The Night We Met by Ruero

Chapter 16 : Realizations

I walked through the college gates the next morning, my heart a leaden weight in my chest. The world around me felt strangely muted, as if someone had turned the volume down on life itself. The vibrant colors of the campus—once so familiar, so full of life—seemed washed out, drained of their usual energy. Even the sky above, normally a bright, endless blue, was overcast, the clouds hanging low like a heavy, suffocating blanket.

I kept my head down as I walked, not wanting to meet anyone's gaze. The weight of my broken guitar, a constant ache in my chest, was too much to bear. It wasn't just an instrument to me; it was a part of who I was. It was my voice when words failed me, my solace in the darkest nights. And now it was gone, shattered into pieces that I couldn't put back together.

I tried to focus on my classes, but it was impossible. The lectures droned on around me, the voices of my professors blending into a dull hum that I couldn't tune into. My mind was stuck on the image of my broken guitar, replaying that moment over and over again, like a bad dream I couldn't wake up from.

Even the usual buzz of campus life felt distant, as if I were moving through a world that no longer made sense. I sat through my classes, staring blankly at the blackboard, my thoughts a chaotic whirl of anger, sadness, and confusion. It was like I was floating outside my own body, watching myself go through the motions but not really being there.

Lunchtime came, and I found myself sitting alone in the cafeteria. The noise around me—the clatter of trays, the chatter of students—faded into the background as I stared down at the untouched food on my plate. I wasn't hungry; the knot in my stomach made sure of that. I could feel Laurine's concerned gaze on me from across the table, and Angelica's gentle attempts to cheer me up, but I couldn't bring myself to respond. I forced a smile, nodded at their words, but inside, I felt hollow.

I knew they were worried about me, but I didn't have the energy to reassure them. How could I, when I couldn't even convince myself that everything would be okay? The truth was, I felt lost. Music had always been my escape, my way of making sense of the world, and without it, I didn't know who I was.

By the time the afternoon rolled around, I couldn't take it anymore. I skipped my last class, wandering aimlessly through the campus. The usual places that brought me comfort—the quiet corners of the library, the benches under the oak trees—felt foreign and empty. Everything was wrong. Everything felt wrong.

I ended up sitting under a large oak tree in a secluded part of the campus, far from the noise and chatter of the other students. The tree's thick branches stretched out above me, providing shade from the sun that was now beginning to break through the clouds. The leaves rustled gently in the breeze, a soft sound that should have been soothing, but all it did was amplify the silence in my heart.

I closed my eyes, trying to find some peace, but the grief was a constant presence, gnawing at me from the inside. How was I supposed to move forward when it felt like a piece of me had been ripped away?

My thoughts were interrupted by movement in the distance. I opened my eyes to see Derek and Alex—Sam's ex-girlfriend—walking together, laughing as if the world hadn't just collapsed around me. Derek's arm was draped casually over Alex's shoulder, a smug look on his face as they walked by. When he saw me, he smirked, a cold, cruel smile that sent a chill down my spine.

In that moment, everything clicked. Derek was behind all of this. The pieces fell into place like a puzzle I hadn't wanted to solve. He had taken Sam's girlfriend to make me look guilty, and now, he had broken into my apartment and destroyed the one thing that mattered most to me. All because I had unknowingly come between him and Angelica.

A surge of anger shot through me, hot and blinding. I wanted to get up, to confront him, to make him pay for what he'd done. But the memory of our last fight held me back. I knew I couldn't beat him physically; he was stronger, faster, more ruthless. If I tried to take him on now, I'd only end up humiliated—again.