Arikona turned Armand slowly, her stomach dropping at the sight of Jayden’s face–pure rape mixed with something that looked almost like part
Her throat felt like it was closing up. After what felt like forever, she managed to whisper: “Because I’m dying”
The entire gym fell silent. Een the cheerleaders stopped their olunxious giggling
tut instead of shock or concern. Jayden threw back his head and laughed–a sound to hitter it made her flunch.
“Oh, come the fuck on. You’ve been palling this Ten dying shit since we were in kindergarten. Don’t you ever get tired of being such a drama queen?
The words but her like a slap. Her face went bone white, but she couldn’t defend herself because–God help her he was wrong
She’d been circling death her whole life. While mber kids were learning their ABCs, she was learning what “code Me” meant. She’d flat lined mors times than she could cont
The day they met in kindergarten, jayden had wanted to race her in the top of the jungle gym.
She’d shaken her head, tears in her eyes. “Team. The doctor said it might kill me.”
The year–old Jayden didn’t really understand death, but he understood that it was the worst thing ever. He’d given her his entire lunch and promised, “Then I’ll never climb anything either. I’ll stay with you forever so nothing bad happens.”
Now that same boy–her self–appointed protector, her best friend, her everything–was looking at her like she was something disgusting he’d found on the bottom of his shoe.
“You know what Arianna? His voice dropped to a whisper, but somehow that made it worse. “When you finally do die, make sure you stay the hell away from my dad. He’s been through enough because of you.”
He turned on his heel and walked away without looking back.
A cold windswept through the courtyard, and despite the blazing summer heat, Arianna felt frozen to the bone. She stood there clutching her chest, feeling like her heart was literally breaking apart inside her ribcage.
When she finally looked down, har inom’s necklace had cut deep enough into her palm to draw blood,
“Okay,” she whispered to no one “I promise.”
When her time came, she’d make sure to stay far away from Mr. Hiddleston. She owed them that much.
Back in homeroom, college prep worksheets were scattered across everyone’s desks like fallen lemes
Mrs. Peterson stood at the front of the room, practically bouncing with excitement. “Eighteen days, peoplet Eighteen days until you walk across that stage and into your futures! These might just be practice applications, but I want you to take them seriously
The classroom erupted into excited chatter about dream schools and safety nets.
The second Mrs. Peterson Jeft. Harper Portman materialized at Jayden’s desk like she’d been waiting in the wings.
“So,” she said, sliding into the empty seat next to him, “where are you thinking for college?”
Half the class turned to eavesdrop. Jayden was that kind of magnetic–even when he was falling apart, people couldn’t look away.
He barely glanced up from his worksheet. “New York Pre–med”
“Oh my God, that’s incredible!” Harper’s voice went up an octave. “Why medicine?
This time Jayden did look up, his eyes sweeping across the room before landing somewhere near the front. Near Arianna’s desk
His voice was
was flat, emotiordess “Someone needs to fix what’s broken”
The entire om went dead quiet. Everyone knew he was talking about his mom, who’d been catatonic since the funeral.
Arianna’s pen snapped in half in her fit. Her chest fall
was being crushed by
She remembered being heen, lying lea hospital bed after her wand crying.
“I’m gonna be a doctor someday, he’d schispered, holding her hand like aka maghe disappent. Tos graina fleure et hour to for pra have to be seated nexi
shrod almost died then night–technically, she had died for font mirades before they got her back paytestat per every nurse and doctor in the test, demanating they bring her back
Now he wanted to be a doctor for his mother. Not fees. Never for an
Harper beamed like she’d just won the lottery. “That’s perfect 1
The tension broke as their classmates started making jokes
“Ooh, Dr. Hiddleston and Nurse Portman
“You guys are gonna be like Grey’s Anatomy“”
Harper giggled and actually blushed, Jayden didn’t shut them down.
Every laugh felt like a knife twisting in Ariana’s chest. She wanted to scream, to throw something, to make them all stop talking she’d never have
Instead, she stared down at her completely blank worksheet and tried not to fall apart.
Nobody noticed that while everyone else was planning their lives, hers was already over.
Over the next few days, Arianna’s body started giving up faster than anyone had expected.
After her third trip to the ER in a week, she looked at her mom through the fog of morphine and oxygen mask
“I want to drop out,” she whispered. “I’m not taking the SATs I can’t. I can’t go back there,”
She couldn’t keep watching Jayden plan a future with someone else. She couldn’t keep being the reason he skipped class and got into fights,
As long as she was at school, he’d keep destroying himself, and she couldn’t live with that. Well–she couldn’t do with tha
Her mom’sface crumpled, but she just nodded through her tears. “Okay, baby. Whatever you need.”
The paperwork was filed that afternoon. Arianna Caster officially became a high school dropout.
They moved her to the hospice wing that same day, Room 247, with a view of the parking lot and a bed that adjusted so she could it up when the flou in her lungs got too bad.
Three days later, her phone rang
When Jayden’s name flashed across the screep, Ariana thought she might be hallucinating. The morphine made everything any around the edges
Her hands shook so badly she almost dropped the phone.
“Arianna.” His voice was cold, controleil.
Furious
“Why the hell did you drop out of school?
