Twisted Heart

Chapter3

Closer to the Edge

After a few days at St. Jude, I was starting to feel like I was fitting in. But Zarek still stayed a mystery. Every time I thought I’d get a peek at who he really was, he’d brush it off with a joke or a change of topic.

Today, though, something was different.

It started in class. Our teacher had given us a project about “discovering our roots.” Most of the class groaned, but Zarek just sat there, zoning out.

After class, I caught up with him in the hallway. “You good?” I asked, noticing something off in his expression.

He shrugged. “Just… family stuff. Not really a topic I’m thrilled about.”

“Want to talk about it somewhere quieter?” I offered, hoping he might let me in a little.

He nodded, and we ended up on the rooftop, away from the school noise. We stood there in silence, looking out over the city.

“You know, people think they’ve got me all figured out,” he finally said, breaking the quiet. “But they don’t know half of it.”

I waited, letting him keep going.

“I put on this whole ‘friendly, laid-back’ act. It’s just easier that way,” he said, his voice barely audible.

“Why easier?” I asked, feeling like he was finally letting me see a bit of the real him.

“Because if they don’t know me, they can’t hurt me,” he replied, looking down. It was the first time I’d seen this vulnerable side of him.

We just stood there, both of us thinking. I got where he was coming from. I’d been hiding my own stuff, too, acting like I fit in, even though I was still trying to figure myself out.

After a while, he turned to me, his gaze intense. “Why’d you transfer here, Lysander?”

I hesitated. “Needed a change,” I said, leaving out the details, but he seemed to understand.

He nodded, a small smile appearing. “Guess we’re not so different after all.”

As we headed back to class, it felt like something had shifted between us. He was still a mystery, but now I felt like I was finally starting to see the outline of his story.

This wasn’t just some random friendship. It felt like we were about to get tangled up in each other’s secrets—ones we weren’t even ready to face yet. But something told me we’d end up facing them together.