ame witho

s her bed like an accusation. She hadn't slept much. Every time she closed her eyes, the night before replayed

even before she stepped into it. With a slow exhale, Lia pushed herself up and reached for her phone, then stopped. Th

heavier than usual. In the mirror, her reflection stared back at her-eyes a little duller

crisp, brushing against her skin like a reminder that

through the day lik

comfort in the familiarity of it all. Today, it was just noise. Teachers spoke and she nodded. Friends talked and she smiled when expected to.

er wandering mind, one fa

ri

through the glass and catching the edge of his smile. He laughed softly at something

for him before her

lway

l about how easily he existed-how unaware he seemed of the way he unraveled her just by being t

de him w

bservant

a, steady and searching, as if he'd been waiting for her to look up. Jaden always noticed. The way her smi

yes met

by the familiar calm expression everyone assumed was permanent. But beneath it, something b

ked awa

poken question lingering between them. She pretended she didn't know how much it hurt h

as that the distance betw

at a time, because staying close had begun to hurt more than leaving ever could. He wa

just a love

eginning of

-

d for Lia a

n confessions. He stood beneath it, backpack slung over one shoulder, fingers hooked into the strap as if anchoring him

t dissolved the moment he imagined saying them out loud. He wasn't even sure what he w

y appeared, his

ace l

becaus

m, her steps quick and light. "I can't stay.

d it ca

casu

. The kind that didn't ask questions or reveal disappointment. "Oh," he s

was

dn't see how the hope he'd been carrying all day cracked open, spilling silently at his feet. S

d, distracted, hopeful-but

n said softl

ithout loo

ayed where he was long after the last student had gone, listening to the sound fade into silence. He

sn't

the wor

easier. If she had been cruel or careless, he c

neve

Jaden's heart without ever

-

r the basketball cou

The court was mostly empty now, save for the distant sound of a bouncing ball and the creak of me

for answers she did

that familiar smile that had once made her feel seen, chosen, sp

id softly, st

ied, straightening

d despite her b

the back of his neck in a gesture she had memorized lo

eath c

now," he said. "It

didn't sha

, right down the m

a smile that didn't reach her

shoulders dropped. "I knew you'd understand,"

a

d with her, he

e understanding girl. The safe place. Adrian kept talking, filling the air with details s

y walked away,

t

d, the world shut out-that the truth settled in. Adrian

Lia realized someth

by the people who don't even k