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Warnings: miscarriage, grief, sibling conflict, verbal/emotional confrontation, mental health struggles, body image issues, implied sexual content
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The Brew buzzed with its usual noise—steam hissing, cups clinking, the low murmur of conversations that never quite stayed private. Spencer sat near the window, posture stiff, fingers wrapped around her coffee like it was anchoring her to the table. Across from her, CeCe Drake lounged with effortless confidence, legs crossed, sunglasses pushed into her hair despite being indoors. She spoke easily, too easily, as if nothing she said could ever land wrong.
She talked about Alison like she was telling stories from a summer that hadn’t really ended, dropping names and half-truths with a casual smile that made Spencer’s skin crawl. Every word felt intentional. Every pause felt calculated.
Lily stepped into the Brew moments later, scanning the room until she spotted Spencer. Relief flickered across her face, brief and fragile. She moved toward the table, only to feel it vanish the instant CeCe’s eyes landed on her. The look wasn’t friendly. It wasn’t curious. It was sharp, measuring, edged with something darker.
“Well,” CeCe said, lips curling into a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “You must be Lily Grey.”
Lily stopped short. Her shoulders tightened.
“Alison talked about you,” CeCe continued lightly. “More than you’d think.”
The words settled heavy in the air. Lily felt that familiar chill creep down her spine, the name Alison still too tangled with memories she preferred not to examine. She forced a polite smile, already searching for an exit, when movement behind CeCe caught her eye.
Jason had come up quietly, his presence sudden but steady.
“That’s enough, CeCe,” he said, voice calm but firm.
CeCe turned, clearly surprised, her expression flickering before smoothing back into something amused. “What? I was just making conversation.”
Jason didn’t rise to it. He stepped closer to Lily instead, subtle but unmistakable, placing himself just enough in front of her to draw a clear line.
“You don’t get to talk about her like that,” he said. “Not to her.”
Spencer’s breath caught. She watched her brother carefully, something unfamiliar and grounding settling into her chest.
CeCe tilted her head, eyes narrowing slightly as she looked between them. The smile she wore sharpened, jealousy flashing just beneath the surface. “Wow,” she said. “Didn’t realize I’d stepped on something so… personal.”
Jason didn’t flinch. “You did.”
For a beat, no one spoke. Lily’s heart pounded, but beneath the adrenaline was something steadier—relief, maybe. Or safety. She met Jason’s eyes briefly, gratitude flickering there before she nodded once and took a step back.
“I need to go,” Lily said quietly.
She didn’t wait for permission. She turned and walked out of the Brew, the bell over the door chiming too brightly behind her.
Outside, the air felt cooler, grounding. Lily drew in a slow breath, trying to steady herself, when Jason followed her onto the sidewalk.
“Lily,” he said gently. “Hey.”
She turned back, still a little shaken.
Jason held out an envelope, his grip tight like it mattered. “I’ve been… working through things,” he said, choosing his words carefully. “I’m taking responsibility. For everything.”
He explained about therapy. About the steps. About owning his mistakes instead of burying them.
“You weren’t a mistake,” he said, voice quiet but unwavering. “What I did. What I let happen—that’s on me.”
Lily listened, fingers curling around the envelope when he handed it to her. The anger she might have expected never surfaced. What she felt instead was tired acceptance—and something like closure.
“I forgave you a while ago,” she said. “I’m glad you’re getting help. You deserve it.”
Jason swallowed hard and nodded, emotion flickering across his face.
The moment barely had time to settle before the Brew’s door flew open behind them.
Justin stormed out like a force of nature, eyes wild, jaw tight, panic written all over him. He spotted Lily instantly and crossed the distance in seconds.
“We need to talk,” he said, voice sharp, urgent. “Now.”
Lily hesitated, the weight of the day pressing in from all sides, then nodded. Whatever was coming, she could already feel it coiling in her chest.
And just like that, the ground shifted beneath them all.
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The alley behind the Brew swallowed sound in a way that made everything feel louder. Lily barely got three steps past the door before Justin spun on her, his face already twisted with something too raw to be just anger.
