Chapter 5 : The aftermath.
839 Words
Monday morning. Westride looked the same. But Chloe didn’t.
She walked through the gates with Maya, no crown, no coffee, no Allan. Just her backpack and a straight spine. People stared. Whispered.
Did you hear?
Her dad tanked Pierce Tech’s bid.
Zoe lost Most Liked Senior.
Allan’s dad is being audited.
Chloe heard it all. She didn’t react.
First period: AP Lit. Allan’s seat was empty. Mr. Carter didn’t ask where he was. Rumor was his dad pulled him out for “disciplinary reasons.”
Second period: Art. Zoe was there, but she sat in the back corner. No friends. No phone. Someone had printed the leaked text screenshot and taped it to her locker. Too rich to care.
Zoe didn’t look up when Chloe walked in. Chloe didn’t look at her either.
Lunch.
Chloe and Maya sat at their old table. The trio table. The one Zoe used to claim with her jacket.
Maya slid Chloe a burger. “You’re not gonna say anything to her?”
Chloe took a bite. “What’s there to say? She already knows she’s dead to me.”
Across the courtyard, Zoe was sitting alone. No one sat with her. Allan’s name was trending in the Pierce Tech group chat, but not in a good way. Gold digger. Liar. Messed with Williams Development.
Maya nudged Chloe. “You feel better?”
Chloe thought about it. Last week she felt numb. This week she felt... quiet. “I don’t feel better,” she said honestly. “I feel like me again. Before him. Before her.”
Maya grinned. “Trio forever was a lie. But duo forever? That’s real.”
Chloe bumped her shoulder. “Duo forever.”
After school.
Victor Williams was in Chloe’s room when she got home. He looked tired. Older.
He held out a folder. “Pierce Tech officially withdrew their bid,” he said. “Your… plan worked. Too well.”
Chloe didn’t apologize. “They were going to use me, Dad. I used them back.”
Victor sighed. He sat on her bed. “I’m not mad you fought back. I’m mad you had to. I should’ve seen Allan coming. Rich kid, sharp suit, asking about the campus project on date two.”
Chloe sat next to him. “You didn’t know. And neither did I. Not at first.”
Victor was quiet for a minute. Then he said, “You’re not your mother, you know. She left because she couldn’t handle the business. You stayed and burned it down when someone tried to use it.”
Chloe leaned her head on his shoulder. “I’m not her. I’m me.”
“That’s enough,” Victor said.
Wednesday.
Allan showed up at Chloe’s gate. Security stopped him. He looked different. No tailored suit. Just a hoodie and dark circles.
He didn’t get in. He just stood there until Chloe came to the intercom.
“What?” she asked.
Allan’s voice was rough. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry. For real this time. Not for the bid. Not for my dad. For you. I liked you, Chloe. And I ruined it.”
Chloe was quiet. Then: “I know you did. That’s why I’m not listening anymore.”
She hung up.
Allan stayed at the gate for 10 more minutes. Then he left.
Friday.
Westride held an award ceremony again. New “Most Liked Senior” was a girl from the debate team. No one mentioned Zoe. She transferred the next week. “Family reasons,” the announcement said. Everyone knew the real reason.
Allan never came back. His dad’s company got fined. Pierce Tech lost the campus deal to a different firm.
Chloe didn’t celebrate. She just kept showing up. Class. Library. Lunch with Maya. She started wearing the crown again, but not for Allan. For herself. Because 7th grade Chloe picked it out before any of them.
One month later.
Maya and Chloe were at the bookstore. The same one Allan used to take her to. Chloe picked up a book on architecture. No reason. Just because.
Maya raised an eyebrow. “Thinking of going into Williams Development?”
“No,” Chloe said. “Thinking of building my own stuff. Without my dad’s name. Without anyone using me.”
Maya smiled. “I like that version of you.”
Chloe paid for the book. Outside, it was raining. She didn’t run. She just walked, letting it soak her hair.
Maya handed her an umbrella. “You okay?”
Chloe looked up at the sky. No tears. No anger. Just rain. “Yeah,” she said. “Chapter 5 is over. And I’m still standing.”
Maya linked arms with her. “Next chapter’s ours. No boys. No betrayal. Just us.”
Chloe nodded. For the first time since that video in the art wing, she smiled. A real one. Not cold. Not sharp. Just Chloe.
Behind them, westride faded into the rain. Allan and Zoe were just names now. Footnotes in her story.
- Writer
