Crossing hearts

Chapter 20

Lily paced the small confines of her dorm room, her heart heavy with frustration. Her roommates, Molly and Harper, had been whispering about her relationship with Zane, and their veiled comments had begun to gnaw at her. They claimed she was making a mistake, that Zane was trouble. "You don't know him like I do," she had tried to explain, but they brushed her off, their skepticism evident.

After a particularly heated argument over dinner, where Molly insinuated that Zane was just a phase, Lily stormed out, tears pricking her eyes. She tried calling Zane, desperate for his voice, but he didn't answer. The silence only deepened her despair.

Feeling suffocated, she decided to take a walk aimlessly. There were many people with booze. A party. Lily was determined to get a drink. As she strolled through , the tension in her chest began to ease, but it didn't last long.

There was Zane, his arms wrapped around another girl, their lips locked in a passionate kiss. The sight felt like a dagger to her heart, twisting painfully. She stood frozen for a moment, disbelief coursing through her veins. How could he? After everything they had shared, after all the confessions, how could he betray her like this?

Feeling her breath quicken, Lily turned on her heel and fled back to her dorm. She couldn't understand why she felt so hollow. She grabbed her phone, hands trembling, and called her mother.

"Mom," she said between sobs, unable to explain. "I saw Zane... with someone else."

"What did he do?" her mother asked, concern lacing her voice.

"I... I don't know," Lily managed, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I just... I thought he was different."

"Sweetheart, you deserve better than that. Are you okay?"

But all Lily could do was cry, feeling lost and betrayed, unsure of how she could face Zane or her roommates again.