All Chapters of Dirty Little Secret : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

The quiet didn’t mean things were easy.It meant they were thinkingAvery realized that a few days after the courtyard incident.Life had settled into something almost normal again classes, conversations, routines but underneath it all, there was a constant awareness. Not fear this time. Not pressure.Choice.Every interaction with Jace carried it.Every look.Every word.Every decision to step closer or not.It showed in the way they moved around each other.Careful, but not distant.Present, but not reckless.They had found a rhythm.But rhythms could break.“You’ve been quiet lately,” Jace said one afternoon as they sat in the library, books spread out between them.Avery didn’t look up immediately. “I’ve been thinking.”“That’s usually dangerous,” he said lightly.She smiled faintly, closing her notebook. “About us.”That got his attention.He leaned back in his chair, studying her.“Okay,” he said. “What about us?”Avery hesitated.Not because she didn’t know what to say but beca

The goodbye didn’t feel real.Not at first.Avery kept telling herself it was temporary.Six months.Just six months.People left for longer all the time. For school. For opportunities. For things that mattered.This mattered.So why did it feel like everything was shifting in a way she couldn’t control?The morning she left was quiet.Too quiet.Her suitcase sat by the door, packed neatly, everything in place. Her mom moved around the house with a kind of forced brightness, checking and rechecking things that didn’t need checking.Jace stayed back.Watching.“You have everything?” her mom asked for the third time.“Yes,” Avery said, managing a small smile.“Documents? Charger?”“Mom,” Avery interrupted gently. “I’m good.”Her mom nodded, but the worry didn’t fade.It wasn’t just about the trip.It was about everything that came with it.“I’ll be in the car,” her mom said after a moment, giving Avery a quick hug before stepping outside.The front door closed.And just like thatIt was

Avery didn’t mean to notice him.At first.It was just another day. Another crowded room filled with people she barely knew, voices blending into noise, laughter that didn’t quite feel like hers yet.She was still learning how to exist here.Still learning where she fit.“Hey, you’re Avery, right?”She looked up.A guy stood in front of her, easy smile, relaxed posture like he belonged here in a way she didn’t yet.“Yeah,” she said.“I’m Daniel.”Simple.Normal.Safe.He sat across from her without asking, like it wasn’t a big deal.And maybe it wasn’t.“You’re new,” he said.“Is it that obvious?”He laughed. “Only because you still look like you’re deciding whether you like this place.”Avery huffed a quiet laugh. “Still deciding.”It felt… easy.Too easy.And that was the problem.That night, she told Jace about him.Not because she had to.Because she wanted to.“There’s this guy in my program,” she said, pacing slowly across her room, phone pressed to her ear. “He’s… nice.”The si

Avery didn’t plan to stay late.She told herself that when she left her room, when she walked into the restaurant, and again when she sat down.Just dinner. Then back. Call Jace. Keep things normal.That was the plan.Plans didn’t seem to matter much lately.By the time the group started laughing over something random, she realized she hadn’t checked her phone in almost an hour.That wasn’t like her.She reached for it under the table, screen lighting up in her hand.No messages.Her chest tightened just a little.She told herself it didn’t mean anything.“Everything okay?” Daniel asked from across the table.She looked up. “Yeah. Just checking something.”“You’ve been doing that a lot,” he said, not accusing, just noticing.Avery forced a small smile. “Habit.”He nodded, but his eyes lingered like he didn’t fully believe her.The conversation picked back up around them, but Avery wasn’t fully in it anymore.Her thoughts kept drifting.Back to Jace.Back to the call earlier.Back to

Jace hadn’t meant to stay that long.It was supposed to be quick. Food, a little distraction, then back home before things started getting too quiet again. That was the plan.But plans had stopped working the way they were supposed to.Now he was still there, sitting across from Nina, an empty plate pushed aside, the air around them calm in a way he hadn’t felt in days.“You’re doing it again,” she said.“Doing what?”“Thinking too much.”He leaned back in his chair. “That’s kind of my thing.”She smiled faintly. “Yeah, I noticed.”He glanced away for a second, then back at her. “You don’t?”“I do,” she said. “I just don’t let it show as much.”“That sounds like a skill.”“It’s more like practice.”He nodded slowly, letting that sit.For a moment, neither of them spoke. It wasn’t awkward. It didn’t feel forced. It just… was.That was the part he kept noticing.With Avery, silence used to feel like this too. Easy. Familiar. Like nothing needed to be said.Now silence felt like somethin