“How long were you planning on lying to me?” he snapped.
Lily stopped short. “I’m not doing this out here.”
“You already did,” Justin shot back. “You did it the second you decided I didn’t deserve the truth.”
Her stomach clenched. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Justin laughed, sharp and brittle, the sound scraping against brick. “Don’t insult me like that. A told me.”
That name hit like a gunshot.
Lily felt the blood drain from her face. “A told you what?”
“All of it,” he said, stepping closer, voice shaking with barely contained rage. “The messages. The threats. Mom. Radley. Me.” His jaw clenched hard. “The miscarriage.”
The word hung between them, ugly and exposed.
Spencer appeared at the mouth of the alley, eyes wide. “Justin—”
“Stay out of it,” he barked, never taking his eyes off Lily.
Lily’s hands curled into fists. “You had no right to say that.”
“I had every right,” Justin snapped. “You don’t get to carry something like that alone and call it noble.”
“I wasn’t being noble,” Lily shot back. “I was being careful.”
“Careful?” He scoffed. “You were playing hero again. You always do this. You decide you’re the only one who can handle the damage.”
Her voice cracked. “Because every time I let someone in, everything gets worse.”
Justin’s face darkened. “So you just shut us out instead?
“I shut you out,” Lily yelled. “Because A was threatening to ruin you. Because they said if I opened my mouth, you’d be exposed all over again. Your past. Your addiction. Your failures.” She swallowed hard. “I couldn’t let that happen.”
Justin’s eyes burned. “You think I wouldn’t choose you over all of that?”
“You don’t get to say that now,” Lily snapped. “You were barely standing this summer, Justin. You think I didn’t see it? You think I didn’t hear Mom whispering to Dad at night?”
“That doesn’t mean you decide for me!” he shouted, his voice echoing off the walls. “I’m not some fragile thing you have to protect!”
“You were fragile,” Lily screamed back. “You were breaking and I was breaking and there was no room for both of us to fall apart!”
Spencer stepped closer, tears already forming. “Please—both of you—”
“No,” Lily said, turning sharply. “Let him finish.”
Justin’s chest heaved. “You always do this,” he said, voice lowering, dangerous now. “You push people away and then act like the victim when you’re alone.”
Lily flinched. “That’s not fair.”
“It’s exactly fair,” he snapped. “You disappear. You lie. You shut doors and expect everyone to just wait around for you to come back.”
“I lost a baby,” Lily yelled, the words ripping out of her. “I lost control of my body. I lost my sense of safety. And every single day after that, A reminded me that if I said anything, you’d lose everything you worked for. So forgive me if I didn’t feel like asking for help!”
Justin’s face went red, fury bleeding into something reckless. “So what, I’m supposed to thank you for deciding I couldn’t handle you?”
“I didn’t think you could survive it!” Lily sobbed.
Justin stared at her, breathing hard, something wild and wounded in his eyes. “You don’t trust me,” he said flatly.
“You don’t,” he cut in. “You think I’m always one bad day away from screwing everything up.”
“No one can help you,” Justin said harshly. “Because you won’t let them. You’d rather bleed alone than admit you need anyone.”
The words landed like a physical blow.
Lily’s face crumpled. She wrapped her arms around herself like she was holding something together by force alone. “I didn’t want to be alone,” she whispered. “I just didn’t want to destroy you.”
“That’s not your call,” he snapped. “And I’m sick of you acting like it is.”
Noel’s voice cut through the alley, sharp and final.
He and Asher were already moving. Noel crossed the space in seconds, pulling Lily into his arms without hesitation. She broke completely then, sobs wracking her body as she clutched his shirt like it was the only solid thing left.
Asher stepped in front of Justin, one hand pressing firmly against his chest. “Stop,” he said, calm but unyielding. “You’re done.”
Justin’s hands shook, adrenaline still flooding his system. He tried to speak, then failed, jaw clenching as the weight of what he’d said finally crashed in.
Spencer wiped at her cheeks, voice shaking. “Justin… you didn’t mean that.”
