Liam

Chapter 7

•Tryna duck my ex•

THIRD PERSON

When Winter was four years old, she had visited Tony's for the first time ever in her life. Even though she had been so young, the memory of that day embedded itself into her memory, like a beautiful scar. Contrary to the actual sense of a scar and what kind of emotions it caused, whenever Winter looked back to that day it hurt.

A scar took its time healing, until it did not hurt anymore and it stayed a physical, permanent memory. Something bad usually happened before a scar formed.

In this case, an amazing day turned into a scar that tugged at her heartstrings every time her brain skimmed past that painful scar, when scars rarely hurt.

They had bought ice cream, and Winter had always hated the cookie dough kind. But, because Noah loved it like no other, and swooned about the freshly handmade gelato, Winter was persuaded to try it.

Now, she stared down at the ice cream with a barely noticeable frown. She always did, but it had become her favorite...and the only thing that linked her to her brother, a reminder that at one point in her earlier life he had loved his little sister, that she was not left in shambles and feeling like an only child.

It twisted her insides and untangled them at the same time.

As always, she buried the pain deeply, nobody had to hurt just because she hurt inside. She could not close that deal with her conscience.

Winter molded her lips to a smile, looking at the girl she had been calling her best friend for a longer while now. There had been a strain on their relationship lately, and she felt as though this was something they could bond over, something they could reconnect with, albeit the saddening reason behind this.

But even if they had been having a few difficulties, the girl would never leave her best friend when she was in need of her, especially in times like these.

Lee smiled at her phone, giggling as she put spoon after spoon to her mouth. She let out a tiny gasp in sudden interest again, "Do you know who sent you the message now?"

Winter raised her brow in question at first, before heat spread all over her neck and her eyes trailed to the boy in question, her bottom lip pulled into her mouth. Luckily, Lee never noticed.

"Hayes," she trusted her...

"It was him?" Lee's eyes widened, her face contorting into a look of pure confusion. "Why would he send that to you out of all people?"

Winter did not know if her friend was genuinely confused or wanted to offend Winter. She guessed the first one, as Hayes rarely ever made contact with, let alone texted, somebody from their school.

It was probably the only character trait she adored when it came to him. The fact that he never bothered enough to get people to like him, want to be friends with him or be with him. He never cared what other people thought of him, did not let the image they created for him, interfere with his life, at least it did not seem so.

When they turned to look at him, he concentrated on his phone, the deep frown he wore was one of the few expression he let slip inside of the walls of their school. That meant, he was usually very angered or displeased with something, and anyone could have been able to tell that it stems from something on his phone.

It was his frown that seemed different in this moment to Winter. She had never paid much attention to the young man, but something was off with him, because the times that she did pay attention, there was never the slightest trace of sadness, if it could be called that. Nonetheless, she did not think it was her right to go up to him and ask if he was okay, she had no right to worm her way into his business.