LOGINWhen Liam asked me out. Like on a date, I didn’t say yes at first. I stood there blinking at him like an idiot.It wasn’t even the question that scared me, it was what it actually meant.And of course, the moment I got home, I immediately called Nola.She picked up on the second ring, sounding calm as always. “Hey. What’s wrong?”I didn’t even know where to start, so I told her everything. About Liam asking me out. About how I froze and hadn’t responded. I told her about Derek… God, even saying his name out loud made me feel weird. I told her how I didn’t want to mess things up or make anyone mad.Nola listened. She always listens. You could practically hear her thinking on the other end of the line.Then she said, “Ivy… sometimes you overthink because you care too much about doing the right thing. You’re not choosing between good and bad,” she said. “You’re just choosing. And yeah, that’s scarier, but it’s still a choice you have to make. You have to choose you at the end of the day
After gym, it was like the whole school couldn’t shut up.People were whispering about how hard Maya got hit, how Liam didn’t even flinch, and how he just walked out like he’d dropped the mic. One girl even made a reference to a BTS mic drop song.And then there was me, the girl he apparently protected.By the time I got to class, it was already happening. Eyes. Whispers. It’s always the whispers that get you.Diane was smirking at me. “You know you’re trending, right?”“Please,” I said, trying to hide my face in my notebook.“I’m serious. Everyone’s talking. They’re saying Liam’s gone soft. Like, soft-soft.”I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to be happy about that. What I did know was that I hated the stares and the side talks. No one enjoys being talked about or constantly stared at.I let out a tired groan and further buried my face in my books.And then, like on cue, the door opened, and there he was. Liam. Late as always, with messy hair and an unreadable expression.He didn’t eve
The cafeteria was loud, there was too much noise. Diane was already talking before I even sat down.“You missed so much, girl, like you don’t even know. Maya tried to join Claire’s group yesterday.”I blinked at her, halfway through opening my juice. “Maya? Claire’s group?”“Yeah,” she said, leaning closer like it was classified info. “She’s been acting all high and mighty, you know, ever since Sophia started hanging with her. Thought she could level up or something.”I chewed on my sandwich, not saying anything. Diane didn’t need encouragement; she was already on fire.“So she went over to their table, and she just plopped down like she belonged there. Started talking about outfits, boys, whatever. Claire just looked at her and said, ‘Sorry, we don’t take in strays.’”I choked a little on my drink. “She did not say that.”“She did. Word for word. And then she said Maya wasn’t ‘up to par,’ or something like that. Said she should stay with Sophia and her little group because they’re a
The next morning, my phone was a mess.I had like, thirty something missed messages. From Diane, Nola, Gary, Zane. Even Liam. All stacked up one after another. I’d totally forgotten to text anyone. My brain had been too full.Most of the messages were short—hey, where are you?, are you okay?, you alive? stuff like that. I quickly replied to most of them with short messages like “I’m fine” and “sorry, I’ve been busy.” But when I got to Zane’s and Liam’s messages, I just stared at the screen.My thumb hovered over the screen, but I couldn’t bring myself to type anything.I figured I’d explain later. In person. Somehow.When I got to school, the first thing I noticed was the noise. Lockers slamming and people laughing like they had no worries. I was standing there, still dazed, when someone called my name.“Ivy!”Diane came running like she had been waiting for me. She hugged me so hard I almost lost my balance.“God, you scared us,” she said, pulling back to look at me. “Where the hel
Sometime in the middle of the night, I woke up and reached out, but my hand found nothing. The bed was cold where Derek should have been.For a moment, my mind went blank. I sat up quickly, and my head spun. The room was dim, lit by the faint, yellowish hospital light.The monitor was beeping steadily, but the bed was empty. I stared at it for a few seconds longer than I should have.I was completely thrown off by how absurd what I was imagining sounded.“Derek?” I whispered. My voice sounded strange.No answer.I got up fast, my heart racing. It felt both foolish and entirely justified. I was halfway to the door when the bathroom door opened, and he walked out, blinking at me as if I had startled him.“What are you doing?” he asked, voice still rough from sleep.“I thought……” I stopped. “You weren’t…….. I didn’t see you.”He just blinked again, confused, then laughed. Like really laughed. A deep, tired laugh that made me want to smile, if not for my still skipping heart. “You thoug
“Why?” I asked again, my voice sharper this time. “Why, Derek?”Silence. Only the monitor beeped, like it was answering for him.“Why would you do that?” My voice broke. “You told me not to give up. You told me things get better. You said I had to hold on, remember?”I heard myself talking, but it felt like someone else was using my voice.I was shaking so hard it shook the bed rail.“You said we were in this together.”“Do you know how much it scared me? I thought… I thought you were gone. I thought I lost you.”I gripped his hand tighter, my tears dripping onto his skin. “I thought we were close. I thought you were family. Why would you try to leave me like that? Am I that easy to let go of?”For a long moment, there was nothing but the sound of me crying and the soft beeps of the machines. He closed his eyes. His chest rose slowly.“Say something,” I whispered. “Please.”When he finally spoke, his voice was rough and scraped raw.“I thought I was losing you.”Losing me? How? I wa
Ivy’s POV I hadn’t even made it past the gate when I felt that weird feeling that something wasn’t right. People were looking. Again. Oh Lord! What was the problem? No one was laughing though, or whispering. They were just staring. Like they were waiting for something. I hated it. I walked f
IVY Coming back this time didn’t feel like before. The first time I returned after the funeral hadn’t gone quite well. This time? It was different. I couldn’t explain it. It just felt wrong somehow. And weirdly, nobody was even staring. They were avoiding me. Like, actually making space when I
IVY Aunt Linda didn’t say much on the way home. She just kept her hand on my back as we walked to the car. I didn’t talk either. I didn’t have it in me. My head was a mess. Nothing made sense. Everything felt off. The second we walked in, I just went to my room. I didn’t change. Didn’t eat. I ju
By third period, I started hearing things. I noticed how people’s eyes lingered too long. How some gave me extra space while walking beside me. Some even went out of their way to avoid me. I paid more attention to my surroundings and caught snippets like: “She was in therapy.” “I heard it