But Lily didn’t look back.
Noel held her close, murmuring something low and steady into her hair as he guided her away. He shot Justin one last look — not angry, not cruel — just deeply disappointed.
Asher didn’t move until Lily was gone.
Then, quietly, he said, “You crossed a line.”
Justin dragged a hand down his face, breath uneven. “I know.”
And the alley stayed heavy long after they left, the echoes of words that could never be fully taken back clinging to the brick.
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The door shut behind them with a soft click, and Lily didn’t make it any farther.
She moved on instinct, shoes kicked off somewhere she wouldn’t remember later, body folding sideways onto the couch like gravity finally won. Olive was there immediately, all brown blur and weight, front paws scrambling up as she pressed her whole body against Lily’s ribs. Pepper followed a heartbeat later, leaping straight onto Lily’s chest like she had been waiting for permission, black fur a sharp contrast against Lily’s sweatshirt.
Lily curled inward, arms coming up around both of them, face buried into Olive’s neck. The first sob tore out of her without warning, deep and wrecked, like it had been waiting all day for a safe place to land.
Olive whined low, insistent, tail thumping against the side of the couch as she adjusted herself until Lily was pinned in place. Pepper kneaded Lily’s collarbone with sharp little paws, purring so loud it rattled in Lily’s chest. Neither of them moved. Neither of them let her go.
Noel stood there for a moment, watching, knowing better than to interrupt.
He turned quietly, moving through the house like muscle memory. He filled a glass with water and set it on the coffee table within Lily’s reach. He rinsed out another bottle and filled it, cold from the sink, twisting the cap on and leaving it beside the first. He topped off Olive’s bowl, then Pepper’s, making sure everything was where it belonged, where it would be when Lily eventually noticed again.
Not pretty. Not quiet. The kind of crying that shook her whole body, breath hitching hard as she clung to Olive like she was the only thing keeping her anchored to the room. Pepper pressed her forehead against Lily’s jaw and purred harder, offended on her behalf, tail flicking sharply.
“I tried,” Lily said into Olive’s fur, the words muffled and broken. “I really tried.”
Olive licked at her cheek, once, twice, and stayed exactly where she was. Pepper headbutted Lily’s chin like she was demanding eye contact, then settled back down, heavy and warm.
Noel came back only when everything else was handled.
He sat on the floor beside the couch, close enough that Lily could feel him there without being crowded. He rested one hand on Olive’s back, steady, grounding, and waited.
Lily cried until it burned. Until her chest hurt. Until the tears slowed into uneven breaths and shaky hiccups. She didn’t look at him. She didn’t have to.
“He didn’t mean it,” she whispered eventually, voice hoarse. “I know he didn’t.”
“I know,” Noel said softly.
Pepper shifted, curling tighter against Lily’s throat, purring like it was her job to keep Lily breathing.
“I just didn’t want to ruin him,” Lily said. “I didn’t want to be the reason.”
Noel leaned his shoulder against the couch, close now but still careful. “You aren’t,” he said. No argument. No explanation. Just the truth.
Lily’s fingers loosened in Olive’s fur. Her body sagged deeper into the cushions, exhaustion finally winning. She stayed curled there, face hidden, animals bracketing her like sentries.
Noel stayed on the floor.
He just stayed, keeping the house running, keeping her world intact while she let herself fall apart in the safest place she knew.
And for the first time all day, Lily didn’t feel like she had to hold herself together alone.
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The house had gone still, the kind of quiet that settled after everything had already fallen apart.
Olive lay heavy across Lily’s legs, chin resting on her knee, eyes half-open like she was on watch duty. Pepper remained curled against Lily’s collarbone, purring like she was powering the room.
Noel sat beside her, shoulder brushing hers, not crowding, just there.
Lily turned toward him first.
Her eyes were swollen, lashes clumped, but there was something determined under the exhaustion. She leaned in and kissed him — soft, but not hesitant. Like she’d made a decision.
Noel kissed back, because of course he did. His hand slid to her waist, familiar, grounding.
