Chapter Eight – The Ex-girlfriend
921 Words
The next day started out quiet.
Too quiet.
No whispers. No stares. Even the teachers barely raised an eyebrow when I walked in holding Alexander’s hand.
He didn’t kiss me in the hallway this time. He didn’t touch me like he had something to prove. He just… walked beside me, like we’d been doing this forever.
Like we were normal.
But deep down, I knew better.
Nothing about Alexander Kings was ever normal.
---
It happened in third period.
Just as the teacher handed out the pop quiz, the classroom door creaked open — and in walked a girl who could only be described as trouble wrapped in expensive perfume and perfect hair.
She was stunning.
Long dark curls, high cheekbones, blood-red lipstick.
And her eyes?
Locked on Alexander like she owned him.
I knew in that instant: This girl was part of his past.
He stiffened next to me.
Not a word. Not a glance. But I felt it — like a wave of tension rolling off his body.
The girl walked right up to the teacher, handed him a slip, then looked around the room with slow, calculating grace… until her gaze landed on me.
She smirked.
And took the seat directly behind us.
---
The silence during the quiz was unbearable.
I could barely focus. My skin prickled every time she shifted behind me, every time her perfectly manicured nails tapped on the desk.
Then, just as I reached the last question, a note slipped under my elbow.
I glanced at Alexander — he was frozen, staring forward.
I unfolded the paper.
"You must be Ava. Cute. I'm Ivy — his ex. We should talk."
My stomach dropped.
Ex.
That one tiny word echoed through my head like a bomb.
---
After class, I bolted out the door, heart pounding.
I made it to my locker before he caught up to me.
“Ava—”
“You didn’t think to mention her?” I snapped.
“She wasn’t supposed to come back,” he muttered, jaw tight. “She transferred out last year.”
“Well, now she’s back,” I said, voice sharp. “And she wants to talk.”
He flinched. “She’s not important. Not anymore.”
“That’s not what her eyes said.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “It wasn’t like this with her. It was toxic. Fast. Shallow.”
“Was she in love with you?”
He hesitated.
That hesitation hurt more than any answer.
“I don’t know what she felt,” he finally said. “But I never felt what I feel for you. Ever.”
I wanted to believe him.
God, I needed to believe him.
But the way she looked at me? Like I was playing with something she still considered hers?
Yeah. This wasn’t over.
---
Ivy found me before lunch.
Cornered me near the girls' bathroom, all glossy lips and fake kindness.
“I’m not here to fight,” she said, holding up her hands like a peace treaty. “Just wanted to chat.”
“I don’t have anything to say to you.”
She stepped closer. “But I have a lot to say to you.”
I stared at her, refusing to back down.
“Alexander and I? We were intense,” she said. “Fought every day. Screamed at each other. Hooked up behind stairwells and under bleachers.”
I said nothing.
“Until I caught him kissing someone else,” she added, eyes gleaming. “He doesn’t stay, Ava. He consumes.”
I clenched my jaw. “I’m not you.”
She leaned in. “No. But you’ll end up just like me. Burned out and broken.”
Then she turned and walked away, hips swaying like she already won.
---
I barely made it through lunch.
My appetite? Gone.
Tessa tried to talk to me, but I could only hear Ivy’s voice repeating in my head: He doesn’t stay. He consumes.
By the time school ended, I was spinning.
Was Alexander just repeating a cycle?
Was I just another name on his list?
Another girl he could kiss, mark, and destroy?
---
I didn’t wait for his ride that day.
I walked home alone.
But he showed up anyway.
My phone buzzed right as I was unlocking the door.
Alexander: Open up. I’m outside.
I hesitated.
Then, with a sigh, I pulled the door open.
He stood there, hair messy, face unreadable, hands deep in his jacket pockets.
“I didn’t want you to hear it from her,” he said. “I should’ve told you first.”
“Why didn’t you?” I whispered.
“Because she means nothing,” he said. “And I didn’t want her to ruin this — ruin us.”
“But she’s not the problem,” I said. “The problem is, I’m starting to fall for someone who might not know how to love me back.”
He stepped closer.
And placed his hand flat over my chest.
“I don’t know how to do this,” he said quietly. “But I’m trying. For you.”
Tears burned behind my eyes.
“I’m scared, Alexander.”
“So am I.”
He leaned forward, kissing my forehead.
Soft. Slow. Unlike any kiss we’d shared before.
Then he whispered, “But I’m not letting you go. Not for Ivy. Not for anyone.”
And somehow, in that moment…
I believed him.
Even if it destroyed me later.
- Writer
