Chapter Seven:Cracks in the Mirror
657 Words
It was the silence that made it worse.
Not the arguments. Not the rain. Not the half-said words.
Just silence.
Aria sat in her room that night, curled into herself on Bella’s bed, while her roommate scrolled through t****k with the sound off and threw glances every few minutes.
“You’ve been weird all week,” Bella said finally, tossing her phone aside. “And don’t say it’s school. You’re always stressed about school — this is different.”
Aria stayed silent, chewing on her thumbnail.
Bella squinted. “Is this about that guy again?”
“What guy?”
“The one with the hoodie and the tortured eyes. Zander? Zeke?”
“Zane,” Aria whispered.
Bella’s mouth dropped. “Wait, I was joking— Aria. No.”
“It’s not what you think,” she said quickly.
Bella sat up. “Tell me it’s not what I think before I start screaming.”
“We’re just… partnered. For a class.”
“And sharing rainstorms and long stares for extra credit?” Bella snapped. “I know how this looks. Aria, your father—”
“Don’t,” Aria said. “Don’t bring him into this.”
Bella sighed and softened. “I’m not judging you, okay? I’m not. I’ve seen the way you look at him. I just don’t want you to fall for someone who’s going to cost you everything.”
Aria blinked away tears.
Maybe it was already too late.
---
✦
Zane didn’t come to the library that weekend.
He didn’t text. Didn’t call. Didn’t sketch.
He needed space. That’s what he told himself.
But the truth?
He was terrified.
Terrified of her.
Of the way her voice stayed in his head.
Of how badly he wanted to kiss her that night — and how hard it was not to.
Of what it would mean if he did.
So he kept his distance.
Until he couldn’t.
---
Tuesday night.
Study hall.
Same table. Same hour.
Same ache.
Aria walked in late, eyes tired, hoodie zipped up like armor.
Zane was already seated, tapping his pen against the edge of his notebook.
She sat across from him without a word.
He watched her for a long moment.
Then, “You cut your hair.”
She reached up instinctively. “It was getting in the way.”
“It looks good,” he said quietly.
She didn’t answer.
Zane exhaled. “I’m sorry I disappeared.”
Aria looked up. “I’m sorry I didn’t stop you.”
The words hung between them — heavy, fragile, true.
“I missed you,” he added, voice barely above a whisper.
Aria bit her lip. “I missed us.”
---
✦
Later that night, they didn’t go straight home.
They walked along the edge of campus, under old streetlamps and the faint scent of autumn settling in the air.
“Tell me something true,” Zane said suddenly.
Aria smiled faintly. “I’m scared of becoming someone I don’t recognize.”
He nodded. “You’re not her yet.”
“Tell me something true,” she whispered back.
“I want to kiss you so bad it hurts,” he said without blinking.
Aria froze.
Then took a step closer.
And Zane… stepped back.
Her heart dropped.
“You don’t want to?” she asked.
“I do. That’s the problem.”
“Then why—”
“Because once I do,” he said, voice breaking, “I won’t be able to stop. And you can’t afford me ruining your life.”
Aria’s breath caught. “You don’t ruin things. You run from them.”
He looked like she slapped him.
Then he nodded once and walked away.
She didn’t stop him this time.
But as she stood under that dim yellow light, staring at where he disappeared…
She knew the mirror was cracking.
And the truth behind it was starting to show.
- Writer
