Chapter 12
1254 Words
Ava stormed out of the medical faculty, her phone still clutched in her hand, face hot with fury and disbelief. Three years. Three years of carefully navigating arguments, of late-night laughs and whispered secrets, and it had all ended… like this.
Publicly.
Ridiculously. Comically.
Her legs carried her faster than her thoughts could catch up. Every step against the cold cement felt like a betrayal, a reminder of the chaos she had just survived. She was angry—not just at him, but at the absurdity of it all.
How could the world be so cruel, and yet so impossibly funny at the same time?
Her hands shook slightly as she jabbed at the phone again, the calls dropped, voicemail, the same looping frustration. “Three years… and this is how it ends,” she muttered to herself, voice raw. “
Right here. In front of a hundred strangers. Perfect.”
Tears threatened to sting her eyes, but she wouldn’t let them fall—not yet. Anger was easier, sharper. Anger could be thrown. Sadness had to be felt, and she wasn’t ready for that kind of surrender. She pressed her lips together, drawing in a ragged breath, and kept walking, furious at how her world could crumble while seeming so absurdly… public.
Her thoughts spun. Could he really not care? Could he really walk away after all this? The more she considered it, the hotter her chest grew, the tighter her fists clenched. She wanted to scream again, but the words were stuck, raw and trembling. Rage and grief tangled inside her, impossible to separate, impossible to release.
She turned around and headed back to the Medical Faculty.
—————————
Iris and Marissa sat in a quiet corner of the campus café, notebooks open, but both distracted.
Marissa’s hazel eyes went wide. “Wait… hold on. You have a twin?”
Iris shrugged lightly. “Apparently. You saw her in the hallway, didn’t you?”
Marissa shook her head, almost laughing. “She’s… intense. Mean. And you’re… I can’t believe you didn’t tell me before. I mean… wow.”
“I thought I mentioned family,” Iris said softly, trying to keep the tone light. “Guess I left out the ‘extreme twin’ part.”
Marissa leaned forward, curiosity sharp. “Okay, okay—but wait—what about Ethan? The guy Ava was screaming for in the hallway? Do you know him?”
Iris froze for a fraction of a second, then shook her head. “I… I know his name. That’s about it.”
Marissa raised an eyebrow. “That’s it?You basically ran after him”
“He’s… Ava’s boyfriend,” Iris said carefully. “Off-limits. That’s all I know.”
Marissa smirked knowingly. “Was. Was, girl he’s hot, you think he likes blondes that talk a lot?”
Iris bit her lip. “I don’t… I don’t know. That’s all I know. Really.”
Marissa leaned back, shaking her head with a smile. “I swear, your life is more dramatic than any of the textbooks we lug around. I’ll need to know more eventually. For science.”
Iris chuckled softly. “Noted. For science.”
The two lapsed into quiet for a moment, sipping their drinks. The café buzzed around them—students and staff moving past—but it felt like a bubble, a small moment of calm after the chaos of the hallway.
The café door swung open suddenly, the bell above it sharp and loud enough to make Iris flinch.
Ava stood there.
Her hair was slightly undone now, the neatness she usually carried cracked just enough to show the fracture beneath. Her eyes scanned the room with quick precision, already irritated, already searching.
Marissa noticed first. “Oh,” she murmured. “That’s… her.”
Iris’s stomach dropped.
Ava spotted them almost immediately. She crossed the café with long, purposeful strides, the same way she’d always walked — like the ground was expected to move for her.
“Well,” Ava said, stopping at their table. “This is cozy.”
Marissa straightened instinctively. “Hi,” she said, uncertain. “I’m Marissa.”
Ava barely glanced at her. Her eyes were on Iris. “He’s not taking my calls.”
Iris swallowed. “You broke up with him.”
Ava let out a sharp breath through her nose, a laugh without humor. “Right. Of course.” She looked around the café, then back at Iris. “So. What did I miss while I was humiliating myself in the hallway?”
Marissa hesitated, sensing the tension. “I should probably—”
“No,” Ava said quickly, still watching Iris. “Stay. I want to hear what my sister has to say.”
Iris’s hands curled tighter around her cup. The coffee had gone lukewarm, bitter on her tongue.
“You didn’t miss anything,” Iris said. “You left. Everyone went about their business ”
It was true. Just not complete.
Ava studied her, eyes narrowing slightly — not angry, not suspicious exactly. Something quieter. Something older.
“You didn’t see him after?” Ava asked.
The question landed too cleanly. Too precise.
Iris forced herself not to look away. “No.”
The lie was small. Careful. It slid between them without sound.
Ava held her gaze for a long moment, as if weighing it. Then she scoffed lightly and turned to Marissa. “She’s always been terrible at confrontation. If she says no, it’s probably true.”
“Probably” Marissa Echoed and Iris cringed
Ava dropped into the chair beside them, finally rubbing her temples. The anger had burned down into something exhausted and sharp-edged.
“Three years,” she said suddenly. “Do you know how stupid that feels? To end like that?”
Marissa nodded slowly. “Yeah. I do.”
Iris stayed quiet.
Ava leaned back, staring at the ceiling. “I don’t even know what I’m supposed to feel yet. I keep wanting to scream. Or laugh. Or find him and demand an explanation I don’t actually want.”
Her phone buzzed on the table.
All three of them froze.
Ava looked down.
Ethan.
The name glowed between them, obscene in its timing.
Ava stared at the screen, jaw tightening. The phone buzzed again — once, twice — then went still.
She didn’t pick it up.
Instead, she turned the phone face-down and exhaled slowly. “Unbelievable.”
Iris’s heart was pounding so loudly she was sure it could be heard.
Ava pushed herself up from the table. “I’m going home, can’t take any more of this. Mom’s probably pacing holes into the floor anyway.”
She paused, looking down at Iris. “You coming?”
Iris hesitated — just a beat too long.
Ava noticed.
Her mouth twitched, almost a smile. Almost.
“Right,” she said softly. “Of course. Goody two shoes”
She walked away without waiting.
Marissa watched her go, then turned to Iris, voice low. “Okay,” she said. “I know I said your life was dramatic. I take it back.”
Iris swallowed. “Why?”
Marissa leaned closer. “Because that wasn’t drama. That was… you better pray she doesn’t kill you in your sleep.”
Iris stared at the door Ava had gone through, the bell still faintly ringing.
In her pocket, her phone vibrated.
Once.
She didn’t take it out.
Not yet.
- Writer
