LOGINThe next morning, I woke up slowly, sunlight filtering through the tent fabric. Liam was already sitting beside me, watching me intently. I startled, heart jumping.“I’m sorry. I got you scared,” he said quietly. “I was just checking if you were still alive.”I smiled awkwardly. “Here’s your breakfast. I’m coming back.” He stood and left before I could respond, acting strangely gentle. I didn’t understand why.I looked at the tray and felt a flicker of irritation—it wasn’t what I usually preferred. Before I could dwell on it, Blake entered the tent.“Noah,” he said, concern clear in his voice.“Yes, Blake. Are you okay?” I nodded. He could be a bit much sometimes, but I didn’t mind.Before he could say more, the lecturer and camp organizers blew the whistle outside. Everyone was heading out for the day’s hike. Blake sighed. “I wish you hadn’t gone back for your phone last night. Now you don’t even have it.” He gave me one last worried look and left.I sighed, glancing around the empty
I sighed heavily the moment Liam stepped out of the tent. Was he okay? He had carried me for what felt like forty-nine minutes through the dark bushes. I must have exhausted him. The thought made something warm bloom in my chest, unexpected and confusing. Did he actually save me? Did he really come looking for me?Even when I had fallen into that pit, part of me had hoped—foolishly—that he would be the one to find me. He was the only person who had ever truly known how to reach me. But I had pushed the thought away quickly, convinced he wouldn’t care anymore. Not after everything.I forced myself to sit up, determined to check on him. The moment I tried to stand, pain shot through my leg and I collapsed onto the floor with a quiet thud. The tent flap opened almost instantly.“Noah?” Liam’s voice was sharp with concern. “Where were you trying to go?”“Uhmm… I just wanted to see if you were okay,” I admitted. “I saw you bleeding a lot.”“Come on, I’m okay. Don’t worry.” His tone was sur
When we reached the camp, I couldn’t tell whether Blake had already alerted the lecturer, but everyone looked tense — the kind of worry that comes from a wait that’s gone on too long. They wanted to talk immediately, but I raised a hand to stop them before any noise could start. I knew one thing about Noah with absolute certainty: he despised being woken by sound when he was finally asleep.I carried him to his tent. I laid him down carefully. He didn’t stir.What kind of person sleeps through being carried, I thought, shaking my head as I stepped back out.The lecturer was waiting with his arms crossed, clearly unhappy. “Why didn’t you tell me you were leaving?”“I didn’t want to cause a scene, sir. Didn’t want to scare the others.”Blake’s hand found my shoulder. “Is my Noah okay?” His worry was genuine.My Noah. The phrase landed strangely — Blake had clearly claimed the friendship fast and completely. I nodded, reluctant, not particularly in the mood for conversation with anyone r
I ran toward the pit, flashlight beam slicing through the oppressive darkness. Branches whipped at my arms and face, but I barely felt them. My heart slammed against my ribs as I reached the edge and looked down. There he was—Noah—lying crumpled at the bottom, bruised and unconscious, dust and dirt streaking his face, a cut bleeding slowly on his forehead.A sharp pang of panic tore through me. I dropped into the pit without hesitation, landing hard beside him. “Noah,” I whispered urgently, touching his shoulder. He didn’t stir. “Noah, please…”I lifted his upper body into my arms, cradling him against my chest. His head lolled weakly. “Come on, Noah. Wake up.”His eyelids fluttered slowly. When his gaze finally focused on me, shock and something like relief washed over his features. For a split second, I wondered—Did he actually expect me to come?I tried to keep my voice steady, but anger and fear bled through. “Do you know how dangerous this is? Coming into these bushes alone at ni
I stared out the bus window as the mountain road wound higher, the trees blurring into a green haze. Days had blurred into a tense silence since that night with Serene. She had disappeared completely afterward, like smoke after a fire. Good riddance. But the real weight I carried wasn’t her—it was him. Noah.When I first learned the truth about Ava—that she had been playing me the entire time, pretending to be Noah’s twin brother in some twisted game—I felt something inside me shatter. The betrayal cut deep, in ways I still couldn’t fully articulate. Why hadn’t Noah told me? At least a simple message: I’m not here. Don’t wait. Instead, he left me in the dark, like our childhood closeness, all those years of shared secrets and unwavering support, meant nothing. Even when he returned from Europe, my texts went unanswered. That silence confirmed everything. The boy I had grown up with, the one I would’ve done anything for, had erased me without a second thought.That pain twisted into so
I stepped into the house after another long day and was met with the familiar, comforting quiet. Serene had vanished completely in the days that followed the incident no more surprise visits, no dramatic scenes. I thanked God silently for the small mercy. The tension between Liam and me, however, had only thickened. We moved around each other like ghosts in the same space, avoiding eye contact, exchanging no words. It was exhausting, but at least it was predictable.My life outside the house remained steady. Camilla and Blake were constants bright spots after grueling lectures and endless assignments. We grabbed coffee between classes, complained about deadlines, and laughed until the stress melted away. Hockey practice had been paused by the captain—Liam himself—due to everyone’s heavy academic load. Part of me was relieved. Facing him on the ice after everything still stirred too many conflicting emotions.One ordinary morning, I walked into class and noticed the unusual buzz. Stude
The maids took my bags upstairs and I had barely processed being home before I saw my father coming toward me.“Dad,” I said.He slapped me before I’d finished the word.I hit the ground. For a moment I just stayed there, looking at the floor, understanding with complete clarity that he had found o
I looked at her. “Mum. You knew?”She nodded gently.“How?” My eyes were still red, still searching her face for the explanation.She held my cheeks in both hands. “My baby. I overheard you and Maya talking — on the day we all went away for that vacation.” She paused. “I confronted her about it. Ha
Coach looked at me with the careful attention of someone who has noticed that something is wrong and is giving it space to become words.“Noah. What did you want to tell us?”My eyes were still red. I hadn’t been able to do anything about that. I looked around the group — at faces I had trained bes
The first half ended well enough that Coach was smiling — genuinely, the full version, the one he reserved for moments that exceeded what he had planned for.“You’re doing beautifully,” he said, looking around the group. “All of you. This is exactly what we prepared for.” His eyes moved to me. “Noa







