Breaking Point
968 Words
After the almost-kiss, everything became weird.
Not dramatically weird, not publicly weird.
The worst kind of weird, the quiet kind.
The kind where two people suddenly become aware of every glance, every word, every second spent together.
The kind that made breathing feel suspicious.
I blamed Mason entirely.
If he hadn’t appeared at exactly the wrong moment—
No. I stopped that thought immediately.
Because thinking about what almost happened wasn’t helping.
At all.
It definitely wasn’t helping at eight in the morning while I sat in chemistry pretending to understand molecular structures.
My phone buzzed, and I ignored it.
The teacher continued talking.
My phone buzzed again.
I ignored it harder.
Then it buzzed a third time.
I sighed and glanced down.
Unknown Number of course.
The familiar knot formed in my stomach.
For a moment, I considered deleting the message without opening it.
I should have, but instead I tapped it.
The text was short.
You’re getting closer.
Cold rushed through me.
Another message appeared.
That never ends well.
I locked the screen immediately.
My appetite vanished, my concentration vanished. Including my patience, it vanished.
Everything was gone.
The rest of the morning passed in a blur.
By lunch, I felt exhausted not physically but mentally and emotionally.
The constant messages were becoming unbearable.
Whoever was doing this wasn’t slowing down.
They were escalating and I still had no idea why.
I was heading toward the courtyard when I spotted Elena.
She stood near the fountain speaking with Sabrina.
The moment Sabrina noticed me, she rolled her eyes.
Charming.
Elena noticed me a second later.
For a brief moment, our eyes met then she looked away.
Something about it felt wrong in a way I couldn’t explain why.
But I felt it.
The uneasy feeling followed me all afternoon.
Straight into practice.
Coach Daniels was already in a terrible mood.
Which meant the rest of us suffered immediately.
“Again!”
The relay team groaned.
Coach blew his whistle.
“Did I ask for commentary?”
Nobody answered.
Smart. My ankle had improved enough for light training again, not full speed yet.
Which meant I spent most of practice doing modified drills while trying not to think about anonymous messages or almost-kisses.
Unfortunately, neither topic seemed interested in leaving me alone.
Especially the second one.
Jace arrived beside me carrying a stack of relay batons.
The sight alone made my pulse misbehave.
That was really annoying.
“Coach said you’re cleared for exchanges.”
I nodded.
“Apparently.”
A brief silence followed.
Neither of us mentioned it the other night.
Neither of us mentioned what almost happened.
Which somehow made it worse.
The unspoken tension stretched between us, it was obvious, heavy, and real.
“Naomi.”
I looked up.
His voice sounded different.
The same way it had sounded in the bleachers.
The same way it had sounded right before—
“No.”
The word escaped before I could stop it.
Jace blinked.
“What?”
I shook my head.
Too quickly.
“Nothing.”
The confusion on his face lasted only a second.
Then understanding appeared.
And suddenly things became even more awkward.
Fantastic. The universe truly hated me.
Practice finally ended two hours later.
Most of the team headed toward the locker rooms.
I was grabbing my water bottle when raised voices drifted across the stadium.
I froze not because shouting was unusual.
Athletes shouted constantly, but I recognized the voices.
Elena and Sabrina.
Curiosity immediately won.
I made a terrible decision. I moved closer to the equipment shed.
Not enough to be seen, just enough to hear.
“…telling you something is wrong.”
That was Sabrina.
Elena sighed heavily.
“You’re overreacting.”
“No, you’re underreacting.”
Silence followed then Sabrina spoke again more quietly and seriously.
“Everyone can see it.”
My stomach tightened.
I already knew where this conversation was heading.
Unfortunately, Elena didn’t respond immediately.
When she finally did, her voice sounded tired.
“I know.”
The words hit harder than expected.
For several seconds, neither girl spoke.
The stadium suddenly felt too quiet and still.
Then Sabrina broke the silence.
“So what are you going to do?”
Another pause longer this time.
Finally, Elena answered and everything changed.
“I’m done pretending I don’t see it.”
My breath caught.
The certainty in her voice frightened me.
Because this wasn’t jealousy anymore.
This wasn’t suspicion, this was acceptance.
She knew. Maybe not everything but enough.
Enough to realize her relationship was slipping through her fingers.
Enough to realize she was losing control.
Enough to decide she wasn’t going to sit back anymore.
Footsteps echoed nearby.
I quickly stepped away before anyone could see me.
My pulse hammered.
Thoughts raced.
Nothing felt simple anymore.
By the time I reached the parking lot, dusk had settled over campus.
The sky glowed orange and purple above the athletic fields.
Students moved toward the dorms.
Cars pulled from parking spaces.
Normal life continued.
Meanwhile, mine felt like it was falling apart.
“Naomi.”
I turned.
Jace jogged toward me.
His expression softened slightly when he reached me.
Then immediately shifted in a concerned way.
“What happened?”
I almost laughed.
Because apparently, everyone could read my face lately.
“I’m fine.”
The lie sounded weak.
Neither of us believed it.
For a moment, we stood there beneath the fading evening sky.
Neither moving nor speaking.
The distance between us felt dangerous.
The feelings between us felt worse.
And somewhere in the back of my mind, Elena’s voice echoed again.
Don’t give him a reason to choose.
The problem was that the choices were coming too fast.
And judging by the look in Jace’s eyes—
We were running out of time.
- Writer
