Bruised Words
729 Words
Chapter 5: Bruised Words
Lily had always believed that ignoring a bully would make them disappear. It worked with the girls in middle school who laughed at her hand-me-down shoes, and even the teacher in tenth grade who subtly dismissed her opinions in class. But Blake Holloway? He was nothing like them. The more she ignored him, the more persistent he became—like a storm drawn to the stillness of her.
He didn’t just tease her anymore. He dissected her.
In philosophy class, he raised his hand after Lily offered a timid opinion about Nietzsche.
“That’s cute,” Blake said, his voice smooth and venom-laced. “Almost sounded like a real thought.”
Laughter followed. Not from everyone—just the ones who liked to ride the coattails of cruelty.
Lily’s cheeks flushed crimson as she stared at her notebook, the page blurring. She didn’t respond. She couldn’t.
After class, she made a beeline for the exit, hoping to escape unnoticed, but Blake was already there—leaning against the wall like he had been waiting.
“Awfully quiet for someone who wants to be taken seriously,” he said, walking beside her as she quickened her pace.
“Leave me alone, Blake.”
He chuckled, that infuriating sound of his low and amused. “I’m not doing anything. Just observing. You get so worked up over words, it’s adorable.”
“You don’t know me,” she snapped.
He stopped walking, forcing her to halt too.
“No,” he said, voice suddenly colder, quieter. “But I see you.”
His gaze flickered across her face, intense and unreadable, like he was searching for something. The moment stretched too long, her breath caught in her throat, until finally he looked away and walked off—leaving her shaken, confused, and angry at herself for the strange ache in her chest.
What scared her most wasn’t the bullying.
It was the way her heart reacted to him.
That night, she found comfort in the arms of Nate.
Her boyfriend was everything Blake wasn’t—kind, attentive, and respectful. They had met during orientation, and he had quickly become her anchor in the chaos of college. His warm brown eyes and easygoing nature made it easy to trust him. He brought her coffee, remembered her favorite music, kissed her gently on the forehead like she was something precious.
Still, when his fingers brushed her wrist that night, a part of her recoiled—not because she didn’t like Nate, but because she didn’t feel that same dangerous electricity.
“Hey,” Nate said, noticing her flinch. “You okay?”
“Yeah. Just… tired,” she said softly, forcing a smile.
He kissed her temple and let it go, but she saw something flicker behind his eyes. A subtle shift. Something she couldn’t quite name.
The next day, Lily skipped lunch and headed to her favorite spot behind the art building. The garden was usually empty—overgrown and half-forgotten, just how she liked it. She sank onto a bench and pulled out her journal, needing to bleed thoughts onto paper.
Why can’t I stop thinking about him? Why do his words hurt more than they should?
A shadow fell over the page.
“Running away again?”
She jerked her head up. Blake.
He had a coffee in one hand, phone in the other, and that same irritating smirk on his face. How did he always find her?
“Seriously, do you stalk people for fun?”
He tilted his head. “Only the interesting ones.”
“I’m not interesting.”
“You keep telling yourself that, bookworm.”
He stepped closer, and Lily stood, clutching her notebook like a shield.
“What do you want from me?” she asked, her voice breaking in frustration. “Why do you keep doing this?”
Something flickered in Blake’s eyes. For a second, the mask slipped, just a c***k.
“Maybe I’m trying to figure that out,” he muttered, almost to himself.
Lily stared at him, heart pounding. The moment was thick with something unspoken, and she hated that a part of her wanted to reach into that silence, to peel back his layers and see what was underneath.
Instead, she turned and walked away, because she didn’t trust herself to stay.
Not around him.
- Writer
