rlina’s POV
It was finally Friday, and after a week that felt like midterms and finals tead up to ruin my life, I was beyond ready for a break.
One class.
Just one asly class at noon, and I was free to shift into party mode.
Belford’s weekends weren’t exactly exciting or wild, but we’d been invited to so off-campus birthday party, and honestly? I needed it.
Conor Lesnar, the guy said to be responsible for my mother’s death, was still conveniently out of town, supposedly on academic probation or so fake family ergency. Whatever.
For once, I wasn’t going to spend my Friday night knee-deep in old files and dead-end leads. I was gonna have fun.
Just for tonight.
Phoebe, gan, and I were walking across campus, the sun sitting low and bright, the way it always got before the real weekend heat kicked in. We had our iced coffees in hand and not a single ounce of sha for skipping the optional discussion section after class.
"Tell why Professor Lin made us argue both sides of the debate and then still gave participation points like she was handing out pity stickers," gan muttered, pulling her sunglasses down as we passed a group of freshn blasting music from a car parked in the curb.
"Because Lin is chaos personified," I said. "She lives for the emotional damage."
Phoebe sipped her coffee, grinning. "Well, chaos or not, I still managed to sneak in the ’capitalism is a scam’ line without her flinching."
"You’re insufferable," gan rolled her eyes. "But I love you."
I laughed, letting the sound roll out of like a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding. For the first ti in days, it felt like I could finally breathe, like the universe decided to hit pause on the drama.
It was the kind of mont I used to live for, before everything got tangled up in tragedy and secrets.
I hadn’t spoken to Craig since he cornered in the quad, acting like so morally confused mob boss trying to scare off with veiled threats and tuition bribes.
His silence since then felt like a rubber band pulled too tight in my chest, uncomfortably tense, just waiting to snap. But still, I kept telling myself I didn’t care. That I was better off without hearing from him. That it was better we kept our distance.
But the truth was, I felt like I was caught in limbo, waiting for sothing I wasn’t sure I even wanted to happen.
Deep down, I was craving another conversation with Craig, hoping he’d prove wrong. A small part of still wanted Craig to show he wasn’t the person Louis described.
Maybe I was hoping he could break through the tough exterior, reveal a little more of himself, and prove that he wasn’t all bad. A part of still wanted that.
We were halfway to the student lot when a voice cut through the breeze.
"Phoebe."
We turned.
Standing a few feet away was a girl giving off major ’an girl in rehab’ vibes. Long hair, overly shiny lip gloss, and a smile that looked a little too forced. Beside her, a shorter brunette chewed gum like it was her full-ti job.
"Um, hey?" Phoebe asked, eyebrows raised.
"I’m Naomi," the girl said, her tone almost daring Phoebe to recognize her. "Does that ring a bell?"
Naomi.
Phoebe had ntioned her as Keith’s most recent ex.
"Oh," Phoebe said, clearly unimpressed. "Okay?"
Naomi crossed her arms, her voice dripping with sweetness but coated in just the right amount of venom. "It’s kind of funny, isn’t it? You all over Keith, when he’s clearly not over ."
I blinked, processing what was happening.
Was this for real?
She leaned in, the smile never quite reaching her eyes. "Let make this crystal clear. Stay...away...from Keith."
Phoebe didn’t even have a response, frozen in that mont, clearly caught off guard.
gan, always the quick-witted one, snorted loudly. "Okay, seriously, is this high school?"
Naomi didn’t skip a beat. "I’m just saying, so girls need to rember their place."
She shot Phoebe a look that practically dared her to speak up. "Keith’s still figuring things out, and you?" She gave Phoebe the once-over, her eyes scanning her from head to toe. "You’re just a phase."
Phoebe didn’t flinch. She tossed her cup into the trash without breaking eye contact, her voice cool but cutting. "Oh, honey. If I’m a phase, I’m the kind that’ll make him second-guess his entire life."
Naomi let out a sharp laugh, clearly unimpressed. "Oh, really?"
Phoebe’s smirk didn’t waver. "Yeah, it’s wild how so people can’t seem to let go of the past. Maybe it’s ti you move on... instead of clinging to soone who’s already outgrown you."
Naomi’s smile faltered, she looked like she was about to throw a fit, but her friend nudged her, muttering sothing under her breath, and the two of them stord off like we’d just burned their group chat to the ground.
As soon as Naomi and her sidekick stord off, gan burst out laughing. "What was that? A threat or an audition for Real Housewives of Belford?"
Phoebe tossed her hair like she was on a reality show. "If Keith’s exes are gonna co at with all that drama, I at least deserve the music and a slow-mo walk-in. Like, make it a whole production."
I snorted. "Wait, are we in a teen drama reboot? Who still does the whole ’stay away from my man’ speech? I was two seconds away from checking if we’d ti-traveled to junior prom."
We were still cracking up when a voice cut through the chaos-low, smooth, and way too familiar.
"What’s so funny?"
We froze.
Keith stood there, looking confused but intrigued, definitely unaware his ex had just tried to mark her territory. But beside him, leaning slightly back with his hands in his pockets, was Craig.
His eyes landed on imdiately.
Not a scan. Not a glance.
A full, slow stare, like he was sizing up for sothing. Like nothing had changed, but everything had.
Without a word, he tilted his head slightly, just enough to make it feel like he was speaking directly to . Not quite a nod, not quite a dare, just that maddening in-between that said, ’Yeah, I see you.’
Like we both knew this wasn’t over.
My stomach twisted. My breath caught, sharp and sudden.
Because that wasn’t the look of a guy who regretted what he said.
It was the look of soone waiting for my next move, my next word-like I was the one holding the match to his fuse.
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