Beneath The Surface

Chapter 54: Cracks Beneath the Surface

The days that followed her conversation with Ethan were a blur of confusion and guilt. Ava avoided socializing as much as possible, spending her time buried in schoolwork and pretending everything was fine. But inside, she felt like she was slowly unraveling. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get the conversation with Ethan out of her mind, nor could she ignore the uncertainty Lucas had brought back into her life.

Ava sat in her bedroom one evening, staring blankly at her reflection in the mirror. Her makeup was flawless, a skill she had perfected over time to hide the insecurities that plagued her. But tonight, it wasn't enough. No amount of foundation or eyeliner could conceal the storm raging inside her. The cracks beneath the surface were starting to show.

Her phone buzzed, snapping her out of her thoughts. It was Lucas.

*Hey, can we talk?*

Ava hesitated, her finger hovering over the screen. She hadn't seen him since that call, but the memories of their past were still fresh. Part of her wanted to see him, to hear his voice and understand if he really had changed. But another part of her, the one that remembered the pain he caused, told her to stay away.

She didn't reply. Instead, she tossed her phone onto the bed and lay back, staring up at the ceiling. Everything felt so complicated. Why couldn't she just have a normal life? Why did it have to be Lucas coming back just when she thought she had moved on?

As she closed her eyes, memories of Lucas began flooding her mind—his laugh, the way he used to hold her, the sweet words he would whisper when they were alone. For a moment, she felt herself slipping back into the comfort of those memories, but then came the image of him walking away, leaving her heartbroken and shattered. She had been a mess after that, piecing herself together only with time and effort. And Ethan—sweet, dependable Ethan—had been the one to help her heal.

A knock on the door startled her out of her thoughts.

"Hey, Ava," her mom's voice came through the door, "Dinner's ready."

Ava sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Okay, I'll be down in a minute."

She looked back at her phone, still glowing with Lucas' message. She knew she couldn't avoid him forever. She'd have to face him, one way or another. But the thought of seeing him again made her chest tighten with anxiety. She wasn't ready for that confrontation, not yet.

Dinner passed in silence. Ava could feel her parents' eyes on her, sensing that something was wrong, but they didn't ask. Afterward, she retreated back to her room, feeling more alone than ever. As she sat at her desk, she opened her laptop, trying to distract herself with school assignments, but her mind kept drifting back to Lucas and Ethan.

Her phone buzzed again. This time, it was Ethan.

*I hope you're okay. Just wanted to check on you.*

Ava's heart sank. Ethan had been so understanding, so patient with her, and here she was, stuck in the middle of her own emotional chaos. She wanted to text him back, to tell him she was fine, but she wasn't. Nothing about this situation was fine.

She didn't respond to him either.

That night, as she lay in bed, Ava felt like she was suffocating under the weight of her own indecision. She needed clarity, but she had no idea how to find it. She couldn't talk to her friends; they wouldn't understand. They would probably tell her to forget about Lucas and focus on Ethan, but it wasn't that simple. Her feelings were tangled, and no amount of advice could untangle them for her.

As sleep finally overtook her, Ava found herself dreaming of a different world, one where her heart wasn't constantly at war with itself. A world where she didn't have to choose between two people who meant so much to her.

But when she woke up the next morning, the same reality greeted her: two boys, two choices, and a heart that couldn't seem to decide.

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