CHAPTER FIVE — NOTHING NEW
713 Words
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
My pen moved across the page, the line trailing off halfway before I dragged it back into place.
“I’m fine.”
The silence stretched just enough to be noticed.
“You’ve said that.”
I pressed the pen harder than I meant to, ink darkening across the page before I set it down and finally looked up.
“I am fine.”
Lydia didn’t respond immediately. She stayed where she was, watching me, like she was deciding if this was worth pushing.
Then she shifted back into the couch, her phone lighting up in her hand. Her eyes dropped to the screen, her expression tightening slightly.
“Your stepmother called me.”
That made me look up properly. “Why?”
“She said she couldn’t reach you.”
I held her gaze for a second, then looked away first, picking my pen back up.
“I’ll call her.”
“When?”
I underlined the same sentence again.
“When I feel like it.”
Lydia let out a small breath, shifting her weight.
“You know she’s not just going to drop it.”
“I know.”
The page blurred slightly. I blinked and adjusted my grip.
“Then why ignore her?”
I shrugged, eyes still on the page. “Because I can.”
That earned me a look. I didn’t need to see it to know.
She didn’t argue. Just leaned back, her attention drifting to her phone, though it didn’t stay there long.
Later that morning, I was back in the lab.
Glass clinked softly around me, voices low and controlled, everything moving the way it was supposed to.
I set up my station, checking each label before I touched anything.
For a while, it held.
“Elara.”
I looked up. “Yes?”
My supervisor nodded toward my station. “You’ve been on that for a while.”
I followed his gaze.
The timer had already run past where it should have stopped.
“Oh.”
I reached for it and turned it off.
“I didn’t notice.”
“Pay attention.”
“I will.”
He moved on.
I reset everything, slower this time, more deliberate.
It didn’t mean anything. Just a small mistake.
I continued, measuring carefully.
“Hey.”
I glanced up.
My lab partner was watching me, one brow raised.
“You good?”
“Yeah.”
He didn’t look convinced.
“You sure?”
I frowned slightly.
“What?”
He nodded toward my setup.
“That’s the second time.”
I looked down.
I hadn’t noticed.
“It’s nothing,” I said, adjusting the glassware. “Just being careful.”
“If you say so.”
I didn’t respond.
I finished without looking up again.
When I got back, Lydia was in the same spot, her phone in her hand.
“You missed another call.”
I dropped my bag onto the chair.
“I said I’ll call her.”
“She’s not going to stop.”
“I know.”
She glanced up this time, studying me properly.
“Then why does it look like you’re avoiding it?”
I met her gaze.
“Because I don’t feel like dealing with her right now.”
Lydia held my gaze for a second longer.
“That’s not new.”
“No.”
The space between us settled again.
She looked away first.
“Fine. Do what you want.”
“I will.”
I closed my door behind me and stayed there for a moment, my hand still on the handle.
Then I moved. My bag dropped onto the bed. I pulled out my notes and sat, flipping through the pages without really seeing them.
A line caught my attention.
I read it.
Then again.
The words blurred slightly.
I leaned back, pressing my fingers briefly against my temple before sitting up again.
Focus.
I leaned forward, tracing the line slowly this time.
It worked. For a moment.
My phone buzzed.
I glanced at it. Her name.
The screen lit up, then dimmed.
I didn’t pick it up.
I lay back after a while, one arm resting over my eyes.
Then turned onto my side, pulling the blanket slightly closer.
- Writer
