Chapter 4

Nate looked momentarily lost, then shook himself out of it, his brows furrowing as he stared at me. "Emmy, do you even know what you're saying? "

I nodded calmly.

Olivia, flustered, quickly covered my mouth. "Emmy, we're lab partners. Don't get the wrong idea. "

Nate let out an annoyed huff and pulled Olivia's hand away. "Don't spoil her.

"Emmy, come on, you're way too controlling, it's wearing me out. I really don't have the energy for your drama right now."

I stood there, stunned, my nose stinging with the urge to cry.

The Nate who used to stand in front of me, shielding me from the kids who threw stones and called me "Stammer, " the one who promised he'd always be by my side, wasn't the same anymore.

My heart gave a sudden jolt, and something inside me shattered completely.

It was my youth.

I spoke deliberately, making sure to pronounce every word clearly. "I'm serious."

Nate gave my cheek a careless squeeze, grabbed Olivia, and headed out, tossing back one breezy line, "Hey, chill for now. We've got to wrap up the experiment before the ceremony. I'll come back and make it up to you after we're done tonight."

Once again, I was left behind.

But oddly enough, I didn't feel heartbroken this time.

Because this time, I was the one who made the choice to walk away first.

After I shipped my bags, as I walked out the door, my phone started ringing.

Olivia's voice came through, all sweet and urgent.

"Emmy, babe. Could you grab the lab report from my bed and bring it to Lab 801A, Biology Building? If I don't get it, my three years of blood, sweat, and tears will go down the drain. Please, I'm desperate here. " Olivia asked.

I knew better than anyone what it felt like to have three years of hard work go down the drain.

All of a sudden, I remembered back in high school, when everyone avoided me because of my stutter, except Olivia, who always pulled up a chair next to me and talked to me, day after day, never losing patience.

In that moment, I couldn't help but give in.

"Okay, " I said softly.

"Please hurry. I have to hand it in in thirty minutes. " Olivia pleaded.

I rushed into Lab A, out of breath, and Olivia threw her arms around me with a big grin.

She tossed the report I'd brought, still in its folder, right onto a pile of reagent bottles, not even looking at it.

"Nate! See? I got Emmy here for you, aren't I awesome? Now hurry up and come to Lab A to cheer her up. " Olivia called out, way too pleased with herself.

I stood there, still catching my breath from running, my chest feeling tight and suffocating.

Nate made a heart shape at me from across the room, then gave Olivia a casual glance. "Did you finish mixing your cell cryopreservation solution, or are you here to butt into my business? "

Turns out, I was a side issue to him.

Olivia huffed, "Can't I let it sit for a minute? Why are you all up in my business? "

They immediately launched into a heated debate over the best way to mix the reagent.

I smiled to myself and walked out.

By afternoon, the graduation ceremony was about to begin.

I watched the people singing on stage, my face completely expressionless.

Nate and Olivia, dressed in matching graduation gowns, stood hand in hand, singing "Us Three ", the song that used to mean everything to me.

Everyone was frantically taking pictures, totally caught up in the excitement.

[This is the legendary couple from the bio department. I heard they've been inseparable since high school, and now they're both heading overseas for their PhDs, all paid for by the government.]

[With those looks and brains, they're a perfect match. I'm throwing in 333 dollars for their wedding gift, put it on the school's tab.]

The girl next to me nudged me, gossip practically dripping from her voice. "I've seen you around, aren't you their little shadow, always tagging along? Any idea when they're tying the knot? "

I shook my head, sounding indifferent. "We're not close. "

The next moment, Olivia came running over, her face lit up with excitement. She shoved the microphone toward me, motioning for me to sing the last line.

But with a thousand eyes locked on me, my heart was racing, my mind went totally blank, and all I could do was stammer, "Y-you " over and over.

The whole crowd burst out laughing.

Nate, standing right next to me, sighed deeply, his voice carrying across the whole field through the mic.

I was trembling from head to toe, my face burning hot with embarrassment, I wished the earth would swallow me up.

Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, a loud explosion suddenly rang out.

Thick smoke started pouring out of a window on the eighth floor of the Biology Building.

The graduation ceremony was suddenly put on hold.

Several teachers, holding the entry logs and panting from the rush, started cross-checking everyone against the records, going down the line one by one.

After a moment, they stopped right in front of me and Olivia, their faces stern and their eyes piercing.

"A solvent bottle in Lab A of Room 801 in Science Hall exploded after being left on the drying oven. Only you two girls were in there this morning. Who put it on the oven? Own up! " one of them demanded.

The big screen zoomed in on Nate and Olivia, and under everyone's gaze, they both instinctively turned to look at me.