Alex's POV
I told myself I hated her. Yes, I do.
I repeated it like a mantra while the teacher droned on about equations I wasn't even pretending to solve. My pencil tapped against the edge of my notebook, hard enough to leave dents in the paper. I hate her. She betrayed me. She doesn't deserve my loyalty anymore.
And yet—
Every time I looked up, my eyes found her.
Zara sat two rows ahead, her hair tucked behind her ear, her shoulders stiff like she was carrying the whole room on her back. She wasn't laughing with Talia today, but they sat together and for a minute, I hated it.
And damn it, that soft ache pulled inside me again.
I missed herI missed late-night whispers under blankets, the way we'd sneak snacks into our room at our former school, the way she'd drag me
