Lies Beneath the Cherry Tree

chapter 24

Lyllea's POV

It’s been a week since Nathan started shutting me out, and every day feels like a fresh wound reopening. I try to distract myself, to fill the silence with the noise of my new friends, with laughter and moments that should be making me happy. But it’s all just a façade. No matter how much I pretend, I can’t shake the feeling that something is missing—like there’s this gaping hole in my chest where Nathan used to be.

He’s still around, of course. Still broody and distant, still the Nathan that everyone else knows. But it’s not the Nathan I knew—the one who stayed up late talking with me, who drew stars around my scars as if to say I wasn’t alone, who held me in the rain like I was the most important thing in the world. That Nathan is gone, replaced by someone who won’t even look me in the eye.

It hurts. God, it hurts more than I ever thought it would. I try to convince myself that I’m okay, that I don’t need him, but every time I see him across the room, ignoring me like I’m just another face in the crowd, it’s like a knife twisting in my heart. I keep replaying everything in my head, trying to figure out where it all went wrong, what I did to make him shut me out like this.

Sean’s been different too. He’s still a jerk to everyone else—snarky comments, rolling his eyes, that usual edge to his voice—but with me, there’s this… calmness. Like he’s trying, in his own way, to be there for me. We’ve spent more time together, laughing with Melissa, Julia, and Matt, doing things that should make me feel better. And they do, in a way. But there’s still that lingering sadness, that ache that won’t go away.

Nathan doesn’t even talk to us anymore, not directly, anyway. He just sends notes in the group chat—answers to homework, reminders about projects. It’s like he’s only a ghost in my life now, there but not really there, always just out of reach. Every time my phone buzzes with a notification from him, my heart skips a beat, hoping it’s something more, something personal. But it never is.

It’s just so cold. So impersonal. And I hate it.

To get my mind off things, I planned a mother-daughter date with my mom, something to ground me, to make me feel like things are normal again. We went out for coffee, did some shopping, and for a few hours, I could almost forget about everything. Almost. But even then, Nathan was always there in the back of my mind, a constant, nagging reminder of what I’d lost.

At least I haven’t had to go to Dylan’s house. That’s one small mercy in all of this. But Sean… Sean’s been relentless. Every time he even hears Dylan’s name, I can see that dangerous glint in his eye, like he’s just waiting for an excuse to hurt him. And he’s tried. God, he’s tried so many times. But I always stop him, pulling him back before he can do something he’ll regret. Or something I’ll regret.

It’s exhausting, though—constantly being the one to keep Sean in check, constantly trying to hold myself together while everything around me feels like it’s falling apart. And I can’t help but feel like I’m the one holding everything together.

But more than that, I just miss Nathan. I miss the way he’d look at me like I was the only person in the room. I miss the way he used to make me feel—safe, understood, like I wasn’t alone in this messed-up world.

I’ve been trying to get over it, to move on, but it’s not as easy as I thought it would be. Every time I think I’m making progress, something happens—he walks into the room, or I hear his voice from across the hallway—and all those feelings come rushing back. It’s like he’s always there, even when he’s not. And I don’t know how to escape it, how to move on when he’s still such a big part of my life, even if it’s only in the shadows.

I keep telling myself that I’ll be okay, that I’m stronger than this. But it’s getting harder to believe it. The days are blurring together, one after the other, and it’s all I can do to keep up the act, to pretend that I’m not completely falling apart inside.

But deep down, I know the truth. I’m not over him. I’m nowhere close. And I don’t know if I ever will be.

I’m just going about my day, trying to keep my mind occupied, pretending everything is fine. It’s easier that way—to just go through the motions, focus on the little things, and not let my thoughts spiral out of control. I’m in the hallway, grabbing books from my locker, when I notice the atmosphere shift.

There’s a tension in the air, something thick and electric, and I can feel it crawling up my spine, making my skin prickle. Students start rushing past me, their voices raised in excitement and anxiety. I frown, turning to watch the crowd swell and move like a wave, pulling everyone along with it.

“What’s going on?” I mutter to myself, but no one hears me over the commotion. My heart rate picks up as the adrenaline kicks in, and I push through the crowd, trying to figure out what’s causing all this chaos.

That’s when I hear it—someone’s voice, loud and clear over the din.

“Nathan Parker is fighting with Dylan!”

The words hit me like a punch to the gut, and for a moment, I can’t breathe. My mind goes blank, and all I can think is Nathan My Nathan, the one who’s shut me out, who I thought I’d lost… is fighting Dylan?

Panic surges through me, and before I can even process what I’m doing, I’m running, pushing past the crowd, ignoring the shouts and gasps around me. All I can think about is getting to them, stopping this before it spirals out of control.

Please, no, I think, my chest tightening with fear. Not like this. Please don’t let it be like this.