038
1038 Words
~ Iris
Weeks passed.
Not the dramatic kind where everything heals neatly,but the quiet, convincing kind. The kind where routines return, laughter comes easier, and the sharpest edges of pain dull just enough to stop cutting every time you breathe.
Alice and I found our rhythm again.
Not perfect. Not untouched. But real.
Morning coffees before class. Shared headphones in the library. Her legs draped over mine on the dorm couch while she pretended not to watch me write. We didn’t talk about everything, but we talked enough. And somehow, that was working.
Eunice was still around, of course. Like a bad smell you couldn’t fully air out.
Lingering looks. Too-close passes in the hallway.
A hand brushing my arm a second too long when she handed me a file. But nothing overt. Nothing that could be called out without sounding paranoid. Just pressure. Just reminder.
Ky slid into our lives in a way that surprised me most.
She wasn’t competition. She wasn’t a threat.
She was… easy.
And I love her for that.
She and Alice got along in that sharp-tongued, mutual-respect way. banter, side-eyes, shared jokes at my expense. It grounded something in me, seeing them laugh together without tension curling in my chest.
And Sasha?
Sasha was a different story.
Her messages to Alice hadn’t stopped.
They weren’t aggressive. Not demanding. Just… present.
Videos. Photos. Long late-night voice notes filled with breathy laughter and confessions that sounded lonely more than seductive. Alice never responded the way Sasha wanted,but she didn’t block her either.
I noticed.
Alice noticed that I noticed.
But neither of us said it out loud.
Friday night came with music already buzzing through the dorm walls.
“Okay,” Ky said, leaning against the doorframe of my room, arms crossed. “If we don’t leave in ten minutes, I’m ditching both of you.”
“Relax,” Alice replied from my bed, tugging on her boots. “We’re almost done.”
She looked good tonight.
Not trying too hard. black jeans, fitted top, hair pulled back just enough to show her neck. Comfortable in her skin. Confident again.
I caught her watching me in the mirror.
“What?” I asked, adjusting my top.
She smirked. “Just thinking I might fight someone if they look at you wrong.”
Ky snorted. “Good luck. Half the club’s going to look.”
I rolled my eyes, but warmth spread through me anyway.
As we walked out into the night, music thumping louder with every step closer to the club, I realized something quietly important:
For the first time in weeks, I wasn’t bracing myself.
No waiting for my phone to buzz. No dread sitting heavy in my chest. No ghost of someone who wasn’t here.
Just neon lights. Loud music. My girlfriend’s hand in mine. Friends beside us.
Inside, the club pulsed with heat and color.bodies moving, laughter spilling, bass vibrating straight through bone.
Alice pulled me onto the dance floor almost immediately.
“Come on,” she said, eyes bright. “You owe me a dance.”
I let myself be pulled.
We moved together easily, familiarity guiding us more than the beat. Her hands on my waist. Mine on her shoulders. Close enough to feel her breath when she leaned in.
Ky danced nearby, grinning, carefree.
For a moment,just a moment, I let myself believe this was enough.
That whatever had cracked me before had healed.
That I was exactly where I was supposed to be.
Alice leaned in, lips brushing my ear.
“You’re here,” she said softly. “With me.”
I nodded, smiling.
“I am.”
I missed this.
And as the lights flashed and the music swallowed everything else, I let myself stay right there,present, chosen, and held.
Even if somewhere deep down, I knew peace like this never stayed forever.
The bass thumped through my chest, each beat making my head swim just a little more. I’d had… maybe one too many drinks,enough to loosen my limbs, blur my thoughts, and erase most of my careful composure.
Alice was on the dance floor.
Ky came to me,” iris ?” She called.
“ Heyyy kyyy,” I said, clinging on to her. Pulling her to my chest.
“ Oh God,iris you're drunk.” She said.
“I..I'm…not, hey ky kiss me.” I said.
She rubbed her temples, and assisted me to the bar to seat. “ I'm not kissing you iris, you have a gf. Besides you're drunk. You're just saying what you're saying because you're drunk.”
“ Ughhh ky”
“ I'm coming back okay? “ She said and touch my cheeks befeo going.
I liked Ky. Just a little. Nothing serious. Nothing that would eclipse Alice. But there it was,a warmth I hadn’t anticipated, a smile I wanted to chase and hold just for a moment. I shook it off and let Alice’s presence anchor me instead.
The lights flickered, strobes slicing through the club, casting everyone in jagged, shifting shadows. I swayed a little too close to the bar, resting a hand on the counter, feeling dizzy but… alive. Alive enough to notice the stare.
A woman. Across.
That’s when I noticed her,a woman, standing across the bar. Dark hair, striking features, something familiar in the way she watched me, though I couldn’t place it. Her eyes lingered too long, but I was drunk enough to let it slide.
I raised my glass, forcing a smile. She returned it with a polite nod. Nothing else. Nothing threatening. Just… curious.
I took another sip. Maybe too many. The room tilted. My legs felt like jelly. The music felt distant now, a low hum beneath the pounding of my heart. I realized I’d drifted too far from the crowd.
Too far from Alice.
And then it happened.
A sharp tug at my arms. Pain. Panic. The wine glass slipped from my hands, shattering on the floor. My mouth went dry.
Before I could scream, rough hands pinned me, yanked me backward. A blindfold,or was it the darkness itself?,hid everything from my sight. I thrashed, but three men were around me now, holding me steady. Their presence was cold, efficient.
- Writer
