𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐄𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 | 18+

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟑

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BLAIR
ROSEWOOD
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The cafeteria buzzed with its usual chaos—laughter, the clatter of trays, the dull hum of conversations overlapping. But for me, it might as well have been silent. Sitting there alone, picking at food I wasn't hungry for, I felt the weight of everything pressing down on me. It wasn't the kind of weight you could shrug off, either. It was the kind that wrapped around your chest, heavy and suffocating, until every breath felt like a struggle.

I hadn't responded to Aiden's countless attempts to reach out. For once, I was proud of that. He'd tried everything: roses delivered to my doorstep, gifts left in my locker, endless texts filled with empty apologies and half-hearted explanations. It didn't matter. None of it did. They were hollow gestures, meaningless in the face of his betrayal. No amount of flowers or sweet words could undo what he had done.

Loren. Her name burned in my mind like a brand. Why did it have to be her? Of all people, why her? The thought of them together turned my stomach, a sick, twisting sensation that I couldn't shake no matter how hard I tried. Was she really better than me? With her bleached-blonde hair, her smug smirk, and the way she acted like the world revolved around her? It felt like the universe was laughing at me, mocking me for being so naive, so blind. I had let them both in, and this was how they repaid me.

Walking through the halls had become unbearable. The stares, the whispers that followed me like shadows—I could hear the murmurs, feel the eyes lingering on me longer than they should. Everyone knew. The story had spread like wildfire, and I was at the center of it, whether I wanted to be or not. Aiden and Astor were conveniently absent, likely hiding from the fallout, leaving me to deal with the mess they had created.

And then there was Ana. Just the thought of her made my chest ache in a way that felt worse than anger or humiliation. I missed her so much it hurt, but how could I forgive her? She had known, and she hadn't told me. That betrayal cut deeper than Aiden's or Loren's because Ana had been my anchor, the one person I thought I could trust with anything. She'd tried to explain in a long, rambling text, saying she had only kept it from me to protect me. But if she had really cared, wouldn't she have warned me? Wouldn't she have told me the truth, even if it hurt?

The only person I had responded to was Ryke. Somehow, he always managed to cut through the noise, to reach me in a way that didn't feel forced or fake. His texts weren't flowery or sentimental. They were blunt, to the point, but there was something comforting in their simplicity.

RYKE:
I heard about what happened. Don't let it get to your head, little danger. Don't ruin what we have over them, we're still friends, yeah?

Friends. Ryke was the kind of friend who didn't ask for explanations, didn't pry or pretend to understand. He never got involved in the chaos that surrounded our lives, never entertained Loren's games or fed into anyone else's petty drama. While everyone else seemed to thrive on conflict, Ryke stayed on the sidelines, detached yet present, and for that, I was grateful.

He was like a shadow—always there but never overwhelming. When I needed space, he gave it. When I needed someone to sit in the silence with me, he filled the void without making it awkward. He didn't need to speak to offer comfort. Sometimes, his steady presence was enough to hold me together when I felt like I was falling apart.

Ryke didn't push me to talk about what happened. He didn't offer clichés like, "It'll get better," or "You deserve someone better." He didn't pretend he had the answers or try to fix what couldn't be fixed. Instead, he just... existed in the space where I needed someone to be. That quiet understanding, that unspoken support—it was rare. And it meant more to me than words ever could.