INICIAR SESIÓNMONICAI freeze. My dad is standing by my bedroom door frame, arms crossed, eyebrow raised like he’s been listening the whole time.Julian’s voice comes through the phone, loud and dramatic. “Yes you did! We’re going to Montauk!” I can’t help it. “We’re going to Montauk!” I repeat again, pointing at my dad like he’s part of the chant now.He rolls his eyes. “You children are reckless.”“Dad,” I whine.“You’re not stealing a person's jet.”“It’s not stealing,” Julian yells through the speaker. “It’s character development!”My dad actually snorts. “Julian, I can hear you.”“Hi Mr. Lee!” Julian says sweetly. “We aren't stealing anything. His son is borrowing it and we're just tagging along.”“That’s not comforting.” I walk closer to my dad, lowering my voice even though Julian can definitely still hear. “We need this,” I say. “All of us. It’s been a lot this semester.”He studies my face like he’s trying to read between the lines. Maybe he sees the exhaustion. Maybe he sees the growth. M
MONICAThis semester felt like ten different lifetimes stitched into one and now it’s just… over. Finally. I can breathe. I’m sitting on my bed staring at my ceiling like it’s supposed to clap for me or something, like there should be fireworks or a soundtrack playing in the background because I survived it, because I made it through heartbreak and humiliation and gossip and glow ups and love triangles and everything in between and somehow I’m still here, still breathing, still in love. Which is insane because I thought love was supposed to die after betrayal but apparently mine didn’t get that memo. I fell in love, got betrayed, got bullied in hallways by girls who smile with their teeth but not their eyes. And with Julian's help, reinvented myself in the middle of it all, learned how to hold my chin higher, how to look people in the face without shrinking, and somehow it all ended with love still sitting in my chest like it never left. That’s the crazy part.I roll onto my side a
ZOEYI fake it so well it almost scares me, the crown sliding back into place like muscle memory, like I never took it off, like the weight of it hasn’t been crushing my skull all night. I joke louder than everyone else, I throw my head back when I laugh, I sip and sip and sip like alcohol is just another accessory, something glittery to match the dress, and when they start a stupid game I win it on purpose, not even subtle about it, just to remind them all that I still run things here, that I still decide the tone, the pace, the rules.“Of course Zoey wins,” Jordan says, half annoyed, half impressed. I grin. “I don’t lose.” They cheer. They clap. Ava hands me another drink. I take it. I always take it.But Gabriel doesn’t come back.That’s the thing that breaks something under my ribs like a crack you don’t notice until you breathe too deep. I keep waiting, eyes flicking to the doorway every few minutes, pretending I’m not counting, pretending I don’t care, pretending this isn’t eati
GABRIELI feel lighter. That’s the first thing that hits me, not happiness exactly, not relief in a fireworks way, just this quiet sense that something unclenched in my chest when Monica said in another life and meant it, when she smiled through the ache and didn’t ask me to choose or confess or undo anything, and I hate that it took letting her go to finally breathe but here I am, breathing anyway.She stands first, brushing imaginary dust off her dress, eyes already softer, calmer, like she made a decision without telling me, and says, “I should go back. Damian might get worried if he can’t find me.”“Yeah,” I say, nodding. “Yeah, you should.”She hesitates like she wants to say more, then doesn’t, just gives me that look she’s always had, the one that says she knows me better than I want her to, and then she walks away, footsteps fading into noise and light and everything I’m not part of anymore.I stay seated.I don’t chase. I don’t follow. I don’t even stand. I just sit there sta
MONICA“What?”“If you can't handle normal rich kids parties then you should've stayed home. Better than hiding.” My jaw tightens. “I’m allowed to use the bathroom.”She laughs, sharp. “Relax. I’m not attacking you.” Then, casual, careless, like she’s tossing out a spare thought, “You always act like you have a target on your back. Relax girl, no one gives a fuck about you.”I don’t take the bait. I stare at the paper towel dispenser like it owes me money. That bothers her. I can feel it.She pushes. “Must be exhausting though. Always being the good girl. The fixer. The one everyone loves.” I clench my teeth. Still say nothing.Her smile fades. Her eyes sharpen. “Pretending that you don't even notice you have that effect. Even though we both know that... you have feelings for Gabriel too,” she says suddenly. The room tilts as my stomach drops.I turn to leave.“Don’t,” she snaps, grabbing my arm, fingers tight, nails digging just enough to hurt. She pulls me back, face inches from min
MONICAThe party keeps moving like nothing cracked, like Julian didn’t just blow a hole straight through the center of it, music loud again, bass rattling cups and ribs, people laughing too hard, dancing too fast, trying to outrun the secondhand discomfort hanging in the air. I stay where I am for a while, watching faces, watching Dominic disappear into bodies that pretend not to see him, watching the DJ pretend nothing happened, watching everything lie to itself.I think about going after Julian. The urge hits hard and fast, like muscle memory, because I always go after him, I always check, always try to make sure he’s okay, always patch him up with jokes and hugs and snacks and fake confidence when he’s bleeding emotionally because that's what he does for me too. But this was different and so I don’t move. I know that look. I know that kind of anger. It needs space. If I chase it, it turns cruel or collapses. Julian needs air, not comfort, and I hate that I know that.My mind slide







