เข้าสู่ระบบDavid let out a long sigh.“After that incident with Mabel, I tried getting in touch with Clara.”He shook his head.“Nothing. I couldn’t reach her. I called the numbers I had, tried asking around, but it was as though she had disappeared all over again.”I frowned.“But you said she had gone to meet Mabel. Surely, she must have known where you were?”“Exactly.”He looked at me, with his expression hardening.“That was what made me so angry. Think about it, Rosalie. For Clara to have found out about Mabel and even known where to find her, it meant she knew exactly where I was. She knew I was in college. She knew what I was doing and probably knew how to get in touch with me if she wanted to.”He paused.“But she never came looking for me. Not once. She didn’t call to explain why she had left rehab. She didn’t tell me where she’d been or whether she was okay. Nothing. And then, out of nowhere, she showed up just to ruin things with Mabel?”He scoffed.“What exactly had I done to deserv
“Escaped?”“She ran, Rosalie.”David looked at me.“She just left. No warning, no explanation, nothing. One day she was there, and the next, she was gone.”I stared at him.“Did you try looking for her?”“Of course I did.”His answer came immediately.“I looked everywhere I could think of. I contacted people who knew her, tried reaching out to anyone who might have heard from her, but nobody knew where she was. It was like she’d disappeared from the face of the earth.”He rubbed his forehead.“I was genuinely worried about her. I didn’t know whether she was safe, whether she was still taking drugs or whether something terrible had happened to her. I kept thinking about all the things she had promised me.”His voice became quieter.“She had promised she would get better. She had promised she would do it for herself, for her future… and, well, for me too.”He looked away.“And then she ran.”I swallowed.I didn’t know what to say.Part of me wanted to defend my mom. I wanted to tell Dav
David took a deep breath before continuing.“I don’t know how much Clara has told you about her life before you were born. I mean, whether she ever told you about being a scholarship student, how she got the scholarship, or how we even got together in the first place.”I shook my head.“Yeah she did tell me… but I don’t even know what to think anymore seeing that she left out a very important detail.”David nodded.“Well, Clara was actually a very brilliant student. That’s how she got the scholarship in the first place. She was doing exceptionally well, and I remember being quite impressed when I first heard about her.”He paused, almost as though he was trying to put his thoughts together.“But things started changing when we got closer to our final year in high school. Her grades began to drop. And not just a little. She was barely the girl who had earned that scholarship anymore.”I frowned.“She did mention that.”“Well she stopped attending classes. She was always partying, getti
David leaned back against the sofa, taking a moment before continuing.“I tried everything I could think of to get Mabel to like me. I started with what I knew. The usual things that had always worked for me. But she wasn’t interested.”He chuckled, shaking his head as though he still couldn’t believe it.“I bought her gifts. Flowers, chocolates, jewellery… things I wouldn’t normally waste my money on just to impress a girl. And when that didn’t work, I started writing her letters.”I raised my eyebrows.“Letters?”“Yes, letters.” He looked at me. “We were in college, Rosalie. We had cellphones. We could send messages, make calls, even video call if we wanted to. But apparently, I thought writing letters was going to make all the difference.”Noah let out a quiet laugh.“I wish I could have seen that.”David shot him a look.“Don’t get too comfortable. I was doing what I had to do.”I smiled, trying to imagine him sitting at a desk, struggling to put romantic words together on a piece
I turned another page.Noah was sitting beside me, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees. His eyes were fixed on the diary, almost as though he was afraid of what I might read next.I cleared my throat and continued.‘I had always loved his eyes.There’s just something about Alexander that I can’t explain. I don’t even know when it started, but I think I’m officially crushing on him.Today, we had science class, and guess what? He stared at me.YES. HE DID.I know it might not mean anything, but I swear I almost forgot how to breathe. He was sitting a few seats behind me, and when I turned around, I caught him looking at me.And then he smiled.Oh my God. How can a guy be so dreamy?’I couldn’t help smiling a little as I read the last sentence.But before I could continue, a voice came from behind me.“Oh, he sure was dreamy.”I froze.Noah and I turned our heads simultaneously.David.He was still in the kitchen doorway, leaning slightly against the wall. His face was
Several hours had passed.I was still sitting on the kitchen floor beside David.At some point, I had even dozed off. My back was resting against the cabinet, and my head kept dropping forward every few minutes. I was exhausted, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave him.He had refused to let me help him to his room, and after several failed attempts, I eventually gave up.I wasn’t going to leave him alone, though.Not when he was in this state.I had taken the bottle away from him a while ago, and thankfully, he hadn’t made much effort to get it back. He was just sitting there, staring into space, occasionally wiping his face with his palm.Then a cough startled me awake.I lifted my head and looked at him.“Are you okay?”He didn’t answer.I rubbed my eyes and adjusted my position, trying to get comfortable.A few seconds passed before I heard him speak.“Why?”I turned toward him.I wasn’t sure what he meant, but I figured he was referring to everything that had happened.“David, we
The first thing I saw was the steady rise and fall of his chest as the morning light filtered through the blinds, painting stripes across Noah. He was still sleeping peacefully beside me and a stupid smile touched my lips. For a second, it just felt… good. Calm.Geez, I shouldn’t be here smiling at
My eyes widened at the words that came out of his mouth. What he said wasn’t what shocked me, it was the way he said that so easily. After holding his stare for a few seconds, I turned to the window. The silence engulfed us, before I decided to break it.“Well, it’s my turn.” I said opening the do
I woke up to a pounding headache that followed me all the way to school. Maybe it was from the lack of sleep as my mind was racing all night. Or maybe from all the tears I’d shed into my pillow.After Noah kissed me yesterday, his hand was trailing down to my breast when he suddenly pulled back and
I continued to walk, burning off all the rage still boiling inside me. Home was the last thing I had in mind. My feet just kept moving until I found myself at the edge of the woods.The lake.The lake that started this whole mess in the first place. If I hadn’t come here that night, I wouldn’t have







