Fractured Echoes

chapter five

" Midnight Confessions "

It was late, and the world outside my window felt like it had quieted down to match my mood—still, heavy, waiting for something. I lay on my back, eyes half-lidded as I lazily blew another cloud of blueberry-flavored vapor into the air above me. The faint glow from my phone cast a blue hue across my room, making everything look a little more surreal, like I was stuck between dreams and reality. I was about to close my eyes, let the familiar sweet haze take me, when my door creaked open.

Charlotte stepped in, her dark silhouette framed against the hallway light. "Hey," she said softly, already moving towards my bed like she belonged there.

"Hey," I murmured back, sitting up a little. She didn't need an invitation; she never did.

Charlotte kicked off her shoes and flopped onto the bed next to me, close enough that our legs brushed. She reached out, eyeing the vape in my hand. "Can I get a hit?"

I handed it to her without a word, watching as she took a long drag. She exhaled with a small sigh, letting the smoke curl up toward the ceiling, her body sinking deeper into the mattress next to me. For a second, I just looked at her. The dim light softened her features, but even in the dark, she had this undeniable intensity about her—like she was always on the edge of saying something or doing something that would change everything.

"So..." Charlotte turned her head, her voice casual but sharp, like she'd been waiting to bring this up. "What do you think of the new girl?"

I blinked, my thoughts immediately going to Violet. I didn't say anything at first. My heart gave a little stutter at the mention of her, but I wasn't about to let that show. Instead, I shrugged, hoping it looked as indifferent as I felt desperate for it to be.

"Violet?" I asked, as if there were any other "new girl" worth talking about. "What about her?"

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "You *know* what I mean. She's been here, like, what—one fucking day? And she's already strutting around like she owns the place. Total queen bitch vibes."

I let out a small laugh, but it was hollow. If only Charlotte knew. She didn't know about me and Violet, and I wasn't planning on explaining it tonight. Not with her lying so close, not with the memory of Violet still tangled up in the back of my mind. History was a funny thing—it could be heavy, suffocating even, but somehow, it always found a way to float back up to the surface when you least wanted it to.

"Yeah," I said quietly, turning my head to look at her. "She's...a lot."

"A lot," Charlotte repeated, snorting. "She's a fucking nightmare. And don't get me started on that prick boyfriend of hers. Aiden fucking Parker. God, that guy's a complete asshole."

Now that was something I could agree on. Aiden was a walking, talking red flag. Smug, entitled, the kind of guy who thought the world owed him something because he had a pretty face and some muscles. Violet and I weren't exactly on the best of terms right now, but even *she* didn't deserve to be stuck with a piece of shit like Aiden.

"He is," I agreed. "He's a fucking tool."

Charlotte's lips twitched into a smile. She passed the vape back to me, her fingers brushing mine as she did. There was something electric in the touch, something I hadn't noticed before. Or maybe I had, but I hadn't let myself think about it. I wasn't sure.

For a moment, neither of us said anything. The room was filled with quiet, the kind of comfortable silence that settles between two people who don't need to fill every gap with words. But then, I noticed her staring at me. Really staring. I could feel her eyes on me, like she was seeing something for the first time, or maybe realizing something she should've known all along. My heart skipped a beat. What the hell was happening?

When I turned to meet her gaze, the air between us shifted. It was subtle, but unmistakable. The usual banter we threw back and forth wasn't there. It was just her eyes—soft, searching, like she was trying to figure something out.

"Charlotte—" I started, but the words got caught in my throat because before I could say anything else, she leaned in.

Her lips were on mine before I could think, before I could even breathe. It was soft at first, hesitant, like she was testing the waters. But then I kissed her back. I didn't think about it, I didn't stop to question it—I just did it. The taste of blueberry and smoke lingered between us, and suddenly, everything felt sharper, more intense.

Fuck.

The kiss deepened, her hand sliding up my arm, pulling me closer. I could feel my pulse pounding in my ears, a rush of heat spreading through me that made it impossible to focus on anything else. The world outside, Violet, Aiden—none of it mattered anymore. All I could think about was Charlotte and how fucking *right* it felt, even though it shouldn't. Even though this wasn't what I'd expected. Or maybe, it was exactly what I had been waiting for all along.

When we finally pulled apart, we were both breathing heavily. My mind was racing, and I could feel Charlotte's breath on my lips, her eyes wide, as if she was just as surprised as I was.

"Iris," she whispered, like she didn't know what else to say. Like maybe she didn't need to.

I stared back at her, my heart still pounding in my chest. "Yeah?" I breathed out, not trusting myself to say more than that.

But before I could figure out what the hell this meant, or what the hell was going to happen next, I heard footsteps in the hallway. Fucking Violet's voice, drifting through the crack in the door. She was talking to someone. Aiden, maybe. I couldn't focus on the words, but just hearing her was enough to shatter the moment.

Charlotte heard it too. She leaned back, breaking the space between us, her expression suddenly unreadable. She glanced at the door, then back at me.

"We should probably..." she started, but she didn't finish the sentence. She didn't need to.

I nodded, even though every part of me was still buzzing, still wanting. Wanting *her*.

Yeah. We probably should.