Episode 4: The Weight of a Secret
1381 Words
Monday morning arrived far too quickly.
The excitement of Friday night had disappeared.
Assignments had returned.
Lecturers had returned.
Reality had returned.
But for Chloe...
Reality wasn't the problem.
The secret was.
---
She stood in front of the bathroom mirror, brushing her hair for far longer than necessary.
Her reflection looked exactly the same.
Yet somehow...
She felt different.
The kiss replayed in her mind.
Again.
And again.
And again.
She squeezed her eyes shut.
"Stop."
The whisper escaped before she realised she'd spoken aloud.
A knock sounded on the bathroom door.
"Chloe?"
Bianca's voice.
"You okay?"
Chloe swallowed.
"I'm coming."
She forced a smile before opening the door.
Bianca stood there with her backpack over one shoulder.
"You've been in there forever."
"I know."
"Nervous about today's quiz?"
"...Something like that."
Bianca smiled sympathetically.
"We'll survive."
The guilt hit Chloe all over again.
"You don't even know what I've done."
---
The four girls met outside the residence.
Bailey had a coffee in one hand and a blueberry muffin in the other.
"I've decided mornings should start at ten."
"They already do," Stella replied.
"For people who skip lectures."
"I've never skipped a lecture."
"...Yet."
Bailey grinned.
"Fair enough."
Bianca checked her phone.
Nothing.
She frowned almost imperceptibly before slipping it back into her pocket.
Chloe noticed.
Of course she noticed.
She noticed everything.
Only this time...
She wished she didn't.
---
By lunchtime, the change had become obvious.
Skylar hadn't texted Bianca once.
Not a single message.
Bailey looked across the cafeteria.
"No 'good morning' today?"
Bianca shrugged, trying to sound casual.
"He's probably busy."
Stella frowned.
"Didn't he usually text before eight?"
"He normally does."
"But it's fine."
She smiled.
At least...
She tried to.
"It really is."
The girls exchanged quick glances.
Nobody challenged her.
Nobody wanted to make her overthink it.
Except Chloe already was.
---
The week continued.
Lectures.
Tutorials.
Library sessions.
Group discussions.
Life carried on.
But every time Bianca's phone stayed silent...
Chloe's chest tightened.
---
Across campus...
Skylar sat alone beneath one of the large jacaranda trees.
His phone rested in his hands.
Bianca's chat sat open.
The cursor blinked inside the message box.
Morning.
Delete.
Sorry I've been busy.
Delete.
Can we talk later?
Delete.
He locked his phone.
Nothing sounded right.
Nothing felt honest.
Every time he tried to text Bianca...
His mind wandered back to Friday night.
To the balcony.
To Chloe.
He rubbed both hands across his face.
"What are you doing?"
he muttered to himself.
---
Meanwhile...
Bailey had just finished another Mathematics lecture.
Students poured into the corridor.
Cedric caught up beside her.
"You know..."
Bailey glanced sideways.
"I've noticed something."
"Oh?"
"You always walk ridiculously fast."
"I've got places to be."
"So do I."
"Then keep up."
Cedric laughed.
"I like a challenge."
"So I've noticed."
They walked through the courtyard together.
"So..."
Cedric began.
"I've got a serious question."
Bailey raised an eyebrow.
"I'm listening."
"Would you..."
He paused dramatically.
"...consider accompanying me this Friday?"
Bailey blinked.
"...Accompanying you?"
"Yes."
"Where?"
"The library."
She stared.
"The library?"
"Romantic, isn't it?"
She burst into laughter.
"You are unbelievable."
"I'm offering quality time."
"You're offering textbooks."
"And coffee."
"...Keep talking."
"I'll even let you borrow one of my pens."
"You own one pen."
"I'll share it."
Bailey smiled.
"I don't know..."
Cedric placed a hand over his heart.
"I've been rejected."
"I didn't reject you."
"You hesitated."
"I was thinking."
"Dangerous."
She laughed again.
"Fine."
"I'll go."
His face lit up.
"Excellent."
"On one condition."
"I'm listening."
"You stop making fun of my stationery."
Cedric pretended to think.
"...No."
"Cedric."
"I'll reduce the jokes."
"I suppose that's progress."
"It is."
Neither of them called it a date.
Neither of them wanted to.
But somehow...
It felt like one anyway.
---
Thursday afternoon.
Chloe packed her books slowly.
She deliberately waited until everyone else had left.
She hoped...
