Shattered Stars

Part Two.

Chapter 7: Cracks in the Mask

Nova didn’t speak to Finn on the walk back home. She couldn’t. Words felt like they’d slip and shatter into pieces if she let them out. His arm stayed around her the whole time, like he was afraid she might disappear. Maybe she would. She felt like a ghost walking beside him—half-there, half-fading into the night.

When they reached her apartment building, she turned to him, ready to say something—anything—but Finn beat her to it.

“I miss you, Nova,” he whispered. His brown eyes searched hers, pleading for something she wasn’t sure she could give. “You don’t talk to me anymore. You keep pushing me away. I don’t know what to do to help you.”

Nova wanted to tell him it wasn’t his fault. That he couldn’t fix her, that no one could. Instead, she forced a smile that felt too tight on her face. “I’m fine, Finn.”

He didn’t believe her. She could see it in his eyes. But he didn’t push. He never did.

“If you need me,” he said softly, brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear, “you know where to find me.”

Nova nodded and turned, hurrying up the steps before the cracks in her mask split wide open. She could feel Finn watching her until the door closed behind her, leaving her alone in the quiet darkness of the apartment hallway.

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Chapter 8: Spiraling

The next few weeks blurred together like a nightmare on repeat. School was a fog she wandered through, absent-minded, her mind wrapped in haze. Kayla and the other girls still whispered, but Nova stopped caring. The pills she took between classes dulled everything, made the world seem less sharp.

But the pills weren’t enough anymore. The numbness didn’t last as long as it used to. Sometimes, by lunch, the weight of her thoughts would return, heavier than ever, threatening to crush her from the inside. So she started sneaking out between classes, meeting with Dylan behind the gym. He had stronger stuff. Harder stuff.

The first time she tried it, she didn’t feel anything for hours. She thought maybe it wouldn’t work on her. But then it hit. A tidal wave of relief, of nothingness. Her thoughts slowed, the sharp edges of her world dulled down to a bearable silence. She wasn’t herself anymore, but at least she wasn’t hurting.

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Chapter 9: The Fall

Nova was missing more and more days at school. Finn still called, but she ignored him. It was easier that way. She couldn’t drag him into the mess she had become. He deserved better. He deserved someone whole, someone who wasn’t drowning.

One night, she stayed out too long with Dylan. The drugs had hit harder than she expected, and by the time she made it back to the apartment, it was past midnight. She stumbled through the front door, the world spinning, her limbs heavy like they didn’t belong to her anymore.

Jack was waiting.

His silhouette in the hallway stopped her dead in her tracks. Her breath caught in her throat, and the fog in her mind cleared just enough for panic to set in.

“Where’ve you been?” His voice was low, cold. Too calm.

Nova didn’t answer. She couldn’t. Her mouth felt glued shut, her mind too slow to come up with a lie.

He moved toward her, and she flinched.

Before she could react, his hand was around her wrist, his grip bruising. “You think you can just come and go whenever you want?”