But when her fingers tangled into the front of his shirt, pulling him closer, urgency creeping in, he slowed.
“Hey,” he murmured, brushing his nose against her temple. “Look at me.”
She didn’t want to. She kept kissing him, like if she didn’t stop, she wouldn’t have to talk.
He pulled back anyway — not far, just enough to see her face.
Her expression cracked immediately.
“I don’t want you to see me like this,” she said quietly.
“I see you,” he answered.
She shook her head. “No, you see what I was. I’m not that girl anymore.”
His hands stilled on her waist.
Lily pushed through before he could answer. “Everything changed. I don’t feel like me. I don’t look like me. And I just—” her voice wobbled, “—I just want to feel normal again. I want us to be normal again.”
Noel’s expression softened in a way that hurt to look at.
“Lily,” he said gently, “we don’t fix things like this.”
Her eyes filled instantly. “I know, but I don’t know what else to do.”
He slid his hand up, cupping her cheek, thumb brushing under her eye.
“You don’t have to do anything,” he said. “You don’t have to earn me. You don’t have to prove anything.”
Her lips trembled. “What if this is the only thing I have left to give?”
“No,” he said, firmer now. “You don’t ever think that. Not about yourself. Not with me.”
She looked away, ashamed, and that’s when he pulled her into him fully — not to escalate, not to take, but to hold.
“I love all of you,” he said into her hair. “Every inch. Even the parts you’re fighting. Especially those.”
She let herself melt into him then, the tension bleeding out slowly.
After a while, she kissed him again — softer this time, less desperate. A question, not a bargain.
His hands moved, careful, giving her room to breathe, room to stop, room to just exist. She stayed close. Stayed present. No rushing now.
“You sure?” he asked quietly.
She nodded, breath steady for the first time all night. “I don’t want to forget. I just don’t want to feel like I’m disappearing.”
He understood the difference.
What followed wasn’t frantic or heavy with expectation. It unfolded slowly, gently — touch by touch, breath by breath — two people reconnecting without trying to outrun anything.
The room stayed quiet except for Olive’s slow sigh and Pepper’s steady purr.
And later, when Lily fell asleep with her cheek against his chest, Noel stayed awake a little longer, one hand resting over her ribs, like he was keeping watch.
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Morning light spilled across Lily’s room in soft gold lines. Noel was still half asleep, one arm heavy around her waist, Olive sprawled across his legs like a weighted blanket. Pepper blinked lazily from the pillow.
Lily reached for her phone.
She hesitated for half a second.
Then chaos queen made a decision.
Group chat: chaotic fambam
There were exactly four seconds of silence after Lily sent her message.
lilybean: breakfast triple date?
why are you suggesting plans before 9 am
who are you and what have you done with my best friend
Lily bit her lip, trying not to laugh.
Noel stirred. “What’d you do?”
why are we doing breakfast
Hanna did not let that breathe.
Lily rolled onto her side, propping herself up on one elbow.
that is the most suspicious text you’ve ever sent
WHY DO YOU SOUND WELL RESTED
Lily glanced at Noel, who was very clearly pretending to still be asleep.
“Apparently we sound rested.”
He cracked one eye open. “We are.”
grey irish twin energy is UNMATCHED
Lily smirked, fully enjoying this.
Hanna paused for exactly two seconds.
if you bail i’m coming to the grey house
Noel’s arm tightened around her waist automatically.
Private text: hannabanana
Hanna replied almost immediately.
i need to inspect the energy
Lily set her phone down and turned back toward Noel.
“Inspection at 10:30,” she said.
He brushed a kiss to her shoulder. “Guess we better look happy.”
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Lily didn’t want to go see Madam Verna, but Emily asked, and Lily didn’t say no to Emily.
She said it three times before they even got in the car. She said it again when they pulled up to the narrow storefront with faded curtains and a flickering OPEN sign. She said it quietly under her breath as Emily squeezed her hand and promised it would just be “for fun.”
