Chapter 20 Jul 18, 2025 The school was loud. Too loud. Laughter, footsteps, locker doors banging open—everything was at full volume, but none of it felt real. It was like walking through someone else’s dream. Someone called my name down the hall. I didn’t turn around. Amber’s laugh rang out near the lockers. Too loud. … Read more
Chapter 18 Jul 18, 2025 The dress felt like a costume. Tight at the ribs, too bright under the lights. It shimmered like it belonged to someone who knew how to smile on cue. Someone polished. Unbreakable. Someone who hadn’t spent the last week trying not to fall apart in public bathrooms. I tugged at … Read more
Chapter 17 Jul 18, 2025 The hallway buzzed like something was about to blow. Not a fire drill or a fight—something quieter. More radioactive. Measured. Judged. The stares weren’t curious anymore. They were calculating. And loud. Like everyone was waiting for the collapse they were sure would come. The new girl, ruined by the bad … Read more
Chapter 16 Jul 18, 2025 People were watching now—really watching. It wasn’t whispers anymore. It was stares held just a second too long, like every hallway became a runway and we were the main act no one wanted to admit they liked. Some students looked curious, others annoyed, but most of them just looked shocked … Read more
Chapter 15 Jul 18, 2025 The message came just before lunch. Just five words. Can we talk after school? No name. No emojis. But I didn’t need any. I knew that number like a scar—healed over, but never forgotten. I stared at it for too long, phone clutched tight enough to crack. I didn’t reply. … Read more
Chapter 14 Jul 18, 2025 The hallway went tomb-silent before I even touched my locker. Like someone had hit pause on a movie everyone had already seen twelve times. Freshmen froze mid-whisper. Math class girl looked at me, then away like eye contact might give her third-degree burns. I opened my locker anyway. Because apparently … Read more
Chapter 13 Jul 18, 2025 The car was cold. Not just in temperature, but in energy. I sat curled in the passenger seat with my hoodie pulled over my knees, the kind of posture that screamed defense without saying a word. The windows were fogged from our breath, though neither of us was really breathing. … Read more
Chapter 12 Jul 18, 2025 Should’ve known Amber wouldn’t come for me with fists. She’s smarter than that. Strategic. Polished. The kind of girl who could ruin your life and still get a glowing letter of recommendation. She didn’t need a fight. She had a clipboard. Third period, a flyer appeared in every girls’ bathroom … Read more
Chapter 11 Jul 18, 2025 Walking into school felt different. Not like I’d grown wings or discovered superpowers—more like I’d finally stopped apologizing for existing in my own skin. My hoodie still hung loose, my shoes still squeaked against the linoleum like dying mice, but something had clicked into place overnight. I wasn’t performing confidence. … Read more