LOGINI blinked. "Huh?""You kind of stopped listening and started staring at nothing. You seem really worried about something." Martin poked my arm. "You haven’t done that in a while, are you okay?”Out of the mouths of babes."Of course I’m okay. Sorry about that, bud. Let's get back to work."Martin giggled, “You called me bud, just like Jace usually does.”“Oh.” I blinked. How long have I been doing that?” I asked, surprised to hear it. I barely noticed that I was picking up some of Jace's mannerisms, probably from all the time we used to spend together.“I didn't notice it either, until Jace told me and asked me to keep it a secret.""A secret?" I asled.Martin's eyes went wide when he realised it wasn't a secret anymore. "Uh oh. I probably shouldn't have said that""But don’t worry,” Marcus grinned, “I don’t mind it. And I'm sure Jace doesn't mind either, so it’s okay.”I cleared my throat, muttering, “Alright then. Let’s continue.”We were deep into a discussion about how the introdu
The question hung in the air between us, still unanswered, even after ten seconds of staring at him, dumbfounded like an idiot.Do you still love Jace?I opened my mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.The answer should have been simple. No. Of course not. After everything he'd done, everything he'd put me through—But I simply couldn’t make myself say the words.My mind spun through a thousand justifications, a thousand different explanations for why I couldn’t just be honest, but my throat had closed up completely.Meanwhile, Noah’s expression turned dark."That's what I thought." He turned to leave."Wait—please," I begged desperately, shutting the door and standing in front of it to stop him from leaving. "It's not—of course I don't love him. I mean… love is such a strong word. I don't know if that's even what I'd call it, but—""But what, Lena?" Noah cut me off, his voice eerily calm. "I think I’ve heard more than enough. I don’t need you repeating the same new lines over and over a
I stood outside my house for a full minute, my hand on the doorknob, unable to make myself turn it.What if Noah had already seen the photos? What if he'd already decided that I wasn't worth the trouble?What if I walked in there and lost the last person I had left who was still on my side?I took a shaky breath and opened the door to find Noah sitting on my bed, waiting patiently for me.His posture was unnaturally stiff, his spine straight, his hands resting on his knees, and his jaw tight with tension.He wasn't looking at his phone, nor was he looking at anything else. Instead, he just stared at the wall like he was trying to see through it with a betrayed look on his face."So I guess you two are back together, aren’t you?” He started, his voice quiet.I would’ve preferred it if he had yelled at me, because at least then it would’ve been some kind of reaction, instead of this tense silence. I swallowed nervously, wringing my hands, trying to find the right words to say. "Noah—"
I stood frozen in Marco's Pizza, my mind spinning while I tried to process what had just happened. Jace was gone before I could follow while I waited there like a fool, shocked beyond belief, wondering when exactly I’d become the kind of girl that got followed around by paparazzi.At least Jace was gone now, I thought, that’s the end of that. I wouldn't have to think about that again.I was just about to leave when my phone suddenly buzzed in my hand.I heaved a sigh of relief when I saw it was an incoming call from Nicole."Hey, Nicole. How’s your morning going? You won’t believe what just happened to me…” I started, desperately needing to get it all off my chest."Girl." Nicole's voice was cold and flat. Nothing at all like the bubbly warmth that I'd gotten used to over spring break. "What the hell did you do?"“I… I don’t understand. What do you mean?” I asked, my voice sounding thin and pathetic. “If this is about our road trip, I haven’t talked to my mom yet but I think…”"Don't
Marco appeared with two waters, and I was grateful for the attention. "You kids want anything to eat?""Not yet," Jace said, not taking his eyes off me. "Thanks, Marco."When Marco left, Jace leaned forward. "How've you really been?" At the same time I asked, “How are you feeling?”He didn’t make any move to answer my question, so instead I answered his."I’ve been good. Great, actually." I forced brightness into my voice. "School starts again in a week, and so does cheerleading. I'm excited.""Right. Cheerleading." His jaw tightened. "With Allison."I sighed, “Not everyone can have the luxury of having everything practically handed to them. In my case, I have to tolerate people I don’t like, just so I can be happy and do what I love. I think it’s a decent trade-off.”Jace gave a short, bitter laugh."Really? The girl who's made your life hell for four years is suddenly tolerable.”"That’s not what I said. And look, all of this is only possible because—""Because of Noah.“ He stated ac
"Lena?" Noah's voice was getting closer. "Are you awake yet? Where are you?”I shoved my phone under the pillow and called out, "I’m in the bathroom! Be right there!"I slipped out of bed and grabbed the first clothes I could find, a pair of jeans and a hoodie. My hands were shaking as I pulled them on.Think. Think.You could sneak out through the bathroom door, the thought came.And so that’s what I did; I locked it from the inside, then quietly opened the window.It led to the small balcony that connected to the trellis where I could creep down if I was brave Enough.I worried Mrs Dawson would probably have a lot of confused questions for me if she saw me sneaking out of their house so early in the morning, but I was sure I could disappear and make it back before Martin’s lesson time passed."Lena? You okay in there?""Yeah! Just—" I flushed the toilet for dramatic effect. "Give me a minute!"I climbed out onto the balcony, my sneakers barely making a sound on the wood. The trellis
"Okay but Jace," Devon said, having descended safely from the bleachers at some point. "Real talk. She's cute, right? You gonna take her out?"I put my phone back in my pocket."I'll pass," I said, looking away from the crowd to instead stare at my watch. 8:25. I wasn't interested in getting into a
TWENTY THREE"I…"I had an answer ready that I'd rehearsed on my way here in case anyone noticed the giant red handprint on my face that was now turning into an ugly bruise.It was perfectly reasonable, one that wouldn't reveal anything about my broken family life, and I was about to deliver it when
My mother just stood there stiffly, her fingers twitching with anxiety as she struggled with herself.“Mom? Aren’t you going to do anything?” I asked.“I’m… I’m sorry sweetheart. It’s for the best. You’ll see.”Even as I was pushing myself up off the floor, even as the side of my face throbbed with
“What do you mean he’s staying with us?” I demanded, looking between them both for some kind of explanation that would clear everything up so everything would go back to how it was before.Gerald’s eyes moved to me slowly, his mouth downturned and his eyes hard and unfeeling, as though he’d already