Perhaps foolishly...
That avoiding people would somehow make everything easier.
It didn't.
"Chloe."
She froze.
She recognised the voice immediately.
Skylar.
He stood just outside the Psychology building.
Hands buried inside his pockets.
"We need to talk."
Her stomach dropped.
"No."
"Please."
"There isn't anything to say."
"There is."
She looked around.
Students streamed past them without paying the slightest attention.
Finally...
She nodded.
"Five minutes."
---
They walked towards a quiet corner of campus.
Neither of them spoke until they reached an empty bench beneath the trees.
Skylar broke the silence first.
"I haven't stopped thinking about Friday."
Chloe's heart sank.
"I have."
He looked at her.
"What?"
"I haven't thought about the kiss."
His expression fell.
"I've thought about what it did."
She continued quietly.
"I've thought about Bianca."
"I've thought about betraying my best friend."
"I've thought about how guilty I feel every time she smiles at me."
Skylar looked away.
"I didn't expect it to happen."
"Neither did I."
"But..."
He hesitated.
"I think..."
His voice grew quieter.
"I think I like you."
Chloe stared at him.
"No."
"I do."
"No."
She shook her head firmly.
"You don't."
"I know how I feel."
"No, Skylar."
"You don't get to do that."
He frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"You don't get to like Bianca..."
"...kiss me..."
"...and then decide you like me instead."
The words came out sharper than she'd intended.
Skylar fell silent.
"You've been avoiding her."
Chloe continued.
"She's hurting."
"And she doesn't even know why."
"I know."
"Do you?"
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Because I do."
"I'm the reason she's wondering why the guy she likes suddenly stopped texting her."
"And I have to sit there pretending everything's okay."
Skylar looked genuinely ashamed.
"I'm sorry."
"I know."
"But sorry doesn't fix this."
She picked up her bag.
"This can't ever happen again."
Without waiting for an answer...
She walked away.
Skylar remained on the bench.
Watching her leave.
Realising too late that the kiss had cost him far more than he'd expected.
---
That evening...
Room B214 was unusually quiet.
Bianca sat on her bed staring at her phone.
"He hasn't texted since this morning."
Bailey looked up from her notes.
"What did he say?"
"'Hope your lecture goes well.'"
"And that's it."
Bianca forced a small smile.
"I'm probably overthinking."
"No," Stella said gently.
"I don't think you are."
Silence settled over the room.
Chloe couldn't bear another second.
"I..."
She stood abruptly.
"I'm going for a walk."
Nobody questioned it.
---
The evening air was cool.
Chloe wandered aimlessly around campus until she spotted Bailey sitting alone outside the library.
She looked peaceful.
Reading.
Highlighting notes.
Completely unaware that her best friend was falling apart.
Bailey looked up.
"Hey."
"You okay?"
Chloe didn't answer immediately.
Instead...
She sat down beside her.
Bailey closed her textbook.
"What's wrong?"
Chloe stared at the ground.
"I've done something."
Bailey's smile disappeared.
"What happened?"
For a long time...
Chloe couldn't speak.
When she finally did...
Her voice was barely a whisper.
"Promise you won't interrupt."
Bailey nodded once.
"I promise."
Chloe took a shaky breath.
Then another.
And slowly...
She told Bailey everything.
The balcony.
The kiss.
Skylar's confession that afternoon.
Every word felt heavier than the last.
By the time she finished...
Tears streamed silently down her face.
Bailey didn't speak immediately.
She simply stared ahead.
Trying to process everything she'd just heard.
Finally...
She turned to Chloe.
"Do you have feelings for him?"
Chloe answered without hesitation.
"No."
"Not even a little?"
"No."
"I feel guilty."
"I feel sick."
"I wish Friday never happened."
Bailey believed her.
She could hear it in her voice.
She could see it written across her face.
"So..."
Chloe whispered.
"What do I do?"
"Do I tell Bianca?"
"Do I keep quiet?"
"I'm terrified of losing her."
Bailey reached over and gently took Chloe's hand.
"I don't know if today is the right day."
Chloe looked up.
"But I do know one thing."
"What?"
"The truth has a way of finding people."
A tear rolled down Chloe's cheek.
Bailey squeezed her hand.
"And when Bianca hears it..."
"...it needs to come from you."
The words hung between them.
Neither of them realised that, for the first time since arriving at university...
Their unbreakable friendship had begun carrying secrets.
And secrets...
Had a habit of changing everything.
- Writer
