LOGINBella didn’t stay down for long.I felt it before she even moved. The shift in her breathing, the way her body tensed slightly against mine like something had settled in her mind.She wasn’t going to let it go.“Elias,” she said quietly.I looked down at her. “Yeah?”“I’m not doing that again.”“Doing what?”“Standing there while she walks away like I don’t exist,” she said, pulling back to look at me properly. Her eyes weren’t soft anymore. They were steady. Decided.I exhaled slowly. “Bella…”“No,” she cut in, shaking her head. “I need to know what I did. I can’t just sit here guessing.”She was right.As much as I wanted her to rest, to take a moment, I knew Bella. Once she made up her mind, there was no stopping it.I sat up. “Then let’s go.”—We found Lisa near the back of the campus.Not alone.But not surrounded either.
Bella didn’t wait.The moment she saw Lisa, she moved.I knew that look on her face. Determined, a little nervous underneath, but trying to act like she had everything under control. She walked straight across the courtyard, her steps steady, her eyes locked on Lisa like nothing else existed.For a second, I thought maybe it would work.Maybe Lisa would stay.Maybe they’d talk.Fix whatever had been broken.But Lisa saw her coming.And she walked away.Just like that.No hesitation. No pause. Not even a glance back.Bella stopped.Right there in the middle of the courtyard.I watched the moment hit her.It was small, but it was there. The way her shoulders dropped just slightly, the way her expression faltered before she quickly tried to pull it back together.“Okay…” she muttered under her breath. “That was harsh.”She tried to laugh it off
We both stopped.Slowly.And then we turned.Riley stood a few steps ahead, arms crossed, one brow slightly raised like she had been watching us for longer than we realized. But there was something else there too. Not just attitude. Not just her usual sharp energy.Relief.It was subtle, but I saw it.Bella saw it too.For a second, no one moved.Then Bella broke first.“Riley!”Her voice wasn’t guarded anymore. It wasn’t sarcastic or defensive. It was real.Riley barely had time to react before Bella closed the distance and pulled her into a tight hug. It wasn’t soft or polite. It was the kind of hug that came with too many emotions behind it, the kind that said more than words ever could.Riley stiffened for a second.Then she hugged back.Just as tight.“You disappeared,” Riley muttered against her shoulder.“So did you,” Bella
Walking through the school gates felt strange.Too familiar and too different at the same time. Like everything looked the same, but I wasn’t. Or maybe it was the other way around.People noticed us immediately.“Hey, man.”“Elias!”“Bella!”Voices came from different directions as we walked in, some casual, some curious, some clearly just trying to get a better look. I nodded, greeted a few back, kept moving like nothing was off even though I could feel the attention sticking to us.Bella stayed close beside me.“Back to school,” she muttered under her breath.I glanced at her and gave a small nod. “Yeah. Back to the madness.”She huffed lightly, then straightened a bit like she was putting on her usual confidence again. I knew that look. She was bracing herself.We moved further into campus, past familiar buildings, familiar faces, everything hitting in pieces. It felt like stepping back into a life that had paused without me.“By the way,” Bella said, lowering her voice slightly, “
I went upstairs to get dressed By the time I got dressed, I was already tired.Bella was ready before me for once. She stood by the door, phone in hand, looking impatient but also… off. Not her usual loud self. Just quiet, like something was still sitting in her mind from yesterday.“You good?” I asked.She glanced at me. “I should be asking you that.”“I asked first.”She rolled her eyes. “I’m fine. Let’s just go before I change my mind about this whole school thing.”I grabbed my bag. “Too late now.”When we stepped outside, the car was already there.Vane.Of course.He leaned against it like he had been waiting for a while, calm as ever. Like yesterday didn’t happen. Like Bella didn’t slap him. Like nothing between us had shifted.Bella saw him and immediately looked away.“Seriously?” she muttered. “We’re doing this?”I didn’t respond.Vane opened the back door without saying anything.Bella got in first, not even looking at him. I followed after a second, sliding in beside her.
My phone rang just as I stepped out of the building.I paused, pulling it out of my pocket, my eyes narrowing slightly when I saw Bella’s name flashing across the screen. I answered immediately.“Where are you?” she asked.Her voice was quick, slightly breathless, like she had been moving around.“Outside,” I replied. “Why?”“I already went back to the house,” she said. “Just meet me there.”“Bella, what—”The call cut.I stared at the screen for a second before lowering it slowly. That was unlike her. She never hung up first, not without finishing whatever she wanted to say.“What is it?” Vane’s voice came from behind me.I turned slightly, slipping my phone back into my pocket. “Bella. She’s already at the house.”He nodded once. “Where to?”I exhaled slowly. “Let’s go to the house. I need to pack my things, then we head out.”There was a pause.Then he said, “Already did.”I turned to look at him properly this time. “Wait… what?”“I already packed your things,” he repeated, his ton
I woke up to the sound of Vane’s suitcase zipper.He was already dressed—dark jeans, charcoal sweater, leather jacket slung over the chair. The room still smelled like last night: sex, his cologne, the faint sweetness of Isabella’s vanilla body spray from when she hugged me goodbye. Sunlight sliced
The next morning hit like a truck full of regret and caffeine withdrawal.My alarm screamed at 7:45—some default chime that sounded like a dying robot. I slapped it silent, groaned, and immediately regretted every shot Riley had shoved into my hand last night. My head throbbed in time with my heart
I woke up that morning already exhausted.The kind of tired that lives in your bones, the kind no amount of concealer can hide. My reflection in the bathroom mirror looked like a stranger—pale, eyes hollow, mouth set in that careful, practiced half-smile I’d been perfecting for weeks. I looked expe
Elias didn’t leave his room for the rest of the day.He showered three times, scrubbing until his skin was raw, but the sticky shame clung to him like smoke. Every time he closed his eyes he saw Cyrus’s smirk across the dinner table, felt the phantom slide of that hand beneath the cloth. Worse—he f







