Lila Anderson has returned for her sophomore year at McKinley High. After losing regionals, the Glee Club is officially at the bottom of the food chain, but when Lila comes back for the school year with a new look, she gets more than overlooked in t...
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3 minutes. 3 minutes I've been standing on my front porch, starstruck. 3 minutes since my life completely changed. 3 minutes since Sam kissed me.
Too much was going on. I felt good. But I also felt bad. The guy I'd had a crush on forever just kissed me, and for a fleeting moment, it felt like something out of one of my daydreams. But then reality hit me like a train. I'd just betrayed one of my best friends. Quinn. Poor Quinn.
The guilt started to settle in, heavy and suffocating. I didn't feel good anymore. I just felt bad. My stomach twisted into knots as I leaned against the doorframe, unable to bring myself to go inside. It felt wrong to act like nothing had happened, to just brush it off like it didn't mean anything. But it did. It meant everything.
The cool night air nipped at my skin, grounding me in the moment. My mind raced with questions I didn't have answers to. What did this mean for Sam and me? For Quinn and me? For all of us? The lines between right and wrong blurred, leaving me stuck in the gray. I didn't know how to move forward without hurting someone I cared about.
The door creaked open behind me. "Lila, are you okay?" my dad asked, his voice tight and controlled, like he was trying to hold something back. His expression wasn't just upset—it was strained, his brow deeply furrowed, and his lips pressed into a line that made my stomach churn.
I straightened up, startled by his sudden appearance. "Yeah," I said quickly, my voice a little too high. I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, more out of habit than anything else. "Sorry, I was just about to go inside. What's wrong?"
For a moment, he didn't respond. He just stood there, his gaze searching my face like he was trying to decide how much to tell me.
"Come inside," he said firmly, his tone leaving no room for argument. He stepped back, holding the door open for me.
~~~
"She just left?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. I could feel my throat tighten, a lump forming that I couldn't swallow down. My dad stood there, his shoulders slumped in a way I'd never seen before.
"It happened so fast," he said, shaking his head like he was still trying to make sense of it himself. His voice cracked, and the sound of it broke something inside me. "One second, I was begging her to stay, and the next, she was out the door, telling me it was over."
I blinked, trying to process his words, but they didn't seem to make sense. "She didn't give a reason?" I asked, though I already dreaded the answer.
He let out a heavy sigh, rubbing a hand over his face in a way that made him look older than I remembered. "She said it wasn't working out. That she didn't know if I was the one."
My heart sank. Seeing him like this—so vulnerable, so utterly defeated—was almost unbearable. I stepped closer, placing a hand on his arm, hoping the small gesture might offer some comfort. "I'm so sorry, Dad," I said softly, my voice trembling. "No one deserves that."
