Chapter 2
My parents fawned over him, nodding and scraping, promising him I would never bother him again.
10:58
I mechanically lifted my head. Under the stark, cold light of the porch lamp, I couldn’t quite make out his expression. I couldn’t quite
see his face at all.
In that moment, whatever pride I had left was ground into the dirt.
It hit me then. We were never from the same world. We were never equals. The moon doesn’t lower itself from the sky just becau-
se you wish for it. The reflection of the moon in a well is just an illusion.
All the kindness he’d shown me over the years… it was just a rich boy’s passing whim.
I never should have let myself dream of anything more. It was a mistake from the very beginning.
That night, I started packing. My parents were already on the phone, arranging my transfer.
05
It had been almost two weeks since I transferred. I’d rented a small room near the new school. My parents, terrified I might run into
Jax again, told me it was better if I just didn’t come home.
Crestwood High was on the east side, my new school, Westwood, on the west. In a city this big, you wouldn’t see someone unless
you were trying to.
“Hey, Hale. You should come watch my basketball game today.”
The boy speaking had on a black and white jersey, a cocky smile playing on his lips, and clever, fox–like eyes.
On my first day, a girl in my class had given me the rundown. “That’s Caleb Hayes. He’s as famous for being a player as he is for
being handsome.”
The other students in the classroom pretended to be busy, but I could feel their eyes on us.
I’d lost count of how many times Caleb had approached me over the past two weeks. I heard the whispers. It was the first time he‘
d ever pursued a girl for this long.
Teenagers are always hungry for a real–life romance novel, and they were ready to cast Caleb as the reformed rake.
But a reformed rake is still a rake.
1 shook my head gently. “I can’t. I have too much homework.”
He glanced at the practice tests on my desk and raised an eyebrow. “You know I’ve been trying to get you to go out with me for two
weeks, right?”
“And?”
He let out a short laugh. “And I’m just wondering why you keep saying no.”
The classroom had mostly emptied out. Outside, the sunset was beginning, painting half the sky in brilliant orange. I was suddenly
reminded of something I’d read once: the evening breeze is free, the sunset is free, and I am one of a kind.
“You know, Aubrey,” Caleb said, his voice softer now, “you’ve got this… weird contradiction going on.”
A whistle blew from the gym, a sharp sound cutting through the quiet afternoon. I looked at him. He smirked. “It’s like you’ve got
this deadness inside you, but at the same time, this crazy–intense will to survive,”
“And that,” he finished, “makes me even more interested.”
L
Chapter 2
I gave him a cool look. “Your game is starting,” I reminded him.
“It’s against Crestwood High today,” he said, his voice low, letting the name hang in the air between us.
It went unnoticed.
I looked back down at my book. He seemed to find my lack of reaction boring, letting out a “Tsk” before turning to leave.
10.58
After he was gone, I looked up at the silent clock on the wall. That confession post. I had a pretty good idea of who actually wrote
- it.
But I couldn’t figure out what they stood to gain.
Unlike Crestwood, Westwood High cut the power to the classrooms at six–thirty sharp. The lights flickered off, leaving the room
illuminated only by the fading glow of the sunset.
I packed my books and headed downstairs.
A gentle breeze rustled the leaves of the magnolia trees lining the path, scattering a few late blossoms across the pavement. I
stopped for a moment, just watching them.
My short life felt a lot like one of those petals. Powerless. Helpless. Swept along by forces I couldn’t control.
“Hey, isn’t that Aubrey Hale?”
The voice snapped me out of my thoughts. I started to walk away, but they cut me off. Two familiar faces, looking shocked to see
me here. They were Jax’s friends, guys I’d known for years, guys I’d always gotten along with.
They were holding sports drinks, clearly just coming from the convenience store.
“Aubrey? You really transferred here?”
I just nodded, not understanding the surprise in his tone.
The other one nudged his friend. “Listen, Aubrey, you and Jax have been friends forever. He’s here for the game today. This is a perfect chance for you guys to talk and clear up this whole misunderstanding.”
Everyone who knew me knew I wasn’t capable of doing something so cruel. But the one person who should have known it best, the boy who grew up with me, had decided I was guilty.
“There’s nothing to…”
Before I could finish, a cold voice cut through the air from across the lawn. “Does it really take you two this long to buy a bottle of water? Or are you just standing around talking to irrelevant people?”
Jax was standing under a tree, his features cast in shadow, his eyes sweeping over me as if I were a complete stranger.
His friends looked instantly awkward. I forced a smile. “I should go. Bye.”
“Yeah.. bye, Aubrey.”
