SavannahThe air outside Noah’s frat house felt heavier than the fight itself. There were people everywhere, flashing their phones with their voices overlapping in a storm of whispers that followed. I could feel the heat on my face as I stood there, partly from embarrassment and partly from anger.The pictures were already spreading around. I could see the smirks, the curious glances, and didn’t need anyone to tell me that this was bad, really bad.I looked straight at Noah, and something shifted within me. He was standing there, chest rising and falling fast, his jaw tight from the fight. The mere sight of him right now was so disappointing, I couldn’t help but shake my head, slow and deliberate, letting him know exactly how much this disappointed me. I didn’t wait for him to speak. I just turned and started walking.My heels hit the pavement harder than I meant them to, but I wasn’t going to slow down. I needed space. I needed to breathe.“Savannah!”I heard him behind me, his voice
Leo“You think you can walk in here, threaten me, and just leave?” Noah’s voice echoed loudly behind me as I made my way towards the door. His tone was sharp and cocky. “I’ll do whatever I feel like. And if you show up here again, it won’t end well for you.”I stopped and couldn’t help but chuckle softly. Then a slow smirk crept onto my face.Turning back, I walked toward him with steady steps, closing the space between us. His friends shifted in the background, all puffed up like they were ready for a show, but I kept my eyes locked on his.“I’m here now,” I said, my voice low but sharp. “So… what are you going to do?”Noah’s friends started clapping and egging him on. “Whoop his ass, Noah!” one shouted. Another laughed like they’d just been handed the best entertainment of the night.Noah hesitated, and I could see it. For all his talk, there was a flicker of doubt in his eyes.“Savannah wouldn’t want this,” he said finally.I scoffed and took a step back with a disappointed look. I
LeoThe walk to Noah’s frat house felt like it took forever, even though my steps were fast and my fists were already curling at my sides. I didn’t have a minute to stop and think over anything, and truthfully I didn’t want to. I wasn’t going there to talk. I wasn’t going there to play nice. I’d seen enough, and if Noah thought he could keep circling around Savannah, pulling her into his mess, then he needed to hear it from me, loud and clear.By the time I reached the frat house, I didn’t even bother knocking. The music spilling out from inside was too loud anyways for them to hear me, but it wasn’t enough to drown out my anger. Without any hesitation, I pushed the door open and stepped inside. The smell of beer and cheap cologne hit me immediately.Noah was across the room, lounging like he didn’t have a care in the world. His little crew noticed me first and a couple of them straightened up, stepping forward, already trying to play guard dog.“Move,” I said, my voice low but sharp
I had barely stepped into the main courtyard when Leo appeared out of nowhere. He didn’t just walk up to me, he more of jumped right in front of me, like he was trying to cut me off before I could even think about leaving.The look on his face wasn’t good, which made me even more disturbed. I wasn’t ready to talk to him or Noah yet, but I guess I had no other choice now. His brows were drawn together, his jaw was tight, and his gaze was unblinking. “What were you doing with those men?” he demanded.I froze. “What men?”“Don’t play dumb with me,” he snapped. “I saw you. I saw you with them.”His voice was sharp, almost shaking with something between anger and worry. My stomach twisted because I knew exactly who he meant, but I wasn’t about to let him come at me like that.“You saw me?” I repeated slowly, giving him a look, and then it seemed as if everything dawned on me all at once, and my brows twisted in annoyance. “Wait, are you following me?”“I’m not stalking you,” he shot back,
For the next few days, I did my best to keep away from both Noah and Leo. I didn’t even realize how exhausting it had been, being tangled up with them, until I forced myself to step back. Every time I caught sight of either of them on campus, I’d pretend to be busy on my phone or change direction completely.I told myself it wasn’t about running away, it was about control. If I wanted my father to believe I could take care of myself, then I had to stop getting dragged into every little storm that passed through my life. I had to show him I could be calm, steady, and focused.That meant no drama. No complicated love triangles. No dangerous meetings with ex-boyfriends who sold drugs behind the gym.By Wednesday afternoon, the campus felt quieter. Or maybe it was just me finally catching my breath. My classes had ended early, and the evening breeze was too good to ignore, so I decided to take a walk. I left the main courtyard and wandered toward one of the less busy paths behind the old
When I got home, I dropped my bag on the couch and sank into it like my body weighed a hundred pounds more than usual. Noah’s words kept echoing in my head.‘It wasn’t my intention to hurt you.’What the hell did he mean by that? Did he mean that he still cared? Did he still love me? Or was it just another one of his lines to smooth things over when things got messy?And Camille… was she just a mistake? A stupid, impulsive moment that he regretted? Or was there something deeper, something that I never really understood?I stared at my phone on the coffee table, just sitting there like it knew I was trying not to pick it up. My fingers twitched with the urge to text him, to ask for the truth. But then there was Leo. The look in his eyes when he told me he’d loved me since freshman year… I couldn’t just pretend that hadn’t happened.The problem was that both situations were tangled in a mess I didn’t know how to unravel. With Leo, there was this warmth I’d never let myself acknowledge b