CHAPTER THIRTEEN

I stayed in my room all day, curled up against the headboard, my curtains drawn tight enough to swallow most of the sunlight. The world outside kept moving, I knew that much, the dull hum of traffic filtered faintly through the glass, voices sometimes drifted past the house, but for me, time just… stopped.

I wasn’t tired, but my body refused to move. I couldn’t read. Couldn’t focus. The laptop sat idle on my desk, Taylor behind it, a pile of notebooks untouched beside it. All I could do was stare at the ceiling and feel this heaviness pressing against my chest.

The image wouldn’t leave my head. Damian holding Marianne. His arms wrapped around her like they belonged there. His face buried in her neck like she was home.

And me? I was the outsider watching from a distance with a stupid box of cookies pressed to my ribs.

I thought maybe the ache would fade by evening, but it only grew sharper, needling deeper, and by the time I dragged my laptop onto my bed to drown myself in movies, I already knew it wouldn’t go away.

Taylor was there, sprawled across my desk chair like he owned it, his long legs kicked out, eyes glued to the screen. He’d shown up earlier, quietly, not pushing me to talk but not leaving me alone either. He had a way of filling silence without suffocating it, like his very presence was enough to keep me from slipping under.

For a while, I let myself focus on the movie with him. But then my phone buzzed.

I ignored it the first time, but the second buzz made my chest tighten. With trembling fingers, I reached for it.

The message glared back at me.

Damian:

I looked for you after the game ended. Didn’t see you anywhere.

Thanks for showing up, meant a lot.

My breath caught, a mixture of relief and hurt tangling into something that made no sense. He looked for me. He noticed I was gone. That had to mean something, didn’t it?

Without thinking, I shoved the phone toward Taylor. “Look.”

He took it, his brows drawing together as he read. A long silence stretched out before he finally exhaled and clicked pause on the movie. The room instantly felt too quiet.

He leaned back, holding my phone between two fingers like it weighed too much. “Autumn… I think it’s a good idea if you take a break. From all of this.”

I blinked at him. “What?”

“From Damian,” he said plainly. “At least until you can control how much space he takes up in here.” He tapped a finger gently against my forehead.

I scoffed, shaking my head. “You’re kidding, right? Damian’s my best friend. I can’t just stay away from him.”

“Best friend?” Taylor repeated, tilting his head like the words tasted sour. “Autumn, he might be your best friend, but is it the other way around? Really think about it. Who has your back more,him, or you for him?”

I clenched my hands in the blanket. “You don’t understand. He’s always been there. Since forever. That has to count for something.”

Taylor sighed. “Yeah, maybe once. But now? He’s so into Marianne he can barely see straight. He let her talk him into stopping you from riding in his car. He barely checks in on you anymore. Barely hangs out with you. Best friends don’t do that, Autumn. Best friends look out for each other. And right now, it feels like you’re the only one holding on.”

His words hit too close, like sharp little truths I didn’t want to hear. I wanted to argue, but nothing came out.

Instead, my voice broke softer than I intended. “I was supposed to be there for him after the game. He lost, Taylor. And I left. I left because I couldn’t stand watching him hug her like, like that.”

Taylor gave me a look, disbelief flickering across his face. “So you punish yourself for walking away from a moment he didn’t even think twice about? Autumn, come on.”

I sat up straighter, suddenly desperate to hold on to the thread that kept Damian close. “I need to go see him. Tonight. Give him the cookies. They’ll go to waste otherwise.”

Taylor muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like, Or you could just give them to me. But when I shot him a look, he smiled instead. “Do what makes you happy.”

That was all the permission I needed.

A grin stretched across my face for the first time all day, and before he could stop me, I was already on my feet, clutching the ribbon-tied box. The night air outside was crisp, carrying the damp promise of rain. The sky had gone an inky blue, clouds rolling heavy above the rooftops, but none of that mattered.

I was going to see Damian.

His house wasn’t far. My sneakers hit the pavement in rhythm with my heartbeat, the cookie box tucked against my side. The streets were quieter than usual, lamps flickering to life as the wind picked up. Every step I took tightened something inside me, nerves, hope, fear all tangled together.

When I reached his gate, I hesitated only a second before slipping inside. The front door loomed ahead, but an idea sparked in my head that made me smirk despite myself.

I wouldn’t knock. I wouldn’t announce myself. I’d surprise him.

The window.

It was childish, reckless even, but somehow it felt right, like sneaking through his window was a piece of the old us, before everything got complicated. Before Marianne.

Hoisting myself up wasn’t graceful. I wobbled, slipped once, nearly cursed under my breath, but the adrenaline carried me through. My fingers slid the glass open, the familiar squeak of the latch making my pulse race.

I pushed it wider, ready to grin, ready to toss the box at him and laugh at his startled expression.

But what I saw wasn't what I expected.

The air punched out of my lungs, leaving me cold, weightless, and crushed all at once.

Because Damian wasn’t alone.

He was on the bed. Marianne pressed against him, her hands tangled in his hair, his mouth against hers like nothing else existed. Their bodies were so close it hurt to look. His arms curled around her in a way he hadn’t around me in a long time, if ever.

The cookies nearly slipped from my grip. My fingers went numb, trembling as I held on to the only thing anchoring me in that moment. My chest constricted, every beat of my heart screaming louder than the storm building outside.