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 probably had.
Because every path forward now ended with someone getting hurt.
And no matter how much he replayed conversations inside his head, no answer felt right anymore.
If he chose Hailey, he’d destroy Ava.
If he chose Ava, he’d destroy Hailey.
And somehow the terrifying part wasn’t that he cared about both girls.
The terrifying part was that he cared differently.
Hailey made him feel alive.
Ava made him feel understood.
God.
How was anyone supposed to choose between those things?
Saturday evening arrived wrapped in cold wind and golden sunset light across Blackwood University. Students crowded outdoor cafés while music drifted from dorm windows into the autumn air.
Lucas sat alone near the campus fountain trying unsuccessfully to organize his thoughts when familiar footsteps approached.
Of course.
Hailey Brooks.
She wore a dark green sweater beneath the fading sunlight while loose strands of golden-brown hair moved softly in the wind. A camera hung lazily against her shoulder, and despite the sadness Lucas carried around lately…
his chest still reacted immediately when he saw her.
God.
That alone made him feel guilty now.
Hailey stopped beside the fountain before studying him quietly.
“You disappeared again.”
Lucas looked down briefly.
“Sorry.”
“There you go apologizing for breathing.”
The softness in her voice hurt more than anger would’ve.
Because after the kiss…
after everything…
Hailey still treated him gently.
Lucas rubbed tiredly at the back of his neck.
“I didn’t know what to say to you.”
Hailey’s expression shifted slightly after hearing that.
Then slowly, she sat beside him near the fountain edge.
Cold wind drifted fallen leaves around their feet while students laughed somewhere across the courtyard nearby.
For several moments, silence settled between them.
Then unexpectedly, Hailey spoke first.
“She knows, doesn’t she?”
Lucas looked toward her carefully.
“Ava.”
God.
There was no point pretending anymore.
“She knows I kissed you.”
Hailey nodded once like she expected that answer already.
“And?”
Lucas stared toward the water in the fountain quietly.
“She’s hurting.”
The sentence visibly affected Hailey.
Not because she disliked Ava.
Because she understood exactly what that pain probably felt like.
A faint sad smile touched Hailey’s mouth afterward.
“Yeah.” She looked down briefly. “Mine too.”
God.
Guilt twisted violently inside his chest again.
Lucas turned toward her immediately.
“I never meant to do this to either of you.”
“I know.”
“No, Hailey, seriously—”
“I said I know.”
Her voice softened completely then.
And suddenly Lucas realized she genuinely believed him.
Even heartbroken, she still trusted his intentions.
That almost made everything worse.
Hailey leaned back slightly against the fountain edge while looking toward the sunset-covered campus.
“You know what sucks?” she murmured quietly.
Lucas stayed silent.
“I think I started loving you before I even realized it.”
The honesty in her voice settled heavily inside him.
Hailey laughed weakly under her breath afterward.
“You were just some awkward quiet guy sitting beside me in literature.” Her eyes softened faintly. “And suddenly you became the first person I looked for every morning.”
God.
Lucas physically felt that sentence.
Because somewhere along the way, Hailey became part of his routine too.
Part of his thoughts.
Part of his days.
And honestly?
Part of his heart.
Hailey looked toward him carefully.
“You don’t have to say it back.”
Lucas swallowed hard.
Because that was the problem.
He maybe could.
And somehow that terrified him most of all.
Hailey noticed the conflict in his expression instantly.
Of course she did.
Then quietly, heartbreakingly softly, she asked:
“When you kissed me back… was it real?”
The question shattered him.
Because he knew exactly what she was really asking.
Did he actually feel something?
Or was she just a lonely moment during a storm?
Lucas looked at her for several painful seconds before answering honestly.
“Yes.”
The word visibly broke her and healed her at the same time.
God.
Hailey closed her eyes briefly like she needed a second just to survive hearing it aloud.
Then she smiled faintly.
And somehow tears gathered there too.
“That’s the worst answer you could’ve given me.”
Lucas almost laughed weakly.
“Yeah.”
Because now there was hope.
And hope inside situations like this became dangerous quickly.
Hailey wiped beneath one eye quickly before speaking again.
“You know what I think?” she whispered.
“What?”
“I think you already started falling for both of us before you even noticed.”
The accuracy of that nearly stopped his heartbeat.
Lucas looked away immediately afterward.
Because deep down…
she was right.
Hailey studied him quietly for several seconds.
Then softly:
“You care about her differently, don’t you?”
Lucas hesitated.
Too long.
Hailey noticed instantly.
And God—
the sadness in her eyes afterward nearly destroyed him.
But even now, she still smiled gently.
“I knew it.”
“It’s not simple.”
“I know.” She laughed weakly. “Trust me, I know.”
Cold wind moved softly around them while sunset light faded slowly across campus buildings.
Then unexpectedly, Hailey reached for his hand.
Lucas looked down automatically.
Their fingers intertwined carefully.
Warm.
Familiar now.
And somehow painfully intimate.
Hailey stared down at their hands while speaking quietly.
“She understands your quiet.” Her voice softened. “I think I understand your loneliness.”
The sentence hit directly inside his chest.
Because somehow…
she was right too.
God.
Why did both girls understand him so deeply in completely different ways?
Lucas looked at Hailey carefully while emotions twisted violently inside him.
“You deserve someone who’s certain about you.”
The second he said it, pain flashed visibly across her face.
Because she heard the hidden meaning immediately.
And maybe I’m not.
Hailey slowly let go of his hand afterward.
Then she laughed softly to herself.
“You know what’s funny?”
Lucas frowned slightly.
“I think if you met me six months ago, I would’ve hated Ava.” She looked down briefly. “But I can’t even blame her.”
The honesty in her voice felt unbearably mature.
Because instead of anger, all three of them only carried sadness now.
Hailey looked back toward him eventually.
And God.
She looked so heartbreakingly sincere.
“I really do love you, Lucas.”
There it was.
Fully spoken aloud now.
No teasing.
No jokes.
Just truth.
Lucas’s chest tightened painfully.
Because hearing those words from her felt real enough to alter something permanently inside him.
Hailey smiled softly through the emotion afterward.
“But I don’t want you choosing me because you’re scared to hurt me.”
The sentence stunned him silent.
Because somehow even now…
she still cared more about genuine love than winning.
God.
Lucas stared at her helplessly.
“What am I supposed to do?”
Hailey looked toward the fading sunset quietly.
Then finally whispered the thing he feared most:
“You’re supposed to figure out which heartbreak you can’t survive.”
And suddenly Lucas realized something terrifying.
No matter who he chose eventually…
the person left behind would probably love him for a very long time afterward.