LOGINI 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
I stepped into the house and savored the profound quiet that wrapped around me like a comforting blanket. It was the best part of my day—returning from the chaos of campus and the infirmary without Liam’s presence looming over everything. He irritated the fuck out of me now, his very existence a constant source of tension. I sighed heavily and sank onto the edge of my bed. The room was a complete disaster. Clothes lay scattered across the floor, the bed unmade, books and notes piled haphazardly on every surface. “Wow, I can be careless sometimes,” I muttered to myself.Despite the sharp ache still pulsing through my lip and the general weakness in my body, I forced myself to start cleaning. I folded scattered shirts, organized my notes, and straightened the bed. Each movement tugged uncomfortably at my wounds, but the act of reclaiming my space felt oddly therapeutic. As I cleared out a small drawer, a faded photograph caught my eye—one of me and Ava, smiling brightly in better times.
I winced as the nurse finished dressing my wound, the fresh bandages pulling tight against the reopened split on my lip. The pain was sharper now, a constant throb that made every word feel like fire when I tried to speak. Blood loss and the hard fall on the ice had left me drained, but I was alive. That was what mattered.The door to the small infirmary room creaked open, and Blake rushed in, his face etched with worry. “Noah,” he called, voice shaking as he dropped onto the edge of the bed beside me. “I thought you were going to lose too much blood and die out there.”I managed a weak laugh, ignoring the sting it caused. “Come on, I can’t die. It’s just blood.”“Are you sure?” He pouted, eyes still wide with concern.“Yes.” I reached up and ruffled his hair lightly, messing it up the way I knew he hated. “I’ll be fine. Don’t be such a crybaby.”He swatted my hand away gently, but the tension in his shoulders eased a fraction. “What did you ever do to Liam? He’s so evil.”I paused at
I didn’t dare look at him again. Liam’s cold, piercing stare made my skin crawl with discomfort. The sweetness of the ice cream turned bitter in my mouth. I turned to Camilla, forcing a casual smile. “We need to go. Please. Now.”She looked at me, confused, spoon halfway to her lips. “Why, Noah? We were having a good time.”“Uhmm… because I forgot there’s an assignment I need to finish tonight,” I lied, already standing.She nodded slowly. “That’s fair enough.” As we left, I lifted her bag for her and we headed out. I could feel Liam’s eyes burning into my back the entire way, but I refused to glance over my shoulder. Not once.I escorted Camilla all the way to her dorm, the night air cool against my flushed skin. At her door, she turned with a bright smile. “It was a wonderful evening.”I nodded, managing a small smile in return. “Yeah, it was.”She waved goodbye and disappeared inside. I sighed, adjusting the straps of my backpack, and began the slow walk home. My mind churned with
“Are you a child?” I looked at him standing there in the doorway, blood creeping down his arm, wet plaster peeling away from the skin. “I left you alone for ten minutes. Ten minutes. And now look at you.” I shook my head. “If this gets any worse you won’t be playing in the match at all.”He said no
POV: Ava CarterI made my first mistake on a Tuesday.We were in the film room watching tape from the charity game and Coach Merritt paused on a play and asked me to walk through my decision making on the left wing sequence. I leaned forward and started talking and I used my hands the way I always
POV: Ava CarterI stood outside the arena with my hands in my jacket pockets and let the ocean wind hit my face and for exactly thirty seconds I forgot who I was supposed to be. The sky was wide and grey and beautiful and the waves were loud and far away and I just breathed.Then someone called out
POV: Ava CarterThe room was small. Two beds. Two desks. One window that looked out at the training rink. And Kai Bennett sitting on the left bed with his arms crossed, watching me drag my bag through the door like he was studying something he had not figured out yet.I set my bag down and said not







