The mistake

Chapter 3 : The Mistake

Morning crept into the room like an uninvited guest.

Thin stripes of sunlight filtered through the half-closed blinds, cutting across the messy carpet and the crumpled edge of a blanket that had slipped to the floor. Kayla stirred, her head heavy, the faint hum of last night’s music still echoing in her skull.

For a moment, she smiled. The air smelled faintly of cologne and cedar, and the memory of Jason’s warm breath on her cheek washed over her. She turned, expecting that same smile back, expecting his blue eyes to meet hers with the same intensity from hours before.

But Jason Lawson was already sitting on the edge of the bed, his back to her, pulling on his shirt with sharp, economical movements.

Kayla blinked, her smile faltering. “Jason?” Her voice cracked from sleep.

He didn’t turn right away. He stood, adjusted his collar, and only then looked at her. His face was unreadable, carved in stone.

“We should forget this ever happened.”

The words landed like glass shattering.

Kayla sat up, clutching the sheet around her chest. “What?”

Jason’s gaze didn’t waver, but there was no warmth in it. Only cool detachment. “Last night… was a mistake.”

The sentence hung heavy in the air. Kayla’s heart lurched, her pulse hammering in her ears. “A mistake?” Her voice trembled. “Jason, do you mean that?”

He exhaled, his jaw tightening. “Yes.”

That single word gutted her. She searched his face for any crack any softness, any sign that he didn’t mean it. But his eyes were cold, his tone final.

Kayla’s throat closed, words clogging like stones. “But… you said…”

“Don’t,” he cut her off sharply. “Don’t make this more than it was.”

The sheets felt suddenly suffocating. Kayla clutched them tighter around her body, her chest burning with humiliation. More than it was? To him, last night was disposable. To her, it had been everything.

Silence stretched, cruel and merciless. Then, from the hallway, voices filtered in muffled but unmistakably mocking.

“…so she really stayed the night?”

Laughter followed.

“…like watching a sack of potatoes cling to him.”

Kayla’s blood ran cold. The laughter grew louder, sharper. “Bet she thinks it means something. Poor thing.”

Her stomach dropped. They were talking about her.

Her eyes darted back to Jason, hoping—praying—he would shut it down, tell them they were wrong. But Jason’s jaw only tightened further. He didn’t move. He didn’t say a word.

The humiliation pressed down on her like a weight. Kayla swallowed hard, fighting the sting of tears. If she stayed one more second, she’d break in front of him—and she refused to give them that.

She slipped out of bed, pulling on her dress with fumbling hands. Jason said nothing. Not a single word.

Her chest constricted as she walked past him, past the half-open door where shadows of his teammates loomed. Their laughter chased her down the stairs like claws scraping her back.

By the time she reached the street, her mascara had smudged into dark streaks down her cheeks. She walked quickly, her arms wrapped tightly around herself, as though she could hold her heart together by force.

Halfway home, a familiar voice called out softly.

“Kay.”

Jose.

He was leaning against the corner of a fence, hands shoved deep into his pockets. His dark eyes took her in—the smeared makeup, the trembling shoulders, the broken way she carried herself.

Kayla froze, shame burning hot across her face. She wanted to hide, to vanish, to run anywhere but toward his knowing gaze. But before she could speak, Jose crossed the distance.

He didn’t ask questions. He didn’t scold her with I told you so. Instead, he just wrapped his arms around her, firm and steady.

For the first time since she woke, Kayla let herself crumble. She pressed her face into his chest, silent sobs wracking her shoulders as his shirt dampened with tears and mascara.

Jose rested his chin lightly on her hair. His voice was low, almost a whisper. “I’ve got you.”

The words were simple, but they anchored her in a way Jason never had.

They stood like that for a long moment, two shadows in the early morning light. No explanations. No demands. Just quiet understanding.

But peace was fragile. And it shattered with the buzz of Kayla’s phone in her bag.

Sniffling, she pulled it out with shaky hands. A notification lit the screen.

New message: Saint Claire’s Gossip Hub.

Her stomach dropped as she opened it.

A screenshot glared back at her—her name plastered across the thread, bold and merciless. The group chat was already exploding with comments.

“Kayla Peterson? Seriously?”

“He could do so much better.”

“She looked desperate last night, clinging to him.”

“Guess everyone knows now.”

Kayla’s breath caught. Her hands shook so violently she nearly dropped the phone. Her shame was no longer confined to Jason’s room. It was spreading—viral, unstoppable.

The last message in the thread burned her eyes:

“Sack of potatoes.”

Kayla’s vision blurred. Jose took the phone gently from her hands before she could read more. His jaw clenched, fury sparking in his eyes.

But Kayla barely noticed. Her world had collapsed in the span of hours. Jason’s rejection. The teammates’ laughter. Now the whole school knew.

Her chest tightened with something sharp, almost foreign—anger.

For the first time, the humiliation began to twist into something else. Something darker.

And as she stared blankly at the pavement, her phone buzzing again with fresh notifications, one thought burned hotter than the tears in her eyes:

They’ll regret this.