Is Karma a b***h?

Chapter 14

Eddy spent the entire night thinking about what Owen had said. Maybe Owen wasn’t as bad as he had initially assumed. In fact, he made sense.

He needed to take things slow. And that’s exactly what he was going to do.

He woke up early the next morning and left for school ahead of time. All he had to do now was wait for Evy and Hailey to arrive and open their lockers.

Within half an hour, both of them walked in, along with Owen.

Eddy had a wide smile on his face, which instantly made Owen suspicious. Owen raised an eyebrow at him, but Eddy simply shrugged and gestured for him to carry on with Evy and Hailey.

As soon as Evy and Hailey opened their lockers, both of their expressions softened for a brief second. Their eyes flicked toward Eddy.

Evy picked up the flower, crushed it in her hand, threw it into the dustbin, and walked toward her class without looking back.

Hailey, however, hesitated. Sadness filled her eyes as she looked at Eddy. She quietly placed the lily inside her locker and followed Evy.

Eddy let out a heavy sigh when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Dude,” Owen said gently, “it’ll take time for them to come around.”

“Yeah,” Eddy muttered. “My whole life.”

“Look at the bright side,” Owen added. “Hailey didn’t throw it away. At least she accepted it.”

“True,” Eddy smirked faintly. “But I’m pretty sure she wished you were the one giving her flowers, not me.”

“You think so,” Owen said, his eyes lighting up.

“I know so,” Eddy replied confidently. “By the way, won’t you be on their hate list for talking to me? I mean… those two hate me.”

“Nah,” Owen shook his head. “I’ll handle it. And they don’t hate you, they just dislike you right now. They’ll come around. Just don’t stop trying.”

“Wouldn’t think of it,” Eddy murmured.

Now, he needed to think of something else.

When Evy saw the lily inside her locker, she knew immediately that it was from Eddy. She had always loved lilies.

Two years ago, she would have hugged him for this. But not anymore.

So she crushed the flower and threw it away. But Hailey didn’t. She kept it in her locker.

Both girls entered their class. Owen arrived a little late. The rest of the day passed in a blur.

Eddy didn’t try to talk to them. He didn’t make any moves at all.

‘So I was right,’ Evy thought bitterly. It was just guilt eating him up. He’s probably already tired of trying. She didn’t care. He deserved it.

As she opened her locker later to put her books away, her eyes fell on something familiar.

Another flower.

She reached out to crush it again, but suddenly, Owen appeared beside her, startling her.

“Don’t, Evy,” he said softly. “We both know you want to keep it.”

“I don’t,” she replied firmly.

“You do,” Owen said calmly. “I know you’re angry, and rightfully so. But don’t torture yourself.”

“I don’t want to give him any kind of satisfaction.”

“Then don’t,” Owen replied. “He doesn’t know you have the flowers. I put them back in your locker. Just keep them. He doesn’t need to know.”

She hesitated. “…Okay.” Then she looked up at him. “By the way, I saw you talking to Eddy.”

“Yeah…”

“It’s okay,” Evy said softly. “You can talk to him. Just—please don’t abandon us as he did.”

“I would never do that to you,” Owen said instantly, pulling her into a hug.

“Uh-huh… oh!” Hailey’s voice suddenly chimed in. “Am I missing something?”

Before Evy could respond, Owen spoke. “Actually, you missed a group hug.”

He grabbed Hailey’s hand and pulled her in, wrapping his arms around both of them.

As Eddy walked down the corridor, he saw them. The three of them hugged, laughing softly. And for the first time, it hit him brutally. If it weren’t for his selfishness… He could have been standing right there with them.