The air inside the shop felt wrong the second they stepped in. Too warm. Too heavy. Incense burning somewhere too sweet to be comforting. The walls were crowded with draped fabric and glass beads and framed photographs of strangers.
Madame Verna stood waiting like she’d known they were coming.
Spencer rolled her eyes immediately. Aria leaned in with polite curiosity. Hanna looked amused but wary. Emily looked hopeful. That was the only reason Lily stayed.
They sat in a semicircle around the small table. A crystal ball sat between them like a prop that knew it was dramatic.
Madame Verna studied each of them slowly, eyes lingering too long.
“You have been surrounded by death,” she said calmly.
Hanna shifted. Spencer stiffened.
Lily’s stomach tightened.
“The girl who haunts you is not at rest,” Verna continued. “Her spirit is unsettled.”
Alison. The name wasn’t spoken, but it didn’t have to be. Verna’s gaze snapped to Lily without warning.
“You,” she said quietly. Lily froze. “You have already lost something you cannot get back.” The room tilted. Hanna reached for Lily’s hand under the table. Verna didn’t blink. “The mother carries the storm,” she added. “And the brother walks a dangerous path.”
Lily’s breathing went shallow. Spencer started to object — something about cold reading and psychology — but Verna lifted her hand sharply. “The one who comforts you most,” Verna said slowly, eyes locked on Lily’s, “may not be the one who survives.”
The words didn’t land gently. They detonated. Lily’s chair scraped loudly against the floor as she stood up too fast.
“No,” she said immediately. “No, that’s not—”
Emily looked startled. Hanna squeezed her hand harder. Spencer stood too. “This is manipulative.”
Verna’s voice softened, almost pitying. “You fear losing him,” she said. “You feel it in your bones.”
Lily’s chest felt like it was collapsing inward. “No,” she repeated, shaking her head, heart racing so hard she could hear it. “That’s not real. You don’t know him.”
Verna leaned closer. “The midst is clearing. The blonde one is not at peace,” she said instead, pivoting like it was nothing. “She was betrayed. By someone you trust.”
Alison. Silence fell over the room. Spencer’s jaw tightened. Aria’s eyes flickered. Emily looked shaken.
But Lily wasn’t there anymore. All she could hear was: the one who comforts you may not be the one who survives.
Noel. Her hands were shaking.
Hanna stood immediately. “We’re done,” she said sharply.
Spencer and Emily didn’t argue. They left in a blur of beads and incense and too-warm air.
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The second the door shut behind them, Lily’s phone was in her hand.
Her fingers moved before she could stop them. And thankfully, Noel was responsive.
where else would i be lol
well, no. i am in class with caleb.
She swallowed hard, pacing the sidewalk.
Longer than it should’ve been.
Her chest tightened again.
Hanna stepped closer. “Lily.”
“I’m fine,” Lily lied, already typing again.
i need you to not do anything stupid today
i wasn’t planning on it??
That didn’t help. Because now she could hear the psychic’s voice again.
The one who comforts you most may not be the one who survives.
Hanna wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “It’s not real,” she said firmly. “She throws out bait and watches who flinches.”
But Lily was already spiraling. Her phone buzzed again. Unknown number. She froze.
Some futures can’t be changed. Hopefully Noel’s is secure.
Lily’s stomach dropped straight to her shoes.
And suddenly the air felt just as heavy as it had inside that shop.
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Lily saw Noel before he saw her.
He was leaning against the lockers near the science wing, talking to Caleb, one sleeve pushed up, looking completely normal. Completely solid. Like nothing in the universe was threatening him.
Her chest tightened so hard it almost hurt.
She crossed the hallway without thinking and threw her arms around him.
Noel barely had time to brace before she collided with him, her fingers gripping the back of his shirt like she was afraid he’d slip through them. He steadied them both automatically, hands sliding to her waist.
“Hey,” he said softly, startled. “What happened?”
She shook her head against his chest. If she tried to speak, she would cry. She could feel it building.
Over her shoulder, he looked at Hanna and Emily, eyebrows pulling together in confusion.
Emily gave him the smallest shake of her head. Not here.
