CHAPTER 8: IT WAS A MISTAKE

CHAPTER 8: IT WAS A MISTAKE

ANNA’S POV

The world was spinning. Everything blurred except Ella’s tear streaked face and the hundreds of eyes burning holes into my skin.

“Ella, please—” My voice cracked badly.

“How could you?!” she sobbed, her words shattering. “I—I’m your best friend, Anna! Your best friend!”

“You still are—”

“No!” She screamed so loud the entire cafeteria went still for a second. “You slept with my fucking boyfriend!”

The accusation slammed into me like a truck. My knees nearly buckled. Hot tears spilled down my cheeks before I could stop them.

“Please, Ella… can we talk outside?” I begged, my voice barely a whisper. “Away from everyone. Please.”

“You planned this!” she yelled, stepping back like I was toxic. “The party, the secrets, acting like you didn't want to come, you wanted him all to yourself from the start, you fucking slut!”

I flinched hard, wiping tears that wouldn’t stop falling. “Ella, I swear I didn’t! I was going to tell you, I—” My throat closed up. “It was a mistake. I never meant for this to happen.”

“You… what?” She wiped her tears so roughly her cheeks turned red. The hurt in her eyes cut deeper than any insult. “I hate you, Anna. I fucking hate you right now. Don’t ever talk to me. Like, actually don’t. I can’t even look at you.”

The silence in the cafeteria felt suffocating.

“Ella… please,” I whispered, taking one small step forward, hand reaching out desperately. “I was scared and stupid. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“Oh wow, thanks for the self-awareness,” she snapped bitterly, fresh tears replacing the ones she wiped away. “Do you know how stupid I feel? I’m crying over a fucking boy in front of the whole school because my best friend stabbed me at my back!”

She grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder like an armor.

“I can’t even look at you right now.” Her voice broke. “good luck fucking my boyfriend.”

“Ella, please—”

“Don’t.” She cut me off one last time, voice cold. “Just… don’t.”

She turned and stormed out. The sound of the cafeteria doors slamming behind her echoed like a gunshot.

For a few painful seconds, there was silence.

Then the whispers exploded.

I stood frozen in the middle of the room as laughter, pointing, and gossip crashed over me like a wave. My legs gave out. I sank slowly into the nearest chair, tears pouring down my face in ugly streams.

This isn’t a dream.

I never have nightmares this cruel. This kind of pain only happens when you’re wide awake.

The memory hit me without warning.

Third grade.

I was sitting on the cold, dirty bathroom floor, knees pulled to my chest. Scissors shaking violently in my tiny hands. My eyes were so swollen from crying I could barely see.

“You’re so ugly.”

They had cornered me again after recess. Vera, the leader, laughing while her friends recorded. “I wish you would just disappear, Anna. No one would even notice if you died.”

Tears ran down my face as I grabbed a thick chunk of my long hair. The only thing anyone ever said was pretty about me.

Snip. Snip. Snip.

The blunt scissors pulled and hurt, but I kept cutting, chopping everything out

If I make myself even uglier, maybe they’ll stop.

If I become disgusting on purpose, the pain will finally stop.

More uneven chunks fell onto the dirty tiles around me. I looked like a broken doll and still… I cried harder. Because even after ruining the last good thing about me, I still felt completely worthless, completely alone.

After recess, no one came to check on me .

Not the teacher, not a single kid, no one.

I sat there surrounded by my own hair until the final bell rang, wishing I could vanish from the earth.

I gasped, crashing back to the present.

Tears were still flooding down my face in the middle of the cafeteria. My chest felt like it was being ripped open with barbed wire.

Ella’s broken voice kept echoing in my head.

“I hate you, Anna.”

I wrapped my arms tightly around myself, rocking slightly, trying to disappear just like I did back then. The whispers grew louder, crueler.

“Backstabber…”

“Such a slut…”

"It's so sad. She lost both her virginity and her best friend.”

Please just make me disappear.

“Shut the fuck up, Ronald!” a deep, angry voice boomed from behind me and everyone turned instantly.

William walked straight towards me, eyes blazing with fury. He gently pulled me up from the chair, wrapped a strong arm around my waist, and leaned close to my ear.

“Just play along,” he whispered into my ear.

Before I could process what was happening, he turned to the entire cafeteria, voice loud and clear.

“She’s my girlfriend.” He looked me dead in the eyes, then faced everyone again. “Anna is my girlfriend. So all of you — should shut the fuck up.”