𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 | 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐨𝐧𝐞

Chapter 1

I got rejected exactly one week ago. I hate it.

I thought, if I finally told him how I felt, at least the wondering would be over. But here I am, drowning in silence. Since then, I've done what we agreed: acted like nothing happened.

Well, mostly. I haven't exactly been replying to his texts. Or his calls. He's probably furious by now, but I can't face him. Not yet.

I toss my phone onto the bed and flop down beside it, staring up at the ceiling. His texts are still sitting there, unread.

I want to forget how it felt to finally say it, to get all those words out, only to watch his expression soften into something so careful, so... unfeeling.

It's almost funny, in a messed-up way. I'd spent years wondering what he'd say if he knew the truth, picturing some kind of scene that was way more dramatic and meaningful than the real thing.

In my head, he'd maybe pull me close, or at least look a little shocked. But he'd just sighed, looked down, and said, "I... I don't think I feel that way,
Ruby."

I roll over, burying my face in my pillow. I hate this. I thought if I told him, if I finally just said it, it'd be over.

I'd feel relief, closure, something. Instead, it's like I've unlocked a whole new level of confusion and pain that I wasn't ready for.

I sit up, letting out a long breath, willing the feeling in my chest to disappear. This isn't what I wanted.

I thought telling him would set me free, but now it feels like I'm even more tangled up in him, in the "what-ifs" that don't mean anything now.

My phone buzzes again, and I don't need to check to know it's him. I'm not ready. I know it's selfish to ghost him like this, but what am I supposed to say? I just need space—space that, right now, feels like the only thing I can hold on to.

He doesn't understand that, though. Lance's always been stubborn, and I'm sure he's getting frustrated.

I shove my phone under my pillow and sit up, running my hands through my hair. Maybe I just need to get out, clear my head.

Sitting here, trapped with my thoughts, feels like I'm sinking deeper. Grabbing my notebook, and searching for my phone under the pillow, I grab it and I head out to the quad, hoping some fresh air and distance will help untangle the mess I've made.

I'm halfway through doodling in the corner of my notebook, mind blank, when I hear a voice behind me.

"You look lost," he says, a slight laugh in his voice.

I turn, and there he is—a guy with sharp eyes and a faint smirk, his hair swept back like he's just stepped off a magazine cover. I think I've seen him around before, though I can't remember exactly where.

I shrug, trying to play it cool. "Guess I have a lot on my mind."

"Mind if I join?" He doesn't wait for an answer and drops onto the bench beside me, settling in like he's got all the time in the world. He probably does.

I blink, staring at him. "Actually—"

"Aaron." He stretches his arm along the back of the bench, grinning like I've just given him an invitation. "And you're Ruby, right?"

Great. He already knows my name.

I turn back to my notebook. "And?"

"And nothing," he says. "Just making conversation. You look like you could use it."

I roll my eyes, scratching another line into the corner of my notebook. "Funny, I don't remember asking."

"Feisty," he says, laughing a little too loud. He leans in, close enough that I can smell his expensive cologne. "You don't meet many people like you around here."