Unspoken

CHAPTER 12 : Running from the truth

THIRD PERSON POV

Almost a week had passed since Y/n and Mikha had last spent any real time together. The space between them had grown—not overtly distant, but in subtle, painful shifts. Mikha had been consumed by her classes, volleyball practice, and her commitment to helping Jaz recover from her sprain. Y/n understood, of course. She had never been one to demand attention, but the absence of Mikha's presence had begun to weigh heavily on her. They exchanged smiles, brief greetings, and short text messages, but those moments felt hollow compared to the time they had once shared—laughing, talking, just being there for each other.

Y/n tried to keep herself busy, focusing on her student council duties and studying, striving to stay positive. But inside, she felt the dull ache of longing. The moments with Mikha, even the quiet ones, had been the highlight of her days. Now, they felt like distant memories, slipping through her fingers like grains of sand.

She sat with Rajo in the cafeteria, poking at her food absentmindedly. She wasn't hungry—too distracted to eat, too lost in her thoughts. Rajo, on the other hand, was absorbed in his phone, whatever he was reading catching his attention. Y/n watched him, trying to distract herself from the growing emptiness inside her.

"What's got your attention?" Y/n asked, forcing herself to sound casual, though the exhaustion in her voice was unmistakable.

Rajo didn't immediately look up, his gaze fixed on the screen. But when he did, he gave her a look of uncertainty, as if unsure how to share what he had just found out. "Uhm..." he hesitated, leaning forward. "I just found out from a friend of Jaz's—did you know Jaz and Mikha have gotten way closer recently?"

Y/n's heart skipped a beat. The mention of Jaz made her stomach sink, but she tried to remain composed, though a knot began to form in her chest. "Closer?" she asked, already knowing where this was headed.

Rajo's eyes softened with a look of sympathy. "Yeah. Apparently, ever since Jaz's little accident, Mikha's been looking after her even more. And get this—Jaz is actually making a move on Mikha now. Like, for real. She's been dropping hints, and according to my friend, Jaz is finally going for it."

Y/n felt as if the world had just come crashing down around her. The air seemed to thicken, and her heart pounded in her ears. Jaz and Mikha? The thought of Mikha—so attentive, so caring—turning that energy toward someone else... someone who had always been there, someone who could easily be everything Mikha needed... it crushed Y/n's chest in a way she hadn't expected.

Rajo continued, his voice full of concern, "I'm sorry, Y/n. I know you said you and Mikha are just friends, but you don't have to hide it from me. I can see you like her."

"I... I need to go," Y/n whispered, her voice trembling as she stood up abruptly, not waiting for Rajo to finish. She couldn't sit there pretending that everything was fine. Not when her heart was breaking, and her mind couldn't stop spinning with everything she feared.

Without another word, Y/n turned and walked away from the table. She didn't glance back, though she could feel Rajo's gaze on her. But Y/n couldn't explain—not when she was struggling to understand her own emotions.

She ran.

She ran without knowing where she was headed, her feet pounding the pavement, pushing her body harder, faster. Her thoughts spun in a whirlwind of doubt and fear, and the only thing she could do was escape the suffocating weight of it all. The sharp ache in her chest wouldn't go away.

Y/n ran past the campus buildings, ignoring the curious stares of passing students, the exhaustion creeping into her limbs. The wind whipped through her hair, but she didn't care. She just had to keep moving, to outrun the emotions that had taken over her. What if she was just a fleeting moment in Mikha's life? What if she never mattered as much as she thought she did?

Her legs finally gave out as she reached the edge of campus, near the park Mikha had taken her to. Y/n leaned against a nearby tree, gasping for breath, feeling the tears rising as her chest heaved with emotion. She had to hold it together. She couldn't let anyone see her like this—especially not Mikha.

But the tears came, hot and fast, and Y/n didn't try to stop them. She let herself grieve the loss of the connection she'd felt with Mikha, the possibility of something more that had slipped away before she even had a chance to fully understand it.

In that moment, Y/n felt utterly lost, her heart cracked open by insecurities she couldn't outrun.