Chapter 17: The Rift

The cold, sterile walls of the resistance base felt more suffocating than usual as Alexis paced the narrow corridor, her mind racing with frustration and doubt. The hum of machinery and the distant murmur of voices did little to soothe her rising anger. Her conversation with Kayden earlier had been short—too short. They hadn’t said what needed to be said, hadn’t addressed the growing tension that had been simmering beneath the surface for days.

Now, standing in the dimly lit hallway, Alexis felt the weight of everything pressing down on her—Kayden’s confession, the aftermath of the attack, the uncertainty of the mission that loomed over them like a dark cloud. The room seemed to close in around her, her thoughts circling endlessly in her mind. She needed space. She needed clarity. But most of all, she needed answers from Kayden.

Her jaw clenched as she headed toward the war room, where she knew Kayden was preparing the next phase of their mission. Her footsteps echoed loudly in the otherwise quiet corridor, her pulse quickening as she neared the door.

When she pushed it open, she found him hunched over a table, studying maps and data screens with the same intensity that always seemed to consume him during moments like these. But today, it only fueled her anger. She couldn’t take it anymore—the silence, the half-truths, the constant push and pull between them. She had to confront him, even if it meant tearing apart what little trust they had left.

"Kayden," she said, her voice sharp and unyielding as she stepped into the room.

Kayden looked up, surprise flickering in his electric blue eyes. He straightened, his gaze locking onto hers. "Alexis? What’s wrong?"

Alexis scoffed, the question hitting her like a slap. What wasn’t wrong? Everything felt wrong—between them, with the mission, with their whole situation.

"I need to talk to you," she said, her voice trembling with barely contained frustration. "We can’t keep going on like this."

Kayden’s brow furrowed, confusion creasing his features. "What are you talking about? What happened?"

Alexis stepped closer, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "Us, Kayden. This. Everything. You keep saying that you’re with me, that we’re in this together, but it feels like you’re a million miles away. You shut me out whenever things get hard, and then you expect me to just go along with it like nothing’s wrong."

Kayden’s expression darkened, and he stood up straighter, the tension between them palpable. "That’s not fair, Alexis. I’ve been doing everything I can to protect you, to keep you safe. This mission isn’t just about us—it’s about stopping them before they destroy everything."

"I know that!" Alexis snapped, her voice rising with frustration. "But that doesn’t mean you get to shut me out. I’m not just some pawn in your game, Kayden. I’m a part of this team, and I deserve to know what’s going on."

Kayden’s eyes flashed with anger, his voice growing harder. "This isn’t about shutting you out. It’s about keeping you safe. You don’t understand what we’re up against—what this technology can do. If it falls into the wrong hands—"

"I know what’s at stake!" Alexis interrupted, her voice shaking with emotion. "But that doesn’t mean I’m going to sit back and let you make all the decisions for us. I care about this mission just as much as you do, but I’m tired of feeling like I’m always two steps behind, like you don’t trust me enough to tell me everything."

Kayden’s face softened for a brief moment, but then he looked away, his jaw clenched. "It’s not about trust, Alexis. It’s about protecting you. I’ve seen what happens when people get too close to this—when they think they can handle it."

Alexis’s chest tightened, her heart pounding as she stepped closer to him, her voice trembling. "I’m not asking for protection, Kayden. I’m asking for honesty. I’m asking you to trust me with the truth, even if it’s ugly. I can handle it. But I can’t handle being left in the dark."

For a long moment, Kayden said nothing. The silence stretched between them like a chasm, deepening the rift that had already begun to form. Alexis could feel the tension in the air, could see the conflict in his eyes, but it wasn’t enough. She needed more than his guarded half-answers. She needed the truth.

Finally, Kayden spoke, his voice low and strained. "You don’t know what you’re asking, Alexis. You haven’t seen what I’ve seen."

Alexis shook her head, her eyes burning with unshed tears. "Then show me. Help me understand. Stop trying to shield me from everything and let me in. Please."

Kayden’s gaze softened, but there was still a wall between them, an unspoken barrier that he wasn’t ready to tear down. "It’s not that simple."

"Why?" Alexis demanded, her voice breaking. "Why isn’t it that simple? You say you love me, but you can’t even let me in when it matters most."

Kayden flinched at her words, his expression pained. "It’s because I love you that I’m trying to keep you safe. I can’t lose you, Alexis. Not like I lost Liora. Not like I lost everything else."

Alexis’s heart clenched at the mention of Liora, the unspoken ghost that still haunted their relationship. She knew he was trying to protect her, but his fear, his past, was driving a wedge between them—a wedge that was growing wider with every word they exchanged.

"I’m not Liora," Alexis said softly, her voice filled with a mixture of sadness and frustration. "I’m not going to leave you. But if you keep shutting me out, if you keep making decisions for both of us without talking to me, then we’re never going to make this work."

Kayden looked at her, his eyes filled with regret, but the wall between them remained.

"You don’t understand what it’s like," he said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. "To carry the weight of a whole planet’s destruction. To know that if you make one wrong move, everything you care about could be wiped out in an instant. I’m trying to keep you safe, Alexis. That’s all I’ve ever wanted."

Alexis’s chest tightened, her heart aching at the pain in his voice. She understood now—he wasn’t just trying to protect her. He was trying to protect himself, trying to keep himself from losing someone else he loved. But in doing so, he was pushing her away, creating a divide between them that she wasn’t sure they could bridge.

"I know you’re scared," she said softly, her voice trembling. "But I’m scared too. Scared of losing you. Scared of losing myself in all of this. But we can’t keep going on like this, Kayden. We need to be honest with each other. We need to trust each other, or this is never going to work."

Kayden closed his eyes, his hand running through his hair as he let out a shaky breath. "I don’t know how to do that. I don’t know how to let go of the fear."

Alexis stepped closer, her hand gently brushing against his arm. "Then let me help you. We can figure it out together. But you have to let me in."

For a long moment, Kayden said nothing, his eyes filled with conflict and doubt. The tension between them hung in the air, heavy and suffocating. Alexis could feel the weight of the moment pressing down on them, could feel the rift between them widening even as they stood so close.

Finally, Kayden looked at her, his expression filled with a mixture of sorrow and determination. "I don’t want to lose you, Alexis. But I don’t know if I can give you what you’re asking for."

Alexis’s heart sank at his words, her chest tightening with a pain she hadn’t expected. She had hoped—hoped that he would finally let her in, that he would finally trust her enough to be honest. But the wall between them was still there, still standing tall and impenetrable.

"Then I don’t know if this can work," Alexis whispered, her voice breaking with the weight of the truth.

Kayden flinched, his eyes filled with hurt, but he didn’t argue. He didn’t try to convince her otherwise. And that, more than anything, made Alexis realize just how deep the rift between them had grown.

Without another word, she turned and walked out of the room, her heart heavy with the weight of everything left unsaid. The mission loomed ahead of them, the danger ever-present, but in that moment, all she could think about was the distance between them—the distance that, no matter how hard she tried, she wasn’t sure she could bridge.

As she left Kayden behind, the echo of their argument still ringing in her ears, Alexis couldn’t shake the feeling that something had broken between them—something that might never be fixed.

And the worst part was, she wasn’t sure if either of them had the strength to put it back together.