All Chapters of My Secret Boyfriend : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Cole started showing up so much, Mom started setting a plate for him automatically. Like he waspart of the family now.And honestly? He kind of was.He’d walk in, mutter “hey,” and Mom would just slide him food without asking. Dad would grunta “how was practice?” even though Cole wasn’t on the team anymore. My little sister, Ellie,treated him like some giant golden retriever who followed me around.It was weird. And sort of nice.Because while the world outside kept whispering and pointing, in my house Cole could breathe.One night after dinner, Mom leaned across the table at him. “You’re staying focused on yourschoolwork, right? Your aunt called me.”Cole blinked like she’d caught him stealing cookies. “Uh… yeah. Trying.”“Trying’s good,” Mom said. “But remember, effort shows. Your aunt sounds serious about thatscholarship.”He nodded, chewing on his lip. I kicked his foot under the table—our secret code for don’t stress.His mouth twitched like he wanted to smile but didn’t.Af

It was weird how quiet could feel so freaking loud.Cole had turned into a ghost. Not the spooky kind—though honestly, sometimes it felt like that—but the kind where one second he’s this huge presence, filling up a hallway, and the next, he’ssmoke. Gone.And somehow, I was the only one left holding the string.Every morning, he’d text me the same thing: Coming over after school. And then he’d show up,head down, hoodie up, looking like the world had kicked him in the ribs. He’d dump his backpackby my desk and collapse onto my bed like it was the only place he could breathe.And me? I’d pretend like this was normal. Like I wasn’t carrying the weight of being someone’sentire safe zone at sixteen.“Cole,” I said one evening, tapping the edge of my notebook as he sprawled out, staring at myceiling like it was gonna give him answers. “You can’t just… disappear forever, you know. Peopleare noticing.”He didn’t move, didn’t blink. Just muttered, “Let them notice.”I hated how small his

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX By Wednesday, Ariana had upgraded from whispers to straight-up theater.She didn’t just gossip anymore—she performed. Loud enough for people to pause mid-step, tilt their heads, and soak it all in like she was the morning announcements.Case in point: homeroom.I walked in, already tired of existing, when Ariana gasped loud enough to make the whole class whip around.“Oh my god, Nate,” she drawled, fake-shocked. “Is that Cole’s hoodie?”Every head turned. Heat shot up my neck so fast I nearly choked on air.It was Cole’s hoodie. He’d shoved it at me the night before when I complained about freezing on the porch. I’d grabbed it this morning without thinking, because duh, it was warm. And now? Now it was Exhibit A in Ariana’s courtroom.I muttered, “It’s a hoodie, Ariana. Chill,” and slid into my seat.She smirked like she’d already won. “Mm-hm. Sure. Because people just hand out clothes for fun.”Her little posse snickered.I wanted to crawl under my desk. Or s

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT The thing about bombs? They don’t just go off and disappear.They leave smoke. Shrapnel. Echoes that stick around way longer than the blast.Cole dropping our relationship in the middle of the cafeteria was exactly that—a bomb. And Monday afternoon, I was choking on the smoke.Walking into school the next morning was like walking into a courtroom.Eyes everywhere. Whispers bouncing off the lockers. People not even pretending to be subtle about staring.Some of the looks were curious, some disgusted, some—okay, I’ll admit it—kind of impressed. But all of them were heavy. Like weights hanging off my shoulders with every step.And Cole?He strolled in like he hadn’t just flipped our entire world upside down.“Morning,” he said, sliding up next to me, totally casual.I nearly tripped over my own sneakers. “Morning? That’s what you’re going with? You literally announced us to the whole school yesterday!”He smirked. “Yeah. And?”“And—” My voice shot up an octave.

CHAPTER THIRTY By Friday, I was running on fumes.The flyers had mostly disappeared, but the whispers stuck like gum on the bottom of my shoe. Every hallway I walked through, every classroom I sat in—it was there. People glancing. Murmuring. Pretending they weren’t talking about me when I knew they were.Cole kept trying to play bodyguard. Every time someone stared too long, he’d shoot them a glare sharp enough to slice steel. But honestly? It just made it worse. Because then the whispers weren’t just about me. They were about him too.At lunch, it finally cracked.I sat there, picking at soggy fries on my tray while Cole tried to distract me with some dumb story about Kendal tripping during gym. He was halfway through reenacting it—arms flailing, voice pitching high—when it happened.Someone at the next table muttered, “Crazy freak.”Loud enough for me to hear. Loud enough for everyone to hear.The laugh that followed felt like a knife to the ribs.Cole froze. I saw his jaw fl