BACKGROUND CHARACTER

“If you already knew it would end like this… why did you still come into my life?” My voice broke halfway through. I hated that it did. Not because I was weak. Because I had trained myself not to be. And somehow, with Adrian Vale standing in front of me, that training stopped working. He didn’t answer. He didn’t blink. He only looked at me like I was something he hadn’t finished reading yet. So I finished it for him. “...then why did you make yourself impossible to ignore?” It didn’t start with Adrian. It started seven years ago, with a boy named Matthew who taught me what betrayal looked like. “Was I asking for too much?” I asked. “I just wanted honesty. That’s it. So why did it end in betrayal?” Matthew dragged a hand down his face like I was the exhausting part of the conversation. “Anica… I’m tired.” I let out a short laugh. Nothing about it was funny. It slipped out anyway. Like my body didn’t know what else to do. “I can’t do this anymore,” he said. “Loving you feels like hitting a wall. You don’t give anything back. I don’t even know if you ever actually loved me.” For a moment, I looked at him. Trying to tell if he meant it. Or if he needed it to be true. Then I nodded. “Okay.” That seemed to relax him. Like we were aligned again. “So that’s it?” I asked quietly. “That’s your excuse?” I held his gaze. “You cheated on me with my best friend, Matt. Don’t rewrite it into my fault.” That was how my first relationship ended. I was fourteen when Matthew cheated on me. Somehow, I became the reason it made sense. Funny how that works. I stood there after he left, unmoving for a while. Waiting for something to hit. It never came. I told myself that was the worst of it. But I was wrong. Because after that, there were others. Different names. Different faces. Same ending. *** ~~6 MONTHS AGO~~ “Anica, it’s not what it looks like!” Kai rushed in the second he saw me. Out of breath. Like he’d been running—or rehearsing. My eyes didn’t go to him first. They went to the bed. To the girl sitting there, pulling the bedsheet up like it could fix anything. Then back to him. “Okay,” I said. “Then explain.” His mouth opened immediately. “It wasn’t my fault.” Of course. He always started there. He pointed at the girl like that made things clearer. “It was her,” he said quickly. “She drugged me. She climbed on top of me.” The girl made a sharp sound, half laugh, half disbelief. “What? Are you serious?” I looked at her a little too long, long enough to read her expression. Then I looked back at Kai. “Alright,” I said. My voice stayed even. That surprised me. “Let’s go to the hospital,” I added. The shift was immediate. Not loud. Just visible. Kai stopped talking. The girl froze completely. I saw Kai’s hand twitch like he wanted to fix something, but didn’t know where to begin. “We’ll run a toxicology test,” I said. That was when it became clear. His expression didn’t just change. It collapsed. Like he forgot how to stand inside his own story. “Oh,” he said, quieter now. “Wait—” I watched him. No anger. No shock anymore. Only observation. The gap between words and panic. “I don’t think we need the test anymore,” I said. Kai snapped his head up. “Anica— listen, it’s not—” I shook my head once. Small. Final. “The answer’s already obvious.” I bent down and picked up my bag. He reached for my arm, then stopped midway like he no longer had permission. “Just… hear me out,” he said, faster now. “Please.” I straightened. “No.” It didn’t need volume. “You can continue whatever this is.” I walked past him before he could try again. Behind me, he said my name once more. I didn’t answer. I closed the door and stood there for a second. Just long enough to get my body moving again. --- After that, I sat in my car for a while. Engine off. My hands on the wheel. I didn’t cry. I stayed there, staring forward, waiting for things to rearrange in my head. My chest felt tight. I didn’t name it. I kept thinking I should react differently. Anger, maybe. Something clearer. But nothing came clean. Only pressure behind my ribs, familiar enough to ignore. So I started the car. Drove without choosing direction. Just away. --- Anyway, I’m Anica Lee Montclaire. And before you decide this is a story about healing after heartbreak, stop. I’ve never been the center of anything. Not the loudest. Not the prettiest. Not the most unforgettable. I’m usually just… there. And I got used to it a long time ago. --- A few hours after breaking up with Kai, I met my friends. No swollen eyes. No breakdown. Just Sunday night continuing like nothing happened. “Anica, good. You’re here.” Ethan immediately threw an arm around my shoulder. “Adrian Vale got dumped again. We’re drinking.” I stared at him. “That’s your greeting?” “Yes.” “Fair enough.” Across the room sat Adrian Vale. The guy everyone seemed to love, hate, or cry over. I wasn’t sure which group was bigger. He sat on the couch, glass in hand, people circling him like a conversation piece. I never understood the fascination. Maybe I never tried. Or maybe people like him always felt distant from people like me. Not dramatically. Just different worlds. Different problems. I stayed at the edge of the room. Exactly where I preferred. Then Adrian looked up. Our eyes met. Long enough for me to wonder why he kept looking. Then someone spoke beside him, and he looked away. I forgot about it immediately. Later, I’d realize that was the problem.