The Code of Aries ?

(53) Overdue Confession

My heart broke as I listened to him speak. It broke for both of us.

"Aries, do you not have faith in me? Is my love that fragile to you?" I ask him, and a tear uncontrollably falls from my eyes as I look at Aries, who is worrying about such things.

"No, D-Dom. You're not the problem. I've...I've always been the problem. You're the only person I've loved this much, and I'm so scared that you'll end up leaving me. And I don't want you to leave me," Aries says as tears fall from his eyes.

I stare at him and reach out for my necklace, clenching it before looking away from him. His words gave me a painful realization that almost felt like a slap in the face. It was a realization that I should have already noticed before, but I thought it was normal.

Our relationship isn't healthy anymore.

This isn't right.

Loving someone shouldn't be so draining. It shouldn't be grabbing you by the neck and strangling you until you're unable to breathe and think of reasons.  Love should be given in the perfect amount. Not too little, yet not too much. But with the way we're going, we're gonna end up drowning before any of us can build a strong ship to sail.

"You're going back home, and you're gonna properly talk to your father about you and about your future," I finally decide, and Aries immediately shakes his head in disapproval.

"No, Dom. I don't want to!" He shouts, pulling my arm while I open the car door for him.

"What are you gonna do then? Huh? Where are you gonna go? Are you going to continue to worry your parents?" I ask him before shaking my head. "No, forget about your father and just think about your mother instead. Are you not worried that she hasn't slept properly because she doesn't know where his son has been?"

"Art already knows I'm okay. I can just stay with you for the time being," Aries insists while grabbing my arm, frustrating me even more.

"You're not a kid anymore, goddamn it!" I then shout back, instantly making Aries let go of me. When I saw the expression on his face, I immediately cursed under my breath and massaged my temple again.

"We're not kids anymore, Aries. This relationship...our relationship...it's more than just having sex and drowning in love. There is a future beyond us. There are things we have to decide on to make sure we'll actually have a future together. And if starting now, you're already throwing opportunities away for me and rebelling against your parents then—" I pause as more tears fall from Aries's eyes.

"You're not breaking up with me, are you?" He then asks, and the question caught me off guard because I didn't expect Aries to assume I'd break things off this easily.

"N-no, I'm not. Of course, I'm not," I reassure him. "I want us to talk about our relationship and our future properly. I want us to set boundaries so we don't end up strangling each other. I want to fix us, but for now, you have to go home first. Please, Aries. At least do it for me."

Aries shakes his head again, and I know him enough to know that whatever I do or say now won't make him return back home to his family. So with no other choice left, I grabbed Aries by force and carried him to the car, instantly making him start shouting at me.

"Dom! What are you doing?! Let go!"

I ignore Aries's plea as I shove him inside the passenger's seat. After putting a seatbelt on him, Aries finally stops struggling.

"Why are you doing this?" He then asks me.

"Since you don't want to go back, I'm coming with you. So just stay put and calm down," I tell him. And even though I can tell that Aries disapproves of it, he doesn't say anything anymore and just looks away from me.