جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 10

"Anna, come downstairs, the lesson's about to start!" Bree shouted. I ran downstairs because we both had to secure seats or else we'd be standing for four hours straight. We managed to secure our seats next to Stephen. I was shocked as hell to see him in the lesson because he never attended these. But then I couldn't say anything because I wanted to avoid trouble.After the first two periods, Bree and I were starving, so we went to get something to eat, and when we got back, our seats were taken. "Let's just go to one of the empty classes and eat, I'm starving," I said. Bree looked at me with hunger in her eyes. "I could literally eat a whole person right now."I looked at her and laughed because she'd say that and still not eat much. We went to the empty class and saw Debbie, a classmate of ours, and Stephen. Stephen was laying his head on Debbie's lap and he was sleeping. Turns out Stephen was hammered. Debbie wanted to leave the class and asked one of us to come and take her place,

I've always wanted to go to college, not because I liked the stress that came with it, but because I wanted to leave home. I needed time for myself, and obviously I couldn't get that at home. So I was really excited when I got into college to study—not the course of my dreams, but something close to it.I started staying with my sister off campus. I was hyped about classes and lectures, but I didn't know college meant more than just that. I also wanted to be different.I no longer wanted to be the introvert I was in secondary school. I wanted to become who I really was inside, and be honest with myself for once instead of always hiding.Bree got into another university, so we were no longer friends. I ended up becoming close with another secondary school classmate, Ella.Ella was… well, she was Ella. Always active and hyper, the kind of girl who could get any guy she wanted without even trying. It was never a big deal for her. So yeah, we were chill.I wasn't exactly innocent either,

I was still debating whether or not to tell him. I was really good at hiding my problems, trust me. I had spent so long building walls around myself that it almost felt normal to keep everything buried.But when I looked into his eyes, something shifted. There was love there—but not the kind that demanded anything from me. Not the kind that pressured or rushed or took without asking. It was softer than that. Patient. Quiet. Real. The kind of love that doesn't chase answers, but waits for you to find your own voice. And somehow, that was more dangerous than anything else.Because it made me want to speak. My chest felt tight, like I was holding my breath without realizing it. My thoughts kept arguing with each other—don't say it, keep it in, it's safer that way—but none of them were loud enough to overpower what I felt when I looked at him.Seen. That was the word.I felt seen in a way I wasn't used to.My heart skipped, just once, like it had made

"Wait… so you're telling me he actually said he was coming this week?" Ella turned to look at me properly this time, her eyes narrowing like she was trying to read something off my face. I didn't answer immediately. I was already staring at my phone again. I didn't even know what I was expecting to see at that point. No new messages. No missed calls. Just the same blank screen I had been checking since morning. "Anna," Ella called, snapping her fingers lightly in front of me. "Who are you waiting for?" "No one," I said quickly, locking my phone and dropping it on the desk like it suddenly annoyed me.She raised an eyebrow. "Yeah right." "Yes na," I muttered. "He said next week."She didn't reply immediately. She just kept looking at me like she had already figured something out I was still trying to ignore. "Anna… today is Wednesday.""I know.""And since he told you that, how many times has he texted you?"I paused. It wasn't even long, but it

It all happened so fast. One minute, everything felt normal… and the next, I was staring at his message, trying to figure out why it didn't feel the same anymore. I had just finished breakfast when my phone buzzed again. His name. I stared at his text longer than I used to. That was odd, I usually replied so fast, but this time I just felt exhausted in a way. Not the normal kind of tired… just off. I kept looking at it like maybe the feeling would come back, that usual small excitement I always got. But nothing came. The excitement wasn't there. That usual rush I got whenever I saw his name… it didn't come this time. It just felt like stress. Like something I didn't want to deal with, even though I still did."Hey 🌚"That's how he usually said it.I replied after like ten minutes."What's up"And he said, "How are you." Keeping his tone."I'm fine." Usually I text with emojis to show my emotions, but this time I didn't. My texts were vague. Short. E