CHAPTER TEN
627 Words
At first, Ethan told himself it didn’t matter.
People miss school all the time.
People leave.
People disappear.
It wasn’t a big deal.
But then why did it feel like one?
“Hey,” he said one afternoon, turning to the guy beside him. “Blue… do you know her?”
His friend frowned. “Blue?”
“The quiet girl. Always sits at the back.”
“Oh… her,” he said. “Not really.”
Ethan’s brows furrowed slightly.
“What do you mean ‘not really’?”
“I mean… she’s just there,” he shrugged. “I’ve never talked to her.”
Ethan didn’t respond.
Later, he asked someone else.
“Do you know Blue?”
“Not really.”
Another.
“She’s in our class, right?”
“Yeah… I think so.”
I think so.
That answer stayed with him.
I think so.
He asked more people.
Different classes.
Different faces.
Same response.
No one knew her.
Not her favorite subject.
Not her friends—because she didn’t have any.
Not even something as simple as where she sat, unless they really thought about it.
It was like she had existed in the background of everyone’s life…
Without ever becoming part of it.
Ethan leaned against the wall in the hallway, running a hand through his hair.
That didn’t make sense.
She had been there every day.
He had seen her.
Talked to her.
…Hurt her.
His chest tightened slightly.
“Why do you care?”
Lily’s voice pulled him back.
He looked at her.
“I don’t,” he said quickly.
She studied him for a second.
Then smiled. “Good.”
He nodded.
But something about that answer felt wrong.
That night, he found himself thinking again.
About small things.
The way she always stood quietly by her locker.
The way she spoke so softly, like she was afraid to take up space.
The way she looked at him…
That one made him pause.
There was something in her eyes.
Something he had ignored.
Something he didn’t understand back then.
But now—
Now it felt different.
Uncomfortable.
Like a memory he didn’t want to keep.
The next day, he went to the office.
It wasn’t planned.
He just… ended up there.
“Excuse me,” he said, leaning slightly on the counter. “There’s a student in my class—Blue. She hasn’t been around.”
The staff member looked up.
“Oh,” she said softly.
That one word.
It wasn’t normal.
It wasn’t casual.
It meant something.
Ethan felt it immediately.
“Is she… okay?” he asked, before he could stop himself.
The woman hesitated.
Then sighed quietly.
“She’s in the hospital.”
The words hit harder this time.
Not like before.
Not like something distant.
Something real.
“What happened?” he asked.
“She collapsed in class,” she replied. “It’s been serious.”
Serious.
Ethan’s throat felt dry.
“Can I… visit?” he asked, the question unfamiliar on his own tongue.
The woman looked at him carefully.
“Are you family?”
He shook his head.
“…Friend?”
The word caught.
He hesitated.
For the first time—
He didn’t know the answer.
“…No,” he said finally.
And somehow…
That felt worse than anything else.
The woman gave a small, understanding nod.
“I’m sorry,” she said gently.
Ethan stepped back.
“Yeah… it’s fine,” he muttered.
But it wasn’t.
Not even close.
Because as he walked away—
One thought kept repeating in his head.
Loud.
Unavoidable.
She had loved him.
And he didn’t even know her.
Not really.
Not at all.
And now—
It might be too late to change that.
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