Fractured Echoes

chapter seven

" Torn Between Two "

Violet moved closer on the bed, the dim light from the hallway casting shadows on her face, making her eyes look even darker, more intense. She was so close now, her knee brushing against mine, the heat from her body making the room feel ten degrees warmer. My heart was pounding in my chest, and I could barely breathe as I watched her, feeling like I was teetering on the edge of something I couldn't pull back from.

"Do you still feel the same way?" she asked, her voice soft but heavy with expectation.

I opened my mouth to answer, but the words didn't come. It was like my brain was stuck in a loop, trying to process the fact that this was actually happening—that Violet was right here, asking *me* if I felt the same after all this time.

After a hot second of scrambling for words, I managed to stammer out, "Yeah, I do."

Our eyes locked, and it was like there was something unspoken passing between us, something deeper than words. Her gaze was intense, almost overwhelming, and for a moment, it felt like the rest of the world had faded away. It was just me and her, suspended in this charged, electric moment.

Violet's lips twitched into a small, knowing smile. "Would you wanna help make us happen?" she asked, her voice dropping to a whisper, like the question was too heavy to say any louder.

I froze. My heart raced, my mind spinning with a thousand thoughts, but none of them settled. I didn't know what to say, what to think. After everything that had happened, after years of waiting and wondering, now it was suddenly real. She was asking me to be with her, to make us a *thing.*

"I don't know, Violet," I finally said, my voice sounding more uncertain than I wanted it to. "It just... it seems risky. And you have Aiden."

Her face shifted, and for a second, I thought I saw anger flash in her eyes. But then, she let out a short, bitter laugh, like I'd said something ridiculous.

"Aiden?" she scoffed, shaking her head. "Pfft. He doesn't matter. The only reason I started dating him was to get closer to you."

Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. I blinked, trying to make sense of what she'd just said. How the hell could she use *Aiden* to get closer to *me*? I hated Aiden, despised every smug, arrogant inch of him. And now Violet was telling me she'd been with him for *me?* It didn't make any sense.

"What?" I whispered, frowning. "I don't get it. You know I can't stand him. How does being with him get you closer to me?"

Violet's eyes softened, but there was frustration underneath. She didn't explain. Instead, she leaned in, closing the space between us, and kissed me. Her lips were soft, but there was an urgency behind the kiss, like she was trying to convince me of something she couldn't say with words. And for a second, I kissed her back, letting the familiar rush of heat surge through me.

When she pulled back, her breath was warm against my lips, and her voice was almost pleading. "Please, Iris. Can we just... try? I want this. I want *you.*"

I felt my chest tighten, the weight of her words pressing down on me. I wanted to say yes. God, I wanted to say yes more than anything. But everything felt too complicated. The history, Aiden, the fact that we were different people now, with different lives. And Charlotte... I couldn't get Charlotte out of my head. She was a complication I hadn't seen coming, and now it was making everything even messier.

"I'll... I'll think about it," I muttered, the words slipping out before I could stop them.

Violet's face twisted in frustration, her eyes flashing with anger. "You'll *think* about it?" she repeated, her voice sharp. "I've been waiting two fucking years for this, Iris, and now you need time to *think*?"

I opened my mouth to explain, but before I could get a word out, she was already getting up, her body stiff with anger. Without another word, she stormed out of the room, the door slamming behind her, leaving the air thick with tension and regret.

I sat there, staring at the door, feeling like I'd just screwed up everything. Guilt twisted in my gut as I realized I'd just told the girl I'd been crushing on for two years that I'd *think* about being with her. And now she was gone, angry, and I didn't know if she'd come back.

I barely had time to process what had just happened before I heard another knock on the door. My heart jumped, thinking for a split second that Violet had come back.

"Come in," I called out, not even bothering to move from the bed.

The door opened, and Charlotte stepped in, her brow furrowed in concern. "Hey," she said, her voice soft. "You okay? I just saw Violet storm out of here. What was that all about?"

I felt a rush of panic, like I was caught in something I didn't know how to explain. "Nothing," I said quickly, forcing a smile. "Don't worry about it."

Charlotte raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying my bullshit, but she didn't push it. "Okay, if you say so." Her tone was casual, but there was an edge to it, like she knew there was more going on than I was letting on.

I looked at her, really looked at her, and felt a wave of confusion wash over me. Here she was, standing in my room, the girl who'd kissed me earlier, the girl who made my heart race in a way that was completely different from Violet. And now Violet was pissed at me, and Charlotte was here, and I had no fucking clue what I was supposed to do.

"Wanna sleep in my room tonight?" I asked suddenly, the words tumbling out before I could stop them. "It's cold out."

Charlotte blinked, surprised, but then she smiled, that easy, confident smile of hers. "Yeah, sure," she said, kicking off her shoes and hopping into bed next to me.

She slid under the covers, close enough that I could feel the warmth of her body next to mine. My heart was still racing, my mind still spinning from everything that had happened tonight, but Charlotte's presence was comforting in a way I hadn't expected.

I turned my head to look at her, and she gave me a small smile. "You sure you're okay?"

I nodded, even though nothing felt okay. "Yeah," I whispered. "I'm fine."

But as I lay there, staring at the ceiling, I couldn't stop my mind from racing. Violet. Charlotte. The mess I'd just created. It felt like I was caught in the middle of something I couldn't control, something that was about to spin out in ways I wasn't ready for. And I had no idea how to stop it.