freedom taste like you

Chapter 31

Amber's POV

By the time I got back to the dorm, I shut the door softly behind me and leaned against it, my pulse still racing from everything that had just happened.

Lydia's voice wouldn't stop echoing in my head.

You really think he'd choose you?

No matter how many times I tried to shake it off, it stuck like a stain under my skin.

Juliet looked up from her desk, one earbud hanging loose. "You look like you just went ten rounds with a storm," she said lightly.

"Something like that," I muttered, tossing my bag on the bed. "It's been a long day."

She watched me for a while, her eyes narrowing slightly. "This has Timothy written all over it, doesn't it?"

I sighed and sat down, hugging a pillow to my chest. "We met for coffee. To talk." I hesitated. "Then Lydia showed up."

Juliet's posture stiffened. "Lydia was there?" she asked, her tone careful.

"Yeah." I swallowed hard. "She said some things."

Juliet didn't respond immediately. Instead, she turned her chair slightly toward me, crossing one leg over the other. "Like what?"

"That I'm pathetic for hanging around him," I said quietly. "That he'd never choose me. That I don't know him the way she does."

Juliet's expression softened, though I saw the conflict in it. "Lydia can be... sharp when she's hurt," she said carefully. "She doesn't always mean it the way it sounds."

I gave a humourless laugh. "You didn't hear the way it sounded."

"I'm not saying she was right," Juliet replied gently. "Just... she's been going through a lot since she and Timothy stopped talking. You know how close they were."

"I know," I murmured, staring down at my hands. "But that doesn't mean she gets to take it out on me."

Juliet sighed quietly. "No, it doesn't."

She hesitated, then added softly, "Still, maybe it's best if you both keep some distance for now. It'll only make things messier if you get caught between them."

"I'm already caught between them," I said before I could stop myself. The words came out smaller than I intended.

Juliet looked at me for a long moment, something unreadable flickering across her face. Then she nodded, almost reluctantly. "I get it. Just... be careful, okay? For your own sake, and hers."

I didn't answer. I wasn't sure there was a safe way to be careful anymore.

---

That night, I couldn't sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Lydia's glare, Timothy's jaw tightening, the way his voice cracked when he said, You don't get to talk to her like that.

The dorm was quiet except for Juliet's soft breathing on the other side of the room. I sat by the window, blanket draped around my shoulders, and stared outside the window. The lamplight flickered through the branches like it was nervous, too.

My phone buzzed. Timothy.

Timothy: You home?

My fingers hovered over the screen before I typed:

Me: Yeah. Just got in.

A moment later.

Timothy: I'm sorry about earlier. You didn't deserve that.

I stared at the message until the words blurred. Then I typed back:

Me: It's fine.

The typing dots appeared. Disappeared. Appeared again. Then nothing.

That silence said more than anything he could have texted.

---

By morning, my eyes burned from lack of sleep. Juliet was already up, sipping coffee at her desk.

"You okay?" she asked softly.

"Yeah." I lied. "Just tired."

She hesitated like she wanted to say more, but in the end, she only nodded. "Try not to think too much about it. Lydia... she'll calm down eventually."

I forced a smile. "Sure."

---

Classes passed in a blur. Words went in one ear and fell straight out the other. Afterwards, I wandered toward the student gardens, the same place Timothy liked to sit when he needed air.

And there he was.

Earbuds in, head tilted back, sunlight brushing against his face. When he saw me, he took one out and smiled weakly. "Hey."

"Hey," I said, stepping closer.

He patted the bench beside him. "Sit. I promise not to make things weird."

I huffed a laugh and sat down, the warmth of the sun doing little to ease the chill in my chest.

"How are you holding up?" he asked.

"I've been better," I said honestly. "You?"

He gave a half-smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Could be worse. I talked to Lydia last night."

I froze. "Oh?"

"She was upset," he said quietly. "Said I embarrassed her and how you're making me choose sides."

I bit the inside of my cheek. "And are you?"

He looked at me for a while. "No. I'm just trying to be honest."

"What did you tell her?"

"That it isn't about sides," he said. "It's about respect. I won't let her talk to you like that."

My heart clenched, caught between gratitude and guilt. "She's still Juliet's best friend," I murmured, mostly to myself. "It's like no matter what I do, she's always somewhere in between us."

"Maybe," he said, his voice low. "But that doesn't change what's real."

I turned to him, confused. "What do you mean?"

He hesitated, searching my face. "No matter how things get twisted, I always end up here. With you."

For a second, neither of us said anything. The world felt too still, too close.

"Timothy," I said softly, "you can't say things like that. Not when.."

"I know." He smiled faintly, almost sad. "But I had to."

We sat in silence after that, the kind that hummed with everything unsaid. Eventually, I stood up, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

"I should go," I said.

He nodded slowly. "Yeah. See you around?"

"Yeah." I smiled faintly. "See you around."

As I walked away, I tried so hard not to look back, because I knew he'd already be looking.

And all I could think was that no matter how much I told myself not to fall, I already had.

And falling, when Lydia's shadow still lingered between us, felt a lot like standing on thin glass, not to mention being his adopted sister.