Chapter 6

Lena’s POV

This morning already felt wrong before I even stepped out of the house.

The kind of quiet wrong that sits in your chest and makes everything feel slightly off, like you’re about to face something unusual but you don’t know what it is yet.

I tried to ignore it.

Because ignoring things has worked so well for me so far.

The hallway at Ridgewood High was its usual chaos, people talking too loudly, laughing too easily, moving in groups like they all had somewhere important to be.

I slipped into it the way I always do…quiet, careful, hoping today would just be one of those invisible days where nothing happens.

But as usual, I thought wrong.

I had barely reached my locker when I felt it…that shift in the air, the kind that doesn’t need sound to announce itself, just presence and attention moving in one direction.

somehow I already knew before I even turned that whatever peace I thought I had was about to end.

“Hey.”

The voice wasn’t loud.

It didn’t need to be.

I turned slowly, already preparing myself for something I probably wouldn’t enjoy, and there she was…Vanessa Blake, standing like she owned not just the hallway but the people in it.

Her friends just behind her like background support for whatever she was about to do.

She looked at me the way people look at something they’re trying to figure out whether to ignore or fix, her eyes moving over me slowly, not rushed, not curious, just…deciding.

And I suddenly felt very aware of everything about myself.

“Hi,” I said, because apparently I don’t learn.

One of her friends let out a small laugh, not loud enough to draw attention from the whole hallway but just enough to make sure I heard it.

Vanessa tilted her head slightly like she found that amusing without needing to react too much.

“You’re in my math class, right?” she asked, even though it didn’t sound like a question she needed answers, more like something she already knew and was just confirming for the sake of it.

I nodded.

“Yeah.”

Her gaze dropped briefly to my bag and then back to my face. There was something about the way she looked at me that made it clear this wasn’t going to be a normal conversation.

“You’re the one who made that noise yesterday,” one of the girls behind her added, and I felt my soul leave my body for a second because I had almost convinced myself people would forget.

“Not this conversation” my brain whispered helpfully.

“It was the chair,” I said.

Vanessa smiled slightly, but it didn’t reach her eyes, and for a second I thought she might laugh it off or say something light and move on, which would have been ideal but then she stepped closer instead, closing the distance in a way that felt very intentional.

“Of course it was,” she said softly, like she was humoring me, and I realized right then that this wasn’t about the chair, not really, it was just the easiest way to start.

Her fingers reached out, lightly touching the strap of my bag, almost absent-minded, like she wasn’t thinking about it, but the way her grip tightened just slightly told a different story.

I stayed still.

Not because I wasn’t uncomfortable, but because I didn’t know what moving would do.

“You work, right?” she asked, her tone casual in a way that didn’t match the situation at all.

I hesitated for a second because that wasn’t what I expected her to say next.

“Yes,” I replied carefully.

She nodded slowly like it confirmed something for her, her gaze shifting briefly to her friends before coming back to me, and there was a shared look there that I didn’t understand but didn’t like either.

“That’s good,” she said.

I waited.

Because it felt like there was more.

“There are a lot of people here who order food,” she continued, her voice still light, still almost friendly if you didn’t pay attention to the way she was standing just a little too close, her hand still resting on my bag like it belonged there.

I nodded again, slower this time.

“I know.”

Her smile widened just a little.

“Then you won’t have a problem helping out.”

I frowned slightly.

Helping out?

“I already do deliveries,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady, because I didn’t want this to turn into something bigger than it already felt.

One of her friends laughed again, this time louder, and Vanessa didn’t look away from me as she spoke, which somehow made it worse.

“That’s not what she means,” the girl said.

I didn’t respond immediately, because there something about the way they were looking at me that made it clear I had just walked into something I didn’t fully understand yet, and I didn’t like that feeling at all.

Vanessa finally let go of my bag, but instead of stepping back, she adjusted the strap slightly, like she was fixing it for me, her fingers brushing against my shoulder in a way that felt deliberate.

“You’ll figure it out,” she said quietly.

And just like that, she stepped back.

The space between us returned, but it didn’t feel like relief, not really, more like the calm before storm. I stood there for a second, trying to process what just happened.

“See you around,” one of her friends added lightly. It’s just like this had been a normal interaction.

They moved, blending back into the hallway like nothing had happened at all.

I stayed where I was.

Because my brain was still catching up.

Because something about that conversation didn’t sit right.

And I had a feeling this wasn’t over.

By the time lunch came around, I was already tired, not physically, just…drained in that quiet sense where you know something is building and you don’t know how to stop it yet.

Maya noticed immediately.

She always does.

“You look like you’ve been personally attacked by life,” she said as I sat down, dropping my tray on the table like it had offended me somehow

I let out a small breath because that was probably the most accurate description so far.

“Not yet,” I replied. “But it’s coming.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“That sounds threatening.”

“It felt threatening,” I admitted, picking at my fries without really eating them because my appetite had decided to disappear the moment Vanessa decided I existed.

“What happened?” she asked, leaning forward slightly. I hesitated for a second, because saying it out loud would make it more real, and I wasn’t sure I wanted that yet.

“Vanessa,” I said finally.

That was enough.

Maya’s expression shifted immediately, like she already understood the situation without needing the details, and that somehow made me feel both better and worse at the same time.

“What did she do?” she asked.

“I don’t know yet,” I admitted, which sounded ridiculous even to me, but it was the truth, “she didn’t really say anything…just implied things.”

Maya didn’t look convinced.

“She doesn’t do ‘just implied things,’” she said.

“I know,” I replied quietly.

And that was the problem.

We sat there for a moment, the noise of the cafeteria filling the space around us, people talking, laughing, living their normal high school lives.

I tried to pretend I was part of that, even though something in my chest told me I wasn’t anymore.

Then I felt it again.

That shift.

That attention.

Before I even looked up, I knew.

Vanessa.

She walked toward our table like she had a reason to be there, her friends following behind her and this time there was no pretending.

it was a coincidence, no casual conversation to ease into whatever she wanted.

She stopped right in front of me.

I looked down at my tray.

Then at me.

And smiled.

“Perfect,” she said softly.

Before I could react, before Maya could say anything, her hand moved…quick, confident, reaching for my bag like she had every right to it, and my heart jumped because this wasn’t subtle anymore.

“Vanessa—” Maya started, but Vanessa ignored her completely, already unzipping my bag like this wasn’t her first time.

My chest tightened.

“Let’s not make this difficult,” she said lightly.

Her fingers moved inside, searching, and then she found it.

The envelope.

My money.

The one thing I actually needed.

She pulled it out slowly, holding it between her fingers like it didn’t matter, like it wasn’t the result of hours of work, of late nights and tired mornings, of everything I was trying to keep together.

“This,” she said, glancing at it briefly before looking back at me, “is what I meant.”

Maya stood up.

“This isn’t funny,” she said sharply.

Vanessa didn’t even look at her.

“It’s not supposed to be,” she replied calmly.

Then her eyes met mine again.

“You’ll get used to it,” she added.

And just like that…

She slipped the envelope into her own bag.

Like it belonged there.

I couldn't move or speak…I was just staring like a Statue.

for a second…I genuinely didn’t know how to react.

And that was worse than anything else.

Because the moment she walked away with my money…

I realized this wasn’t something I could ignore.