In Love: Against All Odds

Stabbed by the One I Called Friend

The Archer – Taylor Swift 💔🥀
"I've been the archer, I've been the prey... Who could ever leave me, darling? But who could stay?"

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The words slammed into me like a truck, knocking the air from my lungs.

I turned back to her, my heartbeat thundering in my ears. "You..." My voice broke. "You pushed her?"

Alista shook her head violently, sobbing harder. "I didn't mean for it to go this far."

Anger surged through me, so sharp it felt like fire in my veins. "Then what the hell did you mean to do?" My voice rose, barely restrained. "You let me take the fall. You let everyone think I did this. Do you know what I've been through? Do you even care?"

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice cracking, but it wasn't enough. It would never be enough.

I could barely hear over the roaring in my head. My hands were shaking so hard I had to clench them into fists just to stay grounded.

"Why?" I demanded. "Why would you do this to me?"

Alista's face crumpled. "I was jealous, Kat."

The word sliced through me like a blade.

I stared at her, my pulse a hammer against my skull. "Jealous?"

Her words spilled out like a confession she had been holding in for years. "You always get everything, Kat. People likeyou. Without even trying, you shine, and I'm just... there." She let out a broken laugh, wiping at her ruined makeup. "Remember the drama auditions last year? You didn't even want the lead role, but you got it. I wanted it, Kat. I worked so hard for it. And Patrick..."

The air in my lungs turned to stone.

"What about Patrick?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"I liked  him first," she whispered, voice shaking. "Before you ever noticed him. But the second you walked into a room, he only saw you."

Everything inside me shattered.

"You ruined my life for a school play and a crush?" My voice cracked, disbelief laced with something much darker—something raw and broken.

Alista covered her face, her sobs wracking through her body. "I thought—if Olivia was out of the picture, and people thought you were the bad guy, maybe I'd finally be seen."

I stumbled back. My entire body felt numb, like I wasn't even inside myself anymore.

"You let them think I was a monster," I whispered. "You watched me break and didn't say a word."

Alista cried harder, but I didn't feel a shred of sympathy.

I turned on my heel, the weight of her confession pressing against my ribs like iron chains. The officer was still speaking, saying something about how she'd be facing consequences, but I wasn't listening. I didn't care.

I just needed to get out of there.

I barely felt my parents following me out. Adri tried to catch my arm, but I pulled away, too numb to respond.

When I got home, I locked myself in my room, collapsed onto my bed, and let out a silent scream into my pillow.

Three days later

The walls of my room felt smaller now, like they were closing in inch by inch with every breath I took.

I hadn't left the house since that night.