Episode5
1275 Words
Lily Morgan's POV
Lily watched Amelia leave the classroom before hurrying after her.
"Amelia!"
She caught up just outside the Fine Arts Building.
"Can we get lunch together?"
"I'm not really hungry."
"You've said that every day this week."
"I'm fine."
"No."
Lily stepped in front of her.
"You're pretending to be."
Amelia looked away.
"I've just been stressed."
"About what?"
No answer.
Lily reached for her friend's hand.
"You know you can tell me anything, right?"
Amelia nodded.
"I know."
"But not today."
Lily swallowed the lump in her throat.
For the first time since they'd become friends...
She didn't know how to help.
---
Ryan Carter's POV
Ryan sat with Jason and several classmates outside the campus café.
Laughter echoed around the table.
"So..." one of the boys asked.
"What happened with that girl you were seeing?"
Ryan leaned back casually.
"It ended."
"Already?"
He shrugged.
"We weren't right for each other."
Jason looked surprised.
"I thought you liked her."
Ryan gave a dismissive laugh.
"I thought I did."
His phone vibrated.
A message flashed across the screen from another young woman.
Are we still meeting tonight?
He smiled.
Yeah. Seven o'clock.
He slipped the phone back into his pocket.
"You move on fast," another classmate joked.
Ryan shrugged again.
"No point dwelling on the past."
He spoke as though nothing important had happened.
As though someone else's heartbreak was simply an inconvenience he'd already forgotten.
Jason watched him for a moment.
Something about Ryan's attitude unsettled him.
He couldn't explain why.
But for the first time...
He wondered whether he truly knew his friend at all.
---
Amelia Hart's POV
That evening, Amelia sat alone in her bedroom.
Her sketchbook lay open on her desk.
The page was blank.
She picked up her pencil.
Then set it down again.
The ideas that had once flowed so easily now refused to come.
A single tear slid down her cheek.
She wiped it away before anyone could knock on her door.
She didn't want her parents to see.
She didn't want them to worry.
But deep inside...
She was beginning to wonder if the girl who had believed so fiercely in forever was slowly disappearing.
And she had no idea how to find her again.
_______________
When Silence Became Too Heavy
---
Amelia Hart's POV
The days began to blend together.
Monday.
Wednesday.
Friday.
They all felt the same.
Wake up.
Pretend.
Smile.
Lie.
Cry.
Sleep.
Repeat.
Every morning Amelia stood before the mirror, trying to recognize the girl staring back at her.
Her cheeks had become noticeably thinner.
The sparkle that once lived in her hazel eyes had quietly disappeared.
Even her clothes seemed looser than before.
She touched the mirror with trembling fingers.
"Who are you now?"
No answer came.
Only silence.
She slowly looked away.
---
Graduation was only two weeks away.
The entire campus buzzed with excitement.
Students discussed job offers.
Some celebrated postgraduate admissions.
Others took countless photographs together.
Amelia watched them from a distance.
She wanted to feel excited too.
She really did.
Instead...
She felt like a stranger standing outside her own life.
Lily found her sitting alone behind the Fine Arts Building.
"There you are."
"I've been looking everywhere."
Amelia smiled faintly.
"I just wanted some quiet."
Lily sat beside her.
Neither spoke immediately.
The breeze carried fallen leaves across the courtyard.
"I miss you," Lily whispered.
Amelia looked up.
"What?"
"I miss my best friend."
"The one who laughed until she cried."
"The one who couldn't stop talking about dresses."
"The one who dragged me into fabric stores every weekend."
A tear escaped Amelia's eye before she could stop it.
"I'm still here."
Lily gently shook her head.
"No."
"You're trying to convince everyone you're okay."
"But you're not."
Amelia looked away.
"I don't know how to be okay anymore."
Lily reached for her hand.
"You don't have to pretend with me."
For a moment...
Amelia almost told her everything.
The words rose to her lips.
Then fear swallowed them again.
She simply leaned her head on Lily's shoulder.
The two friends sat there in silence.
Sometimes...
Silence carried more pain than words ever could.
---
Daniel Hart's POV
That evening, Daniel stood outside Amelia's bedroom door.
He had noticed the changes weeks ago.
The skipped meals.
The sleepless nights.
The forced smiles.
He knocked gently.
"Sweetheart?"
"Come in."
Amelia quickly wiped her eyes before he entered.
Daniel noticed.
He simply chose not to mention it.
He sat beside her on the bed.
"I brought you some tea."
"Thanks, Dad."
For several minutes they said nothing.
Finally Daniel spoke.
"You know..."
"When you were little..."
"You used to tell me everything."
Amelia managed a small smile.
"I remember."
"You'd even tell me when someone stole your crayons."
She laughed softly.
"I was very dramatic."
"You were."
His smile slowly faded.
"But now..."
"...whatever you're carrying..."
"...you're carrying it alone."
Amelia felt her chest tighten.
Daniel continued gently.
"I don't need to know today."
"I don't need to know tomorrow."
"But promise me something."
"What?"
"When the burden becomes too heavy..."
"...let someone help you carry it."
Tears filled Amelia's eyes.
She nodded.
"I promise."
Daniel kissed her forehead.
"I love you."
"I love you too."
After he left the room...
Amelia cried harder than she had in weeks.
Not because of what had happened.
But because she hated lying to the people who loved her most.
---
Ryan Carter's POV
Ryan stood outside an upscale café, checking his reflection in the glass.
A young woman approached him with a bright smile.
"Sorry I'm late."
"You kept me waiting," Ryan said playfully.
She laughed.
"I'll make it up to you."
He smiled back as though nothing in the world troubled him.
To anyone watching...
He looked charming.
Easygoing.
Confident.
Inside, however, Ryan had perfected a habit of avoiding responsibility.
When uncomfortable thoughts surfaced, he buried them beneath excuses.
Things happen.
People move on.
No point dwelling on the past.
Those were the stories he told himself.
They allowed him to avoid facing the consequences of his choices.
Across the street, Jason noticed Ryan walking into the café with the young woman.
Jason frowned.
"Already?"
Only days earlier Ryan had spoken about someone else as though she mattered.
Now...
It was as if she had never existed.
For the first time, Jason felt a quiet sense of disappointment.
Maybe he'd mistaken charm for character.
---
Grace Hart's POV
Late that night...
Grace quietly entered Amelia's bedroom carrying folded laundry.
She stopped.
Amelia had fallen asleep at her desk.
Her head rested on folded arms.
Beside her lay an open sketchbook.
Every page was blank.
Grace slowly closed it.
A lump formed in her throat.
Her daughter had not gone a single week without drawing since she was twelve years old.
Now...
The pencils remained untouched.
Grace covered Amelia with a blanket before gently brushing a strand of hair from her face.
"My beautiful girl..."
"What happened to your smile?"
She switched off the desk lamp and quietly left the room.
Outside, Daniel was waiting.
"Is she asleep?"
Grace nodded.
Then, with tears filling her own eyes, she whispered,
"We have to help her."
Daniel placed an arm around his wife.
"We will."
Even if they didn't yet know how.
Neither of them realized...
Their daughter had already made a decision.
A decision she hadn't shared with anyone.
After graduation...
Not because she stopped loving her family.
But because she no longer recognized herself there.
She hoped that somewhere far from the memories that haunted her...
She might one day learn how to breathe again.
To be continued......
- Writer
