Scroll after scroll, my heart sank further.
There were thousands of messages some from years ago, from nights she told me she was working late. Conversations so raw and intimate, I couldn’t keep reading.
She told him she’d built her company partly to create opportunities for him if he ever wanted a career shift. Told him our marriage was just to pacify our families. Told him that every time I touched her, she wanted to scrub the memory away in the shower.
Pictures, voice notes, birthday wishes sent every year at midnight.
And at the bottom of a drawer in her nightstand, I found a necklace cheap, plastic, and fraying something he’d given her during junior year of high school. She’d kept that. Through college, through marriage. Through me.
We’d been friends for over two decades. I’d been with her through every hardship, supported her when her family went bankrupt, shared take outs in the small, freezing apartment we used to rent. I thought we’d built a life together.
But in the end, all my love was nothing compared to the man who’d tormented her in high school.
I laughed a hollow, stinging laugh that burned my throat. Then I kept laughing until my ribs hurt, my vision blurred, and I collapsed into tears.
When I finally passed out from the alcohol and grief, I expected nothing but a dark oblivion. Instead, I woke head down on a wooden desk, the smell of chalk dust in the air.
"Ethan..... Sleeping in my class again? Outside. Now."
Mrs. Brody, our senior year math teacher, stood over me, lips pressed in her signature disapproval. My stomach flipped she’d been dead for years.
Still groggy, I gathered my books and stepped into the hallway. The bulletin boards, the dated lockers, the endless rows of fluorescent lights all exactly as they’d been in 2005. My hands shook.
Through the open classroom doors, I saw Laura in her AP English class, younger but already carrying that quiet, effortless poise.
In my past life, I’d glued myself to her side. Offered to carry her books. Walked her home. Defended her from Rayan’s teasing. Spent every spare moment proving my feelings.
But now? Now I knew exactly where that devotion would lead.
So that day, when she lingered at my locker offering to share her meticulously handwritten notes, I shook my head.
"We should probably keep our distance, Laura. Don’t want people thinking I’m bothering you for tutoring."
She blinked, surprised, then gave a small, forgiving smile. "You really think I mind? We’re seniors, Ethan. If I don’t help you, who will?"
"I’ll figure it out." My voice came out colder than intended.
Her hand twitched toward mine, but I stepped back.
Before Laura could say more, Ryan Mitchell appeared, interrupting her.
Ignoring me standing there, Ryan threw his arm around her and grinned. "Did you eat the cake I brought you? Everyone loves cake, right?"
Laura looked flustered and pushed him away. "No, I threw it out. Stop bothering me."
Ryan raised an eyebrow but didn’t seem angry. "Then how about I bring you milkshakes next time? What’s your favorite flavor?"
Ryan was handsome and charismatic, which helped him become a local celebrity later on. It was hard to resist his charm especially for Laura.
She showed a flicker of secret delight but quickly masked it before Ryan noticed.
Putting on an annoyed face, she clearly understood Ryan’s possessive nature hey seemed like a natural match.
I didn’t want to keep my tutor waiting, so I said coldly, "You two chat. I’m leaving."
Laura instinctively wanted to walk with me but was blocked by Ryan.
"Genius, your friend doesn’t seem to talk to you much. Why don’t you help me out with my homework?" Ryan teased.
Laura didn’t respond.
Chapter 02
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