LOGINNate Donalds has survived high school by hiding behind books But when his private journal his darkest secrets, therapy struggles, and forbidden love for Cole Michaelson is exposed, the walls he built around himself shatter. Humiliation, betrayal, and bullying threaten to destroy him for good. Cole is the school’s golden boy with secrets of his own, steps in to protect Nate but at a cost. He’s bisexual, trapped in silence by his abusive father and terrified of losing everything if the truth comes out. Between stolen kisses, hidden meetings, and the relentless cruelty of high school, Nate and Cole are forced to ask: is their love strong enough to survive the lies, the fear, and the betrayal waiting to tear them apart?
View MoreCHAPTER FORTYThe car ride home was the longest silence I’ve ever sat in.No music. No talking. Just rain starting up again and the sound of the wipers dragging across the windshield.Cole drove like a ghost — eyes fixed on the road, jaw locked. His knuckles were white around the steering wheel.I didn’t even know if he saw the traffic lights or just felt them.I wanted to say something — anything — but the words kept dying before they reached my mouth. What do you even say after watching someone’s father slice him open with words?When he finally pulled up in front of my house, he didn’t move. The engine hummed.“You want to come inside?” I asked quietly.He shook his head. “Not yet.”I hesitated, then reached over and turned the ignition off. The car went quiet, except for the rain.“Then we can just sit,” I said.He leaned back in the seat, eyes closed, breathing hard. For a second, he looked less like the invincible Cole everyone knew and more like a kid trying not to break.“I sh
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINEBy Tuesday, everyone had seen it.The video. The confession. Us.There wasn’t a single hallway, phone screen, or group chat that didn’t have our faces in it. I knew that before I even got to school, but seeing it in person hit different.People didn’t whisper anymore. They stared. Out loud.Some laughed.Some just looked at me like I was contagious.I tried to focus on walking straight, keeping my head up, pretending the noise didn’t exist.But the noise followed.“Guess they really did it.”“Can you believe Cole of all people?”“Poor Ariana.”“Poor Nate.”That one stung the most. Poor Nate. Like I was some sad, doomed puppy who needed saving.When I reached my locker, Cole was already there. Hoodie up. Head down.We didn’t say anything for a few seconds. Just… existed.Then he said, “You good?”I laughed, hollow. “Define good.”He gave a half-smile. “Breathing?”“Barely.”He nodded like that was enough for now.The hallway noise kept building — the kind of buzz th
The rain came before the morning did.Soft, rhythmic, like the sky was trying to hush the world. It should’ve been peaceful — the kindof morning that made you want to stay under the sheets, pretend nothing outside existed. But peacewasn’t something I could afford anymore.Cole’s arm was around my waist, heavy and protective, like even in his sleep he was daring theuniverse to come close. His breath brushed my neck, slow and even, and for a minute, I just stayedthere — still, watching the faint light slip through the curtains and fall across his face.He looked different when he slept. Softer. Like the walls he built just… didn’t exist for a while.And damn, it was dangerous — how much I liked that version of him.He stirred, his nose brushing my shoulder. “You’re staring,” he muttered, voice still rough withsleep.I smiled. “You’re imagining things.”“Uh-huh.” His lips curved. “You always do that when you think I’m asleep.”“Do what?”“Look at me like I’m gonna disappear.”My che
By Wednesday, the school felt like a stage and we were the unwilling headliners.Every hallway we walked through came with a soundtrack of whispers, half-hidden phones, andthat fake laugh people use when they want you to know they’re talking about you.I was trying to play it cool — keep my head up, keep my steps even — but my stomach keptdoing this nervous rollercoaster flip thing.Cole?He walked like nothing bothered him.Hands in his hoodie pocket. Earbuds in. Calm as ever.It made me crazy — in the good way and the what-the-hell-how-do-you-do-that way.“You’re staring,” he said, glancing at me as we walked.I blinked. “I’m not.”He smirked. “You totally are.”“Shut up.”He chuckled. “You love me though.”And I hated how easily my heart stuttered when he said that — so casually, like it was nothing.Like it wasn’t everything.We reached my locker, and for once, no one said anything. Maybe the novelty was wearing off. Ormaybe Ariana had moved on to her next round of chaos.I sho






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