Between The Lines

Chapter 106: Reality

Rebecca's POV (1st person):

Returning to school felt like stepping into a different world, one that I barely recognized anymore. I knew I should be relieved, grateful even, to be back among familiar faces, to feel some semblance of normalcy. But all I could think about was how wrong it all felt.

Lane shouldn't have come to see me. He shouldn't have climbed through my window, seen me at my lowest, seen me like that. I wasn't worth the trouble. I knew it deep down. I wasn't worth his worry, his time, or his love. He deserved someone whole, someone who wasn't as broken and messed up as I was.

As I trudged through the halls, I forced myself to smile, to act like nothing had happened. I was my usual self, or at least the version of me that everyone expected to see. Charlotte and Oliver were concerned; I could see it in their eyes. But they didn't say anything, and I was thankful for that. I couldn't handle their pity, couldn't bear the weight of their questions.

When I was finally allowed to resume my swim training, it was a small relief. I made up some excuse about a sore ankle, and everyone seemed to buy it. It was easier than telling the truth, easier than explaining why I'd been away, why I'd been hiding.

But even as I swam, pushing myself through the water, part of me wished that Lane would show up at the end of practice. I imagined him waiting by the locker room, his eyes filled with concern, his arms ready to pull me close. I could almost feel the warmth of his embrace, the way he'd pin me to the locker room door, kissing away all my fears and tears, making me feel safe again.

But I knew it couldn't happen. It wouldn't happen. The consequences of my parents finding out were too terrifying to consider. The reality of it hit me hard, the fear of what they'd do if they ever discovered the truth. My dad's anger, my mum's disappointment—it would be hell, pure and simple.

And so, as much as I longed for Lane to hold me, to make everything okay, I couldn't let it happen. I couldn't risk it. The love I had for him was tangled up with fear, with the knowledge that being with him could destroy everything.

But knowing that didn't make it any easier. It didn't stop the ache in my chest, the longing that pulsed through me every time I thought of him. As I walked home from practice, the chill in the air nipping at my skin, I realized just how deep my feelings for him ran.

I loved him, but I couldn't be with him. Not now. Not like this. And the pain of that truth was almost too much to bear.

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Lane's POV (1st Person):

Dinner at Matt's place was meant to be a casual affair, a family get-together that I usually looked forward to. But tonight, I felt like I was sitting on a bed of nails. Rebecca had finally returned to school, but she didn't so much as glance in my direction. The frustration had been gnawing at me all day, growing stronger with each passing hour.

I needed to talk to Matt, to tell him everything—how I was barely keeping it together. But with our parents there, that wasn't happening. His wife, Claire, knew everything, of course. She was doing her best to pretend I wasn't on the verge of losing it. She kept fiddling with her fork, avoiding eye contact with me altogether. Matt, on the other hand, kept covering his mouth, probably to hide the smirk that was surely threatening to spread across his face.

I could feel my father's gaze boring into me as the conversation at dinner took a turn that made my heart rate spike. My mother was in full interrogation mode, though she probably didn't realize how close she was to hitting the nerve I desperately wanted to keep hidden.

Just as I thought I might survive the night without too much damage, my dad decided to drop a bombshell.

"So, Lane," my dad started, his voice steady, but there was that hint of something more behind it. "When are we going to meet this girl you've been seeing?"