Chapter Sixty-Four — Jason's POV

I’ve been called a lot of things—cocky, reckless, loud, obnoxious.

But never scared.

Until now.

Because Lila’s text sat on my phone like a ticking bomb: We need to talk.

I read it once. Twice. Ten times. And every single time, my chest got tighter.

That phrase is never good. Never. It’s what people say before they dump you, before they break your heart, before they tell you something you don’t want to hear.

And the fact that it was from her? Yeah, I’d take a punch to the face over this any day.

I paced my room, running a hand through my hair for the hundredth time. My reflection in the mirror looked back at me, messy and restless, and for once I didn’t recognize the guy.

This wasn’t the Jason Cole everyone knew—the guy who never cared too much, who laughed off anything serious, who always had another joke locked and loaded.

This was a guy who was terrified of losing someone.

Her.

All day at school, I’d felt it. The way she’d been quieter, distracted. The way she avoided meeting my eye