The Heartbreak Before the Choice After that night outside the science building, nothing felt normal anymore. Not for Lucas Reed. Not for Ava Monroe. And definitely not for Hailey Brooks, who somehow sensed the emotional shift before anybody said a single word aloud. That was the terrifying thing about people who loved deeply. They noticed … Read more
The Boy Ava Couldn’t Let Go By Sunday night, Ava Monroe officially hated her own heart. Not dramatically. Quietly. The way people hate storms they know they can’t stop. Because no matter how many times she logically explained the situation to herself, emotions kept betraying her anyway. Lucas cared about Hailey. That part was obvious … Read more
The Girl Who Loved Him Loudly After the library conversation with Ava Monroe, Lucas Reed spent the next two days emotionally unraveling in silence. Which, unfortunately, nobody around him failed to notice. “You look like somebody died,” one guy in his literature class commented casually. Lucas barely reacted. Honestly? Part of him felt like something … Read more
The Kiss He Couldn’t Forget Lucas Reed barely slept that night. Rain hammered endlessly against the dorm windows while campus lights blurred softly through darkness outside, but none of it drowned out the memory replaying over and over inside his head. Hailey kissing him. The warmth of it. The sadness inside it. And worst of … Read more
The Kiss He Couldn’t Forget Lucas Reed barely slept that night. Rain hammered endlessly against the dorm windows while campus lights blurred softly through darkness outside, but none of it drowned out the memory replaying over and over inside his head. Hailey kissing him. The warmth of it. The sadness inside it. And worst of … Read more
The Night Everything Changed Rainstorm warnings covered the entire city by Friday evening. Cold wind swept across Blackwood University while dark clouds swallowed the sky hours before sunset. Students hurried through campus carrying umbrellas and jackets as thunder rolled faintly above crowded buildings. Inside the photography studio, Hailey Brooks pretended she was perfectly fine. Which … Read more
The Boy Caught in Between For the next few days, Lucas Reed avoided both of them. Not intentionally at first. Then very intentionally. Because suddenly every interaction felt dangerous. Every smile from Hailey Brooks carried unspoken feelings behind it now. Every quiet moment with Ava Monroe felt emotionally loaded in ways Lucas no longer knew … Read more
The Silence Between Them The next morning felt painfully awkward. Not outwardly. Nobody screamed. Nobody cried. Nobody dramatically confronted anyone in crowded hallways like college movies always showed. Instead, everything became quieter. And somehow that felt worse. Lucas Reed noticed it immediately when he walked into literature class and spotted Hailey Brooks already sitting near … Read more
The Almost Confession After the party, everything changed slightly. Not enough for other people to notice. But enough for all three of them to feel it. Lucas Reed started becoming hyper-aware of every interaction now. Every smile from Hailey Brooks suddenly carried possible meaning behind it. Every quiet moment with Ava Monroe felt emotionally dangerous … Read more
The Party Nobody Wanted Friday night arrived wrapped in loud music and cold autumn wind. Blackwood University practically transformed after dark on weekends. Dorm buildings glowed with colored lights, crowded sidewalks overflowed with students moving between parties, and music echoed across campus loudly enough to shake windows. Lucas Reed hated parties. Which was exactly why … Read more
