this, *all* of this, there's always going to be the threat of David and all his secrets looming over us, waiting to pull us further apart.

"Cade," I try again. "I need to talk to you about something."

He turns to face me, taking a long swig of his beer before responding. "What is it?"

I take a deep breath, bracing myself. "I want to go see my aunt. In person."

His eyebrows shoot up, creasing his forehead. The kitchen light catches the flecks of gold in his blue eyes, usually warm but now cold with suspicion. "Your aunt? You barely speak to Irene. Why do you want to go see her?"

I inhale deeply, the scent of his cologne mingling with the lingering aroma of coffee. "I just got off the phone with her," I explain, my fingers nervously tracing the countertop. "She was acting weird. And when I brought up your dad... she rushed to hang up."

The look on Cade's face darkens, shadows deepening the lines around his mouth. The air in the kitchen seems to thicken, making it harder to breathe. "Elysian, I don't think that's a good idea. We don't know what my father-" "I know," I cut him off, my voice quivering slightly. "But I need answers, Cade. And if my aunt has them..."

He sets his beer down hard on the granite counter, the sharp clang making me flinch. A few droplets splash out, leaving dark spots on the light surface. "Is this your way of running away from our problems?" His voice rises. "Things get tough here, so you decide to jet off across the country?"

*What?*

I feel my own frustration rising to match his, heat creeping up my neck and into my cheeks. "That's not what this is about, and you know it," I say, struggling to keep my voice leveled, mindful of Naomi playing upstairs in her playpen. My nails dig into my palms as I clench my fists. "I'm trying to understand what happened."

"We're married now, Elysian," he says, his voice echoing off the marble floor. I can see the vein in his neck pulsing, a testament to his barely contained anger. "You can't just run away every time things get hard."

"I'm not running away!" I snap back, my hands clenching into fists at my sides. "I'm trying to get to the bottom of this, for us, for our family. Why can't you see that?"

We stand there, glaring at each other across the kitchen, neither of us saying a word.

*Why is he so wound up? It's almost like he wants to fight.*

Then, suddenly, a thought occurs to me. The tightness in my chest eases slightly as I take a different approach. "Did something happen at work?" I ask, my voice softening. "You seemed upset when you came in." "Don't change the subject," he growls, but I can see a flicker of worry in his eyes. The hard line of his jaw softens almost imperceptibly.

"I'm not," I insist, taking a tentative step towards him. "I'm trying to understand what's going on with you. We're supposed to be partners, Cade. That means talking to each other, even when it's hard."

He opens his mouth to respond, his breath catching as if the words are stuck in his throat. But before he can speak, the sound of Naomi's cries come through the baby monitor, high-pitched and insistent. For a moment, we both freeze, caught between our argument and our daughter's needs.

"I'll go check on her," I say finally, grateful for the excuse to step away from this conversation.

*I guess I'll try again later...*

As I climb the stairs to Naomi's room, I can feel the weight of everything pressing down on me, making each step feel heavier than the last. The mysteries surrounding David and Aunt Irene, the tension with Cade, the constant juggling act of being a wife and mother while trying to hold onto my own identity... it's all becoming overwhelming.

*Maybe I didn't think this through as well as I thought I did.*

The thought makes me feel guilty as I walk into the room, hearing Naomi's cries soften as she sees me. Her little face, red from crying, brightens as I approach. I scoop her up into my arms, feeling the warm little body against my chest. "Momma's here," I murmur, swaying gently. I plant a soft kiss on her forehead, marveling at the silky feel of her skin.

As I comfort her, gently rubbing her back, I wonder how much longer it'll be till it gets easier.

*Will it get easier?*