LOGINMany students cheered. A few looked at each other in confusion, maybe a little disappointment. Some of the ones surrounding me turned my way, looking for a reaction that I refused to give. I tightened my grip on the strap of my bag and made a silent decision then and there that I was definitely not
Liora’s POV“Pregnant?”The word squeaked out of me, high pitched and weak, before I could stop myself, making a few nearby students glance my way in confusion. Marissa and her girlfriend both gave me an apologetic look the moment they saw my reaction.“I’m sorry,” Marissa said quickly. “It’s just a
Liora’s POVI woke up the next morning with my mind already made up. The moment I opened my eyes, looking up at the ceiling as the first rays of morning sunshine played across the white paint, I knew exactly what I was going to do today.I was going to tell Callum the truth.All of it. Who I really
Something cracked in my chest. I felt alone and stupid and small, and in that moment, I simply didn’t have the strength to send anyone away.“One drink?” she asked, noticing my look. “You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to, but we do have a history together, and I’d feel awful letting you sit h
Callum’s POVLiora’s door clicked shut behind her. I stood there for a long moment in the darkness, smiling like a fool.It had been a good night. Better than good, actually. I hadn’t planned on the concert going the way it did—hadn’t planned on a lot of things going the way they had over the past w
The first note was loud and raucous, nearly drowning out the roar of the crowd. Around us, the bar patrons surged forward, and I went with them without thinking, pulled in by the music.Somewhere in the first song, Callum appeared at my side.He didn’t say anything. Neither did I. We just stood ther
“You didn’t have to do this,” I said quietly.“I wanted to. I know you act like you don’t care. But we see you, Liora. We all do.”The lump in my throat didn’t make it all the way up. I swallowed it down, hard.“Happy whatever-this-is,” she added, grabbing the cracked candle with both hands and ligh
And when I was finally able to breath again, I pulled the velvet box from my pocket.I stared at the earrings and let the silence stretch between us one last time before I stepped out onto the balcony.The wind was cold, bitong, and I let it numb me as I let the box drop over the edge.I didn’t watc
And then, in the middle of my last class of the week, a note arrived—folded neatly, passed from hand to hand from the front until it landed on my desk with a kind of delicate finality.The principal would like to see you immediately after class.My heart didn’t race, not at first. I wasn’t that naiv
The silence that followed was thick with calculation.Zane glanced at me, amused. “Remind me not to play chess with you.”The principal coughed and sat down again, slower this time. “We may be able to find a compromise.”I waited.“You will be allowed to stay—if you pass… an exam. It’s scheduled jus