The hallway noise pressed in around them — lockers slamming, voices bouncing, the bell warning buzzing overhead.
Lily finally pulled back just enough to look at him. Her eyes were glassy but determined.
“You’re fine,” she said, like she was checking a pulse. “Right?”
“Yeah,” he said again, softer this time. “I’m fine.”
She stepped back quickly, wiping under her eyes with the heel of her hand like she hadn’t almost unraveled in the middle of the hall.
“I have class,” she muttered.
Hanna slid in immediately, looping her arm through Lily’s and steering her down the hallway like she was escorting fragile cargo.
Noel watched her go, unsettled.
“What did that woman say?” he asked quietly once the hallway started thinning out.
Emily exhaled slowly. “A lot of dramatic things.”
“That wasn’t just dramatic.”
She hesitated, then shrugged lightly. “She said something about loss. About comfort. Lily just… took it personally.”
Noel’s jaw tightened. “What exactly did she say?”
Emily looked down at the floor for a second before answering. “She said the one who comforts her may not be the one who survives.”
Silence dropped between them.
“That’s stupid,” he said flatly.
“I know,” Emily said quickly. “It’s vague. That’s how psychics work. They throw something out and wait for someone to flinch.”
He nodded once, but the words still lodged somewhere uncomfortable.
Emily shifted her backpack higher on her shoulder. “Nate texted me during it.”
His eyes flicked to her. “During?”
“Yeah. He knew we were going.” She shrugged again. “I told him.”
Something about that made his stomach turn, though he couldn’t fully explain why.
“Just checking on me. He said he doesn’t trust that stuff.” A faint smile touched her mouth. “He’s just protective.”
Noel leaned back against the lockers.
“He shows up a lot,” she added. “But I think he just doesn’t want to be alone.”
“That doesn’t mean you don’t get space,” Noel said carefully.
Emily glanced at him. “You think he’s weird?”
“Intense,” he said instead.
She nodded like that made sense. “He’s grieving.”
The second bell rang, louder this time.
Emily adjusted her strap again. “We should go.”
They started walking, but Noel’s thoughts were already turning.
Nate texting during the session.
Knowing exactly where she was.
Framing himself as the only one who understood.
Across the building, Lily sat in class beside Hanna, notebook open but blank.
Her phone rested face-down on her desk.
She flipped it over every thirty seconds just to make sure there wasn’t a new message.
Just to make sure he was still fine.
Still breathing. Still there. And somewhere deep in her chest, the psychic’s voice kept echoing whether she wanted it to or not.
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By the time last period rolled around, Lily was running on fumes.
She was halfway through swapping books at her locker when Aria slid in beside her, eyes soft but assessing.
“You okay?” Aria asked quietly.
Lily shrugged. “Define okay.”
Before Aria could answer, Caleb’s shadow fell across the locker door.
“Have either of you seen Hanna?” he asked.
Aria’s posture shifted immediately — not defensive, but alert.
“She had something to take care of,” Lily said evenly.
“That’s what she told me,” Caleb replied. “It’s becoming a pattern.”
Lily shut her locker gently. “She’s fine.”
“That’s not the same thing as telling me where she is.”
Aria stepped in smoothly before Lily’s tone could sharpen. “Caleb.”
He looked at her instead.
“She’s dealing with something personal,” Aria continued. “You know how Hanna is when she doesn’t want to feel weak.”
Caleb’s jaw tightened. “That’s exactly why I’m asking.”
Lily crossed her arms, bracing. “She asked me not to say.”
“So you do know,” he pressed.
Caleb exhaled sharply through his nose. “Every time Mona’s name comes up, you’re right there. Every time Hanna disappears, you cover for her. You don’t think that’s suspicious?”
Aria’s brows lifted slightly. “Suspicious?”
“I’m not accusing you,” Caleb said quickly, though it felt like he was. “I just don’t like being the last one to know.”
“You’re not the last one to know,” Lily said quietly. “You’re just not the only one she trusts.”
Caleb studied her face like he was trying to see past it.
“You two are…” he trailed off.
