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the night air hit savannah like a slap to the face as she stormed out of the pool house, her breath hitching as she fought to keep herself from breaking down. she was barely two steps onto the driveway when she heard the familiar sound of hurried footsteps behind her. turning toward the source, her heart sank.
marissa stood there, arms crossed tightly over her chest, her eyes gleaming with unshed tears. "so what, you're just leaving?" she snapped.
savannah stiffened, her jaw clenching as she tried to reign in the storm of emotions swirling inside her. "what do you expect me to do?" she bit back. "stay in there and pretend like everything's fine? go hug and kiss luke 'hello' like he didn't just drop that bomb on me?"
marissa flinched, the words hitting her like a slap. "i didn't know about this either, okay?" she yelled, her voice cracking. "i just found out my ex-boyfriend was sleeping with my mom! you think i'm not freaking out? what kind of person does that to their own daughter?"
savannah swallowed, her breath hitching as she saw the tears threatening to spill down marissa's cheeks. her chest tightened. they were both drowning, both unraveling, and this was the breaking point neither of them had prepared for.
"i'm not blaming you for freaking out," savannah said, her voice softer now, but her pain was still palpable. "but you've been avoiding me. you've been treating me like i'm the one who did something wrong."
marissa's lips parted, and for a moment, her defenses crumbled. but then, like a reflex, she built the wall back up. "you lied to me," she said quietly, her voice laced with hurt. "you could've just told me you had feelings for ryan."
savannah blinked back tears, her throat burning. "i didn't tell you because i knew what it would do to us. you were happy, marissa. you had him. what was i supposed to do, rip that away from you?"
marissa's gaze hardened. "maybe you should have. instead of lying to me while you watched me fall for him."
"i didn't want to lose you!" savannah shouted, the words ripped straight from her heart. "i didn't want this to be the thing that ruined us."
the silence that followed was heavy, stretching between them like a chasm neither of them knew how to cross. marissa sniffled, wiping at her cheeks, her voice soft when she finally spoke. "you think i wanted any of this?" she whispered. "you think i wanted to lose everything overnight? my boyfriend, my mom, my best friend..."
savannah felt the tears spill over before she could stop them. her voice cracked as she whispered, "you didn't lose me. i'm still here."
marissa looked away, her shoulders shaking slightly as she tried to keep herself together. "it doesn't feel like it," she admitted, her voice barely audible. "every time i look at you, i think about him. about how blind i was."
