Evaline:
Everything was a blur from the mont Mallory’s words cut through the night like a blade.
Oscar Thorne and Jasmine Bills are getting engaged.
I didn’t rember how long I stood frozen by the door after that. Minutes. Maybe an hour. My body moved without command, sliding down against the wooden fra and curling up at the base. This was becoming my new favorite place to fall apart.
I didn’t rember if I cried again or just sat there, feeling empty. Broken.
The next thing I was truly aware of was Rowan.
His scent reached before his voice did, that warm forest-and-mint blend that always made feel like I was sowhere safe - even when nothing else in my world was. He didn’t say anything at first. Just walked over and crouched beside . No questions. No judgnts.
And then he touched .
Gentle hands around my shoulders, strong arms easing up like I weighed nothing at all, like I wasn’t dragging the weight of my entire world with .
He helped to bed and held in his arms like I was a child. I probably looked like one too, curled up against him, trembling but no longer crying, because I didn’t think there were any tears left in . I was dry, like a well that had been bled hollow by grief.
"I have got you," he whispered.
He always did.
I didn’t speak, not once. And neither did he, after that. He just let be, let exist in silence while he kept grounded like one steady heartbeat against my back. I lay there like that, staring at the moonless sky through the balcony glass, watching the clouds crawl across a black sky that looked like it had swallowed the stars.
There was no light up there.
None in here, either.
At so point, probably near dawn, I drifted off - not into peace, not into comfort, but into the quiet numbness of sleep.
I barely stirred when I felt movent beside . My lashes fluttered as consciousness tried to reach , but before I could open my eyes fully, Rowan whispered softly, "Sleep, sunshine," his voice was barely more than a breath as it brushed my skin like a lullaby.
And I obeyed. Not because I was comforted, but because I had nothing else left to give.
---
The second ti I woke, the room was still filled with darkness.
No sunlight was filtering through the balcony. Soone, undoubtedly Rowan, had drawn the thick blackout curtains and turned off every light. The room was cloaked in shadows, and the silence was as deep as the emptiness inside .
I blinked at the darkness, too exhausted to do anything else, and before I could even think of lifting my head, sleep stole again.
---
I didn’t know what ti it was when I woke next, but the mont I opened my eyes, I felt sothing different - a sense of urgency.
My body was aching from lying still for so long, but I forced myself upright, blinking at the pitch-black room until I reached for my phone on the bedside table. The second I saw the screen, my heart leapt with panic.
12:41 PM
I sat up straight - too fast.
"Ah-!" I gasped as pain shot up my back and into my ribs. My body scread in protest from the sudden movent, and I clenched the blanket against my chest, steadying my breath. But the panic was already there, clawing at .
I missed classes. I missed the whole morning.
My chest tightened until I saw the ssage notifications.
Rowan: I told the Academy you weren’t feeling well and got a leave approved for you. No stress. Get so rest, okay?
Kyros:Don’t push yourself today. Sleep. Heal.
Mallory (10 minutes ago):Hey sleepyhead! Don’t you dare co to the dining hall. We are bringing your lunch! Be ready!
I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.
Warmth trickled into my chest at the words. At the concern. At the effort. These people... they didn’t owe anything, and yet, here they were, wrapping in their quiet love without needing a single explanation. I was grateful. So damn grateful.
But still...
I opened the notifications tab again, scanning through all my missed calls and unread ssages, hoping - stupidly, desperately - that maybe, just maybe...
But there was none. Nothing.
No ssages from Oscar or Draven. No missed calls either. No attempts to check in. Not even a sign that they still cared.
My vision blurred.
Just when I thought I was done cryinb... just when I thought I couldn’t possibly have more pain left to feel.
A tear slid down my cheek, hot and bitter.
How could it still hurt this much?
How could I still hope?
I swiped the tear away fiercely and exhaled through clenched teeth. "Get up, Eva," I whispered to myself. "Stop acting like your world ended. It didn’t. You are still here. You are still breathing. So get up."
I didn’t feel strong. But I pushed the blanket off anyway, pulled my legs out of bed, and grabbed a change of clothes from the closet.
---
The girls’ showers were quiet at this hour. Most classes were still running and only a few students skipped lessons, so the bathroom was practically empty when I stepped in. The mont the warm water hit my skin, I felt a knot loosen in my chest, just a little.
I closed my eyes and let the water wash over , sliding down my back and soaking through my hair like a gentle apology. Like maybe the universe was trying to say - You are still here. You are still alive. Let clean so of this pain away.
But water couldn’t fix everything.
It couldn’t scrub away the mory of the way Oscar had looked at in that cottage, with his eyes full of silence and doubt.
It couldn’t erase the image of Draven walking out the door, leaving behind.
And it certainly couldn’t take away the ache that lived in the space where my hope used to be.
Still, I cleaned myself. Dressed slowly. Braided my hair like my mother used to when I was little. I needed that comfort today, even if only in a small, symbolic way.
By the ti I got back to my room, the pain hadn’t left, but I was able to breathe through it again.
---
I returned to the dorm and settled down in the common room. It was already lunch ti and all I needed to do was to wait for my friends to grab the als from the dining hall and turn up here.
It was actually against the Academy rules to eat outside dining hall, but since Mallory sounded so confident despite knowing this rule well enough, I knew they had planned sothing or at least asked for permission.
Ten minutes later, I heard movent outside the door before soone entered the code and opened the door.
Next mont, the entire group entered much to my surprise - Mallory, Kyros, Rowan, Selene, Ria, and Noah. They all were carrying trays full of food, napkins, and juice boxes.
Mallory’s eyes imdiately softened when she saw . "Hey, sleeping beauty. You are looking better."
"I showered," I offered softly, managing a faint smile.
"And you are awake, which is an improvent," Noah added as he lifted a covered dish into the air. "We brought mushroom soup, garlic bread, and fruit salad."
My stomach let out a growl I wasn’t expecting.
Ria chuckled. "Guess that ans you approve."
They stepped in and set everything up on the small coffee table, making it look overcrowded. I sat cross-legged on the couch and watched them bustle around like it was normal, like nothing had broken inside last night... or two nights ago. And I let them. I let them pretend.
Because sotis, pretending was the only way to keep breathing.
Mallory plopped beside and handed a spoon. "Eat first. Exist later."
I smiled. For real this ti.
It still hurt.
But for the first ti in three days... I felt a little less alone.
I dipped the spoon into the mushroom soup, letting the warm steam wrap around my face like a hug I didn’t know I needed. The first sip was slow, hesitant, but as the taste settled on my tongue, I found myself reaching for another, and another.
The warmth of the soup was like a gentle balm sliding down my throat, untying knots of grief that had been sitting heavy in my chest.
"You need to eat like this every day," Selene scolded lightly, watching with a raised eyebrow. "You are way too thin."
I gave her a small shrug. "Food’s hard when everything inside feels like a ss."
"Still, you have got people around you now," Rowan chid in gently from where he was standing with arms crossed and leaning against the wall. "People who’ll help you eat, even if they have to spoon-feed you."
That made smile, faint but real. Kyros let out a chuckle as he added, "And we would do it too. Especially Mallory. She’s not above wrestling you to the ground for your own good."
"Damn right," Mallory said proudly, popping a piece of garlic bread into her mouth.
Looking around at this group of people, I almost felt like crying... but from happiness this ti.
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