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 distance immediately.
Monday morning arrived cold and painfully bright after days of rain. Blackwood University buzzed with normal student life while Lucas walked through campus feeling like he was carrying something fragile and dangerous inside his chest.
Because now everything was real.
Hailey loved him.
Ava loved him.
And somewhere in the middle of all that emotional chaos…
he had admitted the truth to himself too.
He was falling for Ava.
God.
Even thinking it aloud internally made guilt crash through him instantly.
Because every time Ava’s face entered his mind, so did Hailey’s.
The memory of her confession.
The sadness in her smile.
The way she whispered:
I don’t want you choosing me because you’re scared to hurt me.
Lucas felt sick remembering it.
He genuinely cared about Hailey.
Maybe in another version of life, another timeline, another beginning…
he could’ve loved her without complication.
But Ava existed now.
Quietly tangled inside his heart in ways he no longer knew how to escape from.
And honestly?
That truth was becoming impossible to deny.
By afternoon, Lucas sat beside Hailey during literature class again for the first time in almost three days.
The atmosphere between them felt strange immediately.
Not hostile.
Just fragile.
Hailey noticed him the second he sat down, but instead of teasing him like usual, she only offered a faint tired smile.
“Hey.”
God.
He hated how sad she sounded now.
“Hey.”
For several moments, silence settled awkwardly between them while students filled seats around the classroom.
Then unexpectedly, Hailey asked quietly:
“Did you sleep?”
Lucas blinked once.
“What?”
“You look exhausted.”
The concern in her voice nearly destroyed him emotionally.
Because even now—
even heartbroken—
she still cared about him automatically.
Lucas looked down briefly at his notebook.
“Not really.”
Hailey nodded slowly like she expected that answer already.
Another silence followed.
Then softly:
“You talked to her, didn’t you?”
There it was.
The question both of them feared.
Lucas felt his chest tighten immediately.
And somehow…
that hesitation alone answered enough.
Hailey looked away first toward the classroom windows while pain flickered visibly across her expression.
God.
The guilt became unbearable.
“Hailey—”
“It’s okay.”
“It’s not okay.”
A faint sad laugh escaped her.
“Yeah.” Her eyes stayed fixed toward the window. “I know.”
The honesty in her voice physically hurt him.
Lucas turned toward her fully now.
“I never wanted this.”
“I know you didn’t.”
“No, seriously, I—”
“Lucas.”
The softness in her voice stopped him immediately.
Finally, Hailey looked back at him.
And God.
Her eyes looked heartbreakingly calm now.
Not because she wasn’t hurting.
Because she already understood the answer before he fully said it.
“You like her more.”
The sentence landed quietly between them.
No anger.
No accusation.
Just truth.
Lucas opened his mouth automatically.
Nothing came out.
And honestly?
That silence hurt her more than any spoken answer could have.
Hailey smiled faintly afterward, but it looked fragile enough to collapse completely.
“Wow,” she whispered softly. “I really lost you.”
God.
Lucas felt like someone physically punched through his chest.
Because hearing her say it aloud made everything devastatingly real.
He reached toward her instinctively.
“Hailey please—”
But she gently pulled her hand away before he could touch it.
The movement hurt more than expected.
“You know what sucks?” she whispered.
Lucas stayed silent because speaking felt impossible suddenly.
“I kept waiting for you to look at me the way you look at her.”
The sentence shattered him completely.
Because suddenly he realized Hailey noticed everything too.
The softness in his voice around Ava.
The hesitation.
The emotional pull Lucas himself spent weeks trying not to acknowledge.
God.
Hailey laughed weakly under her breath afterward while blinking quickly toward the ceiling.
“This is so embarrassing.”
“It’s not embarrassing to love someone.”
The words came out instantly.
Honest.
Painfully honest.
Hailey looked back at him after hearing that.
And for one terrible second, Lucas saw exactly how deeply she loved him.
Enough to let him go while it destroyed her.
That realization nearly ruined him emotionally on the spot.
Then quietly, softly enough that only he could hear it, Hailey whispered:
“I think you already chose her before you realized it yourself.”
The truth inside those words settled heavily through his chest.
Because maybe she was right.
Maybe the real tragedy wasn’t choosing between two girls.
Maybe it was that his heart already leaned toward one of them long before logic caught up.
The professor entered the room moments later, interrupting the conversation before Lucas could answer anything.
But honestly?
There was nothing left to say anyway.
Because Hailey already knew.
That evening, Lucas found Ava sitting alone near the library windows while sunset light faded softly across campus outside.
The second she noticed him approaching, something nervous flickered briefly across her expression.
God.
Even now, seeing her still calmed something restless inside him immediately.
Lucas sat beside her quietly.
Neither spoke at first.
Then softly, Ava asked:
“How bad was it?”
The question caught him slightly off guard.
“She knows.”
Ava looked down immediately.
Pain crossed her face so quickly most people wouldn’t notice it.
Lucas did.
Of course he did.
“She deserves better,” Ava whispered quietly.
The sadness in her voice hurt unexpectedly.
Lucas frowned slightly.
“Why do you keep saying that like you’re the villain here?”
Ava laughed weakly under her breath.
“Because I fell for a guy who somebody else loved first.”
God.
Lucas turned toward her immediately.
“That’s not fair.”
“It’s true.”
“No.” His voice softened. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Ava finally looked at him then.
And somehow her eyes looked even sadder hearing that.
Because deep down, she probably wanted permission to hate herself slightly.
It would’ve made this easier.
Instead all three of them were just hurting honestly.
Ava wrapped her arms loosely around herself while sunset light disappeared slowly behind the library windows.
“Did she cry?”
The question nearly shattered him.
Lucas looked down briefly.
“Not in front of me.”
Ava closed her eyes softly after hearing that.
God.
The guilt between them suddenly felt heavy enough to drown in.
Then quietly, painfully honestly, Ava whispered:
“I think part of me wishes you chose her.”
Lucas looked up immediately.
“What?”
“Because then at least I could hate you properly.”
The sentence physically hurt.
Because Lucas understood exactly what she meant.
If he rejected her completely, Ava could eventually move on.
Instead he stood directly in front of her emotionally wrecked and wanting her anyway.
And somehow that made everything infinitely harder.
Lucas reached for her hand slowly.
This time, Ava held onto him immediately.
Warm fingers trembling slightly against his.
Then softly, almost like she was confessing something dangerous, Ava whispered:
“But another part of me is selfish enough to be happy you didn’t.”
God.
Lucas stared at her while emotions crashed painfully through his chest.
Because there it was.
The terrible truth both of them were trying desperately not to say too loudly.
He was already choosing her.
And somewhere across campus…
Hailey Brooks was slowly learning how heartbreak felt.