The Second Choice

Dreadful Holidays

Savannah sat on the couch, staring at her reflection in the dim glow of the TV. Her eye was still swollen, a dark bruise painting the skin around it, and her lip was split and healing, though every slight movement reminded her of Y/N's fists. She gingerly touched her lip, wincing at the soreness. Her mind replayed the scene over and over again—the betrayal, the chaos, and the humiliation of being beaten by someone she thought she had control over. Y/N had shattered that illusion, and now, she was left with nothing but a bruised face and an even more bruised ego.

"That bitch didn't have to hit me," she muttered under her breath, anger simmering just below the surface. Savannah had never thought Y/N could be so... vicious. Sure, she had known about Jimin's lingering feelings for her, but she never thought it would come to this. And now, on top of everything, Jimin had been avoiding her for days, making her feel like a fool.

She threw her phone down onto the couch, frustrated by the silence between them. Three days, and not a single word from him. After everything that had happened, after Y/N, after the fire—nothing. Savannah seethed, biting down on her already sore lip, willing herself not to cry. She wasn't going to give Jimin or Y/N the satisfaction of seeing her break down.

Just as she was about to get up and head to bed, her phone buzzed. The screen lit up with Jimin's name, and her heart immediately raced. For a moment, she hesitated, unsure whether to answer or let it ring out. But curiosity and anger won over, and she snatched the phone up.

"What do you want?" she snapped into the phone.

"Savannah, can you open the door? I'm outside," Jimin's voice came through, soft and hesitant, as if he was trying to gauge her mood.

She stared at the door in disbelief, anger bubbling up again. "You've been avoiding me for days, Jimin. Now you suddenly show up at my door, expecting me to just... what? Let you in like nothing happened?"

There was a pause on the other end, and she could hear him sigh. "I know, I've been a mess. Can we just... talk? Please, Savannah. I'm not asking for much, just open the door."

Savannah clenched her jaw, torn between wanting to slam the phone down and wanting to confront him face-to-face. She finally got up, her body sore and aching from the bruises, and padded over to the door. Yanking it open, she found Jimin standing there, looking exhausted and far from his usual confident self. His eyes were red, and his hair was disheveled as if he hadn't slept in days. She almost felt sorry for him, almost.

"What the hell do you want?" Savannah spat, standing in the doorway, arms crossed. "You've been ghosting me, Jimin. After everything I've done for you... You disappear after she beats me up? You didn't even bother to check on me!"

Jimin's eyes widened at the sight of her bruised face, guilt immediately washing over him. "Savannah, I'm so—"

"Don't," she interrupted, her voice sharp as a knife. "Don't you dare apologize, Jimin. You think sorry is going to fix this?" She pointed to her face, her eyes blazing with fury. "I got this because of you. Because of your mess. You couldn't handle things with Y/N, and I'm the one who paid for it."

Jimin rubbed the back of his neck, the weight of his mistakes settling in. "I didn't ask for this to happen, Savannah. I didn't mean for things to get so... out of control. I never wanted you to get hurt."

"But I did," Savannah shot back, stepping closer to him. "I got hurt, and what did you do? You disappeared! You left me here to deal with it alone. And now what? You're here because you feel guilty?"

Jimin looked down, shame clouding his features. "I... I didn't know what to do. Everything with Y/N—"

Savannah's laugh was bitter and cold. "Oh, so this is about Y/N again? Of course, it's always about her. I should've known. She beats the crap out of me, and you're still stuck on her."