Broken then Healed (REWRITTEN)

CHAPTER 4

Hard Lessons

I was still replaying everything that happened today in my head as I shoved books into my backpack and left my last class. My brain was swirling with everything—Trisha, Chris, the humiliation.

When I reached the parking lot, it was chaos. Students were everywhere, eager to escape the school grounds. But amidst the crowd, my eyes landed on a familiar figure striding right toward me.

Of course.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "What do you want now, Trisha?"

She raised an eyebrow, a smirk tugging at her lips like she found something amusing. "Still mad about earlier, Jane?"

I ignored her, trying to walk past, but her hand shot out and gripped my shoulder, spinning me around. My anger flared up instantly.

"Get your filthy hands off me!" I snapped, jerking away from her. "Who do you think you are, grabbing people like that?"

At that moment, I saw Chris approaching us out of the corner of my eye. Great. Just what I needed—her knight in shining armor.

"Babe, everything alright here?" Chris asked, sliding an arm protectively around her shoulder. His eyes bore into me, like I was some sort of threat.

I snorted, unable to hide my disgust.

Trisha smirked, leaning into him as if to rub it in. "Oh, I'm fine. Just wanted to make sure Jane here knows you're mine now."

I rolled my eyes again. "Seriously?"

"I mean it," she said, her tone suddenly sharper. She pointed a finger at me. "Stay away from Chris. And stay away from us."

I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. "You know what? Both of you should stay out of my way."

Shaking my head, I left them standing there. I was done.

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By the time I made it home, exhaustion weighed on me like a heavy blanket. All I wanted was to collapse into bed and forget about everything that happened today.

But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't shake the feeling of being completely and utterly drained—emotionally and mentally. That fight with Trisha in the parking lot kept replaying in my head, and I couldn't figure out why it hurt so much.

Life just wasn't fair, was it?

Sighing heavily, I trudged toward my bedroom. As I reached the door, my mom's voice stopped me.

"Jane, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I mumbled, even though I knew I wasn't.

She wasn't convinced. "You don't look fine, sweetheart."

I hesitated, unsure of how to even begin explaining. "It's just... I don't know how to say this, Mom."

Her face softened, concern etched in her eyes. "Is it about a boy?"

I shook my head. "No... it's Trisha." My voice wavered as I felt the tears I'd been holding back all day start to rise again. "She betrayed me, Mom. She knew how much I liked Chris, but she still... she still went after him."

The moment the words left my mouth, the dam broke. Tears streamed down my face, and I couldn't hold it in anymore.

My mom's expression darkened with disappointment, not in me, but in Trisha. She knew how close we'd been. She always used to say we were like sisters.

"Oh honey, come here." She opened her arms, and I collapsed into her embrace, the weight of everything finally breaking me.

"She betrayed me," I sobbed, burying my face in her shoulder. "She knew, Mom. She knew how much I liked him, and she still did it."

She stroked my hair, sighing deeply. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I know this hurts. But you have to learn to let it go. You'll be okay, I promise. Just stay strong."

"But we're not friends anymore," I whispered, the words burning my throat as I said them.

"I know, and I'm so sorry that happened. But this is a part of life, Jane. You have to accept that some people just aren't meant to stay in your life forever. Friends come and go, and sometimes, losing them is a blessing in disguise."

I pulled back, wiping my eyes. "You're right. I just... I didn't expect her to do something like this. Not to me."

She smiled sadly and kissed my forehead. "No one ever does, honey. But now you know the truth. And maybe it's better that you do."

I nodded, still feeling the ache in my chest but knowing my mom was right. "Where's Dad?"

"Oh, he's already in bed," she said softly.

I managed a small smile. "Thanks, Mom. For everything."

Her eyes lit up with pride, a warm smile spreading across her face. "That's my girl." She hugged me again, then left me to my thoughts.

As I stood there, trying to process everything, I realized that I had to find a way to be okay on my own. Trisha's betrayal hurt, but I couldn't let it define me.

Life was unpredictable—one moment everything seemed fine, and the next, it was a complete mess. But I had to keep going, keep fighting. It was true what they said: some people come into your life as a blessing, and others as a lesson. What they don't tell you is that when those people leave, the scars they leave behind never really fade.

They just become part of you.

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