“Close?” Aria supplied gently. “Yes.”
“That’s an understatement.”
Aria smiled faintly. “They’re basically platonic soulmates.”
“It’s true,” Aria continued. “They’re twin flames without the flames.”
Caleb blinked. “That’s not reassuring.”
Aria laughed softly. “It’s not romantic. It’s not secretive. It’s just… them.”
Caleb’s eyes flicked back to Lily. “Does Noel know?”
“Yes,” she said again, firmer this time. “He knows. He’s always known. He’s not threatened by it.”
Caleb’s expression shifted — not relieved, but recalibrating.
“He’s fine with you lying for her?” he asked.
“I’m not lying,” Lily said. “I’m respecting her.”
Aria stepped forward again, grounding the conversation. “Caleb, you don’t have to compete with Lily. It’s not that kind of bond.”
His shoulders dropped just slightly.
“Good,” Aria replied calmly. “Because you’d lose.”
That caught him off guard enough that the tension cracked.
Caleb ran a hand through his hair. “I just don’t want her getting pulled back into something toxic.”
“She won’t,” Lily said quietly.
He held her gaze for a long second, measuring.
“You’d tell me if she was in danger,” he said.
The bell rang down the hallway.
Caleb stepped back. “Fine. But if this blows up, I’m not pretending I didn’t see the warning signs.”
He walked off, still unsettled but no longer confrontational.
“Well,” she said lightly, “that was tense.”
Lily leaned her head back against the locker. “Everyone’s tense.”
Aria studied her. “You’re allowed to not be the emotional middleman all the time.”
At the end of the hallway, Noel stood near the stairwell, watching.
He hadn’t heard everything.
And he didn’t look threatened.
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Aria didn’t move right away after Caleb left.
She watched him disappear down the hallway, then looked at Lily with something softer in her eyes.
“Do you ever get tired of being the strong one?” she asked.
Lily huffed a quiet laugh. “Constantly.”
They started walking toward their next class, footsteps echoing lightly against the tile.
There was a beat of silence before Aria said, “Ezra talked to Maggie again.”
Lily glanced at her. “Recently?”
“Yesterday.” Aria’s voice stayed even, but her fingers tightened slightly around her bag strap. “He says it’s just closure. That they never really finished things properly.”
“That’s… mature,” Lily offered carefully.
“It is.” Aria nodded. “It’s mature.”
She didn’t sound convinced.
Lily slowed her steps a little. “But?”
Aria exhaled slowly. “But it’s weird. Hearing her name. Knowing she exists in his life in this permanent way.” She hesitated. “It makes me feel young.”
“You are young,” Lily said gently.
Aria shot her a look. “That’s not what I mean.”
They turned the corner toward the English wing.
“He keeps saying it’s nothing,” Aria continued. “That I have nothing to worry about. But if it’s nothing, why does it feel like something?”
Lily didn’t answer right away.
Because she understood that feeling.
“When you love someone,” Lily said carefully, “anything connected to their past can feel threatening. Even if it’s not.”
Aria’s expression flickered. “You don’t think I’m being ridiculous?”
“No,” Lily said immediately. “You’re allowed to want reassurance.”
Aria smiled faintly. “He gives it. I just don’t know if I believe it yet.”
They stopped outside the classroom.
“You will,” Lily said. “Or you won’t. And either way, you’ll handle it.”
Aria studied her face. “You sound wiser than you were yesterday.”
Aria’s gaze softened. “Are you okay?”
Lily hesitated. Then nodded.
Aria squeezed her hand once before pushing open the classroom door.
As they walked in, Lily’s phone buzzed again in her palm.
are you breathing normally yet
Her lips twitched despite everything.
aria is good at distracting
She glanced back at Aria, who was already sliding into her seat.
Maybe everyone was just trying to convince themselves they were fine.
Maybe that was what this period of life really was. Survival.
🤍🩷🖤•••🤍🩷🖤•••🤍🩷🖤•••🤍🩷🖤•••🤍🩷🖤•••🤍🩷🖤
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