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TWENTY-FOUR

Author: Cherish
last update Last Updated: 2025-06-12 19:06:40

Then came Monday.

School.

The first day back was harder than I expected.

I kept telling myself it’d be fine. I thought I could just slide in, keep my head down, and make it through. But deep down, I knew I was kidding myself.

Nothing felt normal.

The hallway was loud and noisy as usual, but I felt completely out of it. I felt separate.

I adjusted my bag. My fingers fumbled with the strap. I hated how fast my heart was going.

I kept my eyes on the floor, hoping no one would notice me. But they did.

Some people gave these quick, polite smiles like they didn’t know what to say. Others just looked away like eye contact might make things worse.

While some whispered behind their hands. I didn’t need to hear what they were saying. I knew.

Honestly, I’d probably be staring too, if it were to be someone else, but not in a bad way.

It still sucked.

Everything was too loud. Too bright. But inside me felt very quiet. Heavy. Like something was pressing down on me from the
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  • SECRETS & SCANDALS   CHAPTER THIRTY

    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 walked down the hallway. Turning away like I had something they didn’t want to catch. I tried not to overthink it until it started happening in every class. No side talks. No snickering. Just distance. At lunch, I finally asked. “Okay, did something happen?” I asked Nola as we sat down. “Everyone’s acting weird. Like, extra weird.” “People are acting like I’m radioactive.” Nola and Diane exchanged a look. Sophia was picking at her salad. Gary shrugged, stealing food from Diane as usual. “You seriously don’t know?” Diane asked. “Know what?” Nola leaned in, lowering her voice. “Zane told people to leave you alone. Like… seriously warned them.” My mouth fell open. “Why would he do t

  • SECRETS & SCANDALS   TWENTY NINE

    Liam’s POV I was in the A-listers’ room, slouched in my chair, the one everybody knew not to touch. Hoodie over my head, phone in my hand. Just scrolling. Not really seeing anything. Just muscle memory at that point I wasn’t thinking about much until Zane came in and sat across from me. Something was off with him. I could tell right away. “You good?” I asked. He went quiet. Tapped the table with his fingers a few times. Like he was thinking hard or stalling. Then he looked at me. “I saw Ivy.” I blinked. “Wait, what?” “She came back. I saw her walking by the main hall.” I didn’t move. Didn’t breathe. Just sat there. Ivy? Back? Like she was actually back? “She looked okay?” I asked, trying to sound casual. Zane shrugged. “Didn’t get close. Just saw her. She looked kinda small. Quiet.” That word hit weird. I knew what he meant. Not short. Not size. Just… small. Like the air around her was too big. Like she was shrinking into herself. I tried not to picture it. I really did

  • SECRETS & SCANDALS   TWENTY EIGHT

    Zane’s POV After I told Liam about liking Ivy, I don’t know… it felt weird. Like something inside me just changed. I kept glancing around for her. Even when I didn’t mean to. In the hallway, on the field, in the cafeteria, I just found myself searching. And when I finally saw her back in school… it hit me. Relief. She was really here. I didn’t even think. My chest just eased up, like I’d been holding something heavy for days and it dropped off all at once. I wanted to talk to her, but my feet didn’t move. She looked tired. Smaller than I remembered. Like she’d been through something that none of us could even understand. I didn’t want to say the wrong thing. Later, in our A-listers’ room, our hangout space. Liam was sitting in his usual chair, scrolling on his phone, legs up like he owned the whole place. I sat across from him, tapping my fingers, trying to act normal. “I saw Ivy today,” I said. Liam didn’t look up at first. Then he did. Slow. “Yeah?” “She looked… I don’t

  • SECRETS & SCANDALS   TWENTY-SEVEN

    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 just collapsed into bed, pulled the covers over my head, and shut everything out. Or tried to. I must’ve fallen asleep, but later that night I woke up crying. My heart was racing. My face was soaked. So was my pillow. It took me a minute to even sit up. In the dream, I was in the hallway again. Kids were laughing at me. They yelled things like, “It’s your fault they died.” “You’re bad luck.” “Go cry to your dead parents.” I was yelling that it wasn’t me, but they didn’t care. Someone pushed me. My knees hit the ground. My throat hurt from yelling. In the dream, I reached out, hoping someone, anyone would help me. But no one did. Then I woke up, still crying. I hugged my knees and tried

  • SECRETS & SCANDALS   CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

    Diane didn’t shout. She never does. Even when she was angry. But she ran straight to me anyway. Her face looked terrified. Like she didn’t know what to do, just that she had to get to me before they did something worse. She knelt next to me. “Ivy?” You’re okay. Look at me, alright?” Her voice was soft, a little unsteady. I barely moved. Behind her, one of the girls still laughed like this was some kind of joke. The other one, I think her name was Rosa, held up her phone again. “Are you serious right now?” Diane snapped, turning around. “She’s having a panic attack.” They didn’t stop. Sophia and Nola stormed in right after. They must’ve heard Diane yelling, or maybe just heard the mess from the hallway. “Back off,” Sophia said, stepping in between the girls and Diane. Her face was red. She looked very angry, her eyes weren’t even blinking. Nola saw Rosa still recording, she didn’t even wait. She snatched the phone out of her hand and threw it on the floor. It cracked. Piec

  • SECRETS & SCANDALS   TWENTY-FIVE

    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 was a psych center.” “No, like an actual mental place.” “Someone saw her there.” “Maybe she lost it after her parents died.” “Yeah, I heard she freaked out at the scene of the fire. Screamed or something.” I kept my head down. Pretended not to hear. Pretended it didn’t matter. But my ears were hot. My eyes started to sting. I didn’t stop walking. I turned the corner, headed to my locker. The plan was simple: drop everything, grab my bag, and head home. I opened my locker. Someone had left a note inside. White paper. Black ink. Uncoordinated handwriting. “Careful not to snap in class, mental case.” I dropped it. My hands were shaking. I picked it up, stuffed it in

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