Falling Between the Notes (Nicholas Galitzine)

Chapter 66: The Aftermath

Jade's POV (^^ what she wore)

The thing about heartbreak is that it doesn't hit you all at once.

It creeps up on you.

At first, it's just an ache—something dull, something you can ignore if you stay busy enough. And for the past four days, I had been trying. Trying to stay distracted, trying to act like I wasn't falling apart from the inside out.

But today?

Today, it finally broke me.

I was sitting on the plush carpet of my hotel room, my back pressed against the foot of the bed, knees tucked up to my chest, staring at the floor with blurry eyes. My phone sat face-down beside me, untouched. I hadn't checked it in hours. There was no point.

Nick hadn't called.

Hadn't texted.

Not even after the pictures of Benito and me hit the internet like wildfire.

I had expected something.

Maybe another petty text, maybe a reaction.

Something.

But there was nothing.

And now, after four days of pretending I was fine, after four days of forcing smiles and dodging questions, the weight of it all had finally settled on my chest, pressing down, suffocating.

I missed him.

I missed him so fucking much I felt sick.

The silence was unbearable.

I squeezed my eyes shut, pressing my forehead against my knees as a fresh wave of pain rolled through me. My chest burned, my stomach twisted, and for the first time since our fight, since the break-up, I let myself cry.

Really cry.

Not the frustrated, angry tears that had come after our argument.

No.

These were the kind of tears that came from something deeper. The kind that only came when you realized the person you loved—the person who knew you better than anyone—was suddenly just... gone.

I didn't want to be strong right now.

I didn't want to be the girl who chose herself.

I wanted him.

I wanted Nick.

The knock at my door startled me.

I stiffened, swallowing back my sobs as I quickly wiped my face.

"Jade?" Leslie's voice was muffled through the thick wood.

I took a shaky breath. "Go away."

There was a pause.

Then, another knock. Firmer.

"Jade, open the door."

I clenched my jaw, staring at the carpet. "I just want to be alone, Leslie."

Another pause.

Then—

"There's someone here to see you."

I frowned, my head snapping up.

My pulse skipped.

Someone here to see me?

For a split second, my brain did something stupid.

It hoped.

It fucking hoped.