I KNOW THE END

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Act Two: Chapter 6 ,September 16th, 2023

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GRACE – The Parker Residence, 1:12 AM

I didn't sleep.

Every creak of the house felt like it was watching me, waiting for me to break.
I clutched Emma's stuffed rabbit to my chest like it was a shield, but it didn't stop the ache.

My phone buzzed.

Unknown Number:
He kissed her to hurt you. You know that, right?

My breath caught. I stared at the message.
Was it Cleo? Lila? Someone trying to mess with me?

But some part of me—the part that still believed in him—wanted it to be true.

I didn't reply. I couldn't.

____

ALEXANDER – School Courtyard, 1:15 AM

He couldn't sleep. Again.

The kiss with Nora was supposed to be a distraction. A smokescreen.
But now it just tasted like ash.

He leaned back against the stone bench, eyes fixed on the moon.

He hadn't meant for Grace to see. But some selfish part of him wanted her to.
Wanted her to hurt the way he was hurting.

But now all he felt was guilt.

She was gone, and the only thing he had left was regret.

_____

CLEO – Her Room, Phone in Hand

She stared at the sent message and bit her lip.

Grace hadn't answered.

She wasn't surprised. Grace always bottled things up until she shattered. But this time was different.

This time, she wasn't going to let her shatter alone.

Cleo knew Grace's father. Knew the kind of power he held—and the way he used it to twist love into something poisonous.

She was done waiting.

_____

NORA – Bathroom Mirror, Reapplying Lip Gloss

She smirked as she tilted her head at her reflection.

Let them whisper. Let them watch.

She hadn't kissed Alexander to comfort him. She wasn't a rebound.

She was a reminder.

Grace Parker had always played the martyr, the victim, the girl everyone ran after like she was made of glass.

Nora wasn't here to play that game.

She was here to win.

And if kissing Alex sent a message? Even better.

_____

LILA – School Hallway, Leaning Against a Locker

Grace was back. And suddenly everyone was acting like the world had cracked in half.

Lila didn't get it.

Grace had always made people feel sorry for her, always quiet and tragic and too precious to touch.

Lila saw through it. She always had.

And maybe that made her the villain in their story—but at least she wasn't lying about who she wa

_____

MATTHEW – Library, Isolated Table

He flipped through a book without reading a single word.

Grace had vanished, and now she was back—but it wasn't the same. She wasn't the same.

Neither was Alex.

Matthew didn't trust any of it.

He missed when things were simple. When their group felt like family.

Now they all just felt like strangers pretending nothing had changed.

_____

WILLIAM – City Bus, Headphones On, Staring at the Window

He hadn't seen Grace since she left. Since she chose him again.

Their father had a way of poisoning everything he touched—home, family, love.

William had spent years fighting to keep Grace safe, trying to buffer the damage, to protect her from the quiet manipulations and sharp expectations.

And now she'd gone back.

He wanted to believe she had a reason. That it was part of a plan. That she was doing this for them.

But still... it hurt.
He'd spent so long being her shield. Now, she was facing it alone.

He turned up his music and blinked fast, trying to keep the guilt at bay.

_____

GRACE – Back at School, Watching from Afar

They didn't see her.

They looked like they'd moved on—laughing, walking, living. But something was broken beneath the surface. She could see it.

Maybe that was the only thing keeping her from breaking down completely.

Because if they weren't okay... then maybe it wasn't just her.

Maybe the pain still meant something.

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