Chapter 1

Ever since Amiyah Sutton transferred in, I'd been stuck in second place.

I was always the runner-up in grades. And second in the hearts of both my childhood friends, Jaylen Padilla and Lorenzo Brooks.

They'd only come to cheer me up after picking her first every time.

"Fiona, we're best friends. We've got all the time in the world," Jaylen would say.

"Stop competing with Amiyah, okay?" Lorenzo would reply.

Then, the night my mom had a sudden heart attack happened to be the same night as Amiyah's birthday party.

It was three in the morning, and I couldn't get a cab or buy a ticket. I had no choice but to beg Jaylen and Lorenzo, tears streaming down my face, to drive me home.

But all I got was looks of pure disgust from both of them.

"To compete with Amiyah, you'd curse your own mom?" Jaylen spat.

"Come on, Fiona McClain, we know you're jealous. But today's Amiyah's eighteenth birthday party. Don't make a scene. Tomorrow, we'll be there for you, I promise," Lorenzo said.

The rain was pouring that night, and I gave up asking for help.

As I turned away, I thought to myself, 'There's no tomorrow for us anymore.'

*****

"Fiona, are you done yet?" Jaylen grabbed my arm and practically dragged me out of the private room.

In the hallway, he shoved me away hard. "To compete with Amiyah, you'd curse your own mom? Could you be a little more mature?"

I didn't reply. The back of my head slammed into the cold wall with a dull thud.

The pain washed over me, and I couldn't hold back the burning in my eyes any longer.

Swallowing my pride and gritting my teeth against the pain, I reached for Jaylen's hand. "Jaylen, I'm not lying. My mom really had a sudden heart attack. Please, drive me home, okay?"

I pulled out my phone, desperate to prove I wasn't lying. But then I remembered that Walker had called to inform me, not texted me.

There was no chat history to back me up.

Jaylen glanced down, his eyes sweeping over my phone screen.

The top message was a voice note from my mom, sent an hour ago.

Jaylen's scoff from above felt like a sharp blade, stabbing right into my chest. "Mrs. McClain was sending you a voice note an hour ago, and now you're saying she had a heart attack? Fiona, isn't that cruel?"

I shook my head, tears streaming down my face. "No, I'm not lying. Walker. You know him, right? He called me a moment ago to tell me."

I pulled up my call log, and sure enough, the very first entry was a call from Walker.

Jaylen glanced at it, then snatched my phone and dialed Walker's number.

Those few seconds waiting for Walker to pick up felt longer than the eighteen years I'd lived so far.

Thirty seconds ticked by, and Walker still hadn't answered.

Then, the door to the private room behind me swung open.

Amiyah poked her head out, her makeup looking fresh and natural. Her voice was sweet and playful. "Jaylen, it's your turn. Are you gonna sing or what?"

The sweet, lively melody drifted through the doorway and reached my ears.

It was "A Little Sweetness" by Ryan Wilson and Harmony Duo. A sweet love song, sung as a duet by a boy and a girl.

The classmates inside were hyping them up.

"Is Jaylen making a low-key confession or what?"

"They're singing a love song. Are they gonna kiss next?"

"Does that girl at the door seriously not get it? She's always barging in. After all these years in school, hasn't she learned you can't force someone to like you?"

The mic was turned up loud, and I could tell everyone inside was waiting to see me make a fool of myself.

Amiyah shot the classmates a teasing, mock-annoyed look. "Alright, cut it out. Can't you see Fiona's about to cry?"

She closed the door, and the hallway fell silent again.

Amiyah nudged Jaylen's arm, speaking in a gentle, understanding tone, "Jaylen, I don't think Fiona's lying. Maybe you should—"

"Only she knows if she's lying." Jaylen cut Amiyah off and tossed my phone back into my hands. "If something really happened to Mrs. McClain, do you think Walker wouldn't pick up?

"You're bitter because I didn't show up for your birthday last week, aren't you? Didn't I explain it to you afterward? Why do you never listen?"

Jaylen let out a sigh. "Alright, that's enough drama. Go back. Tomorrow, I'll make it up to you with a birthday party, alright?"

Without waiting for me to respond, he grabbed Amiyah's hand and headed back to the private room.

Through a door, I could hear Jaylen's upbeat singing. "We said we'd spend next weekend together, and your little moods really matter to me"

Then Amiyah chimed in with her sweet vocals for the duet. "I don't know why. My heart's still healing, but you walked right into my heart..."

Amidst all the teasing and cheers, the two of them ended up bumping into each other, almost hugging.

Right at that moment, my phone started ringing.

It was Walker calling back.

I picked up, and Walker's voice was frantic. "Fiona, did you get a cab? Your mom's in surgery right now. The doctors say it's really serious. You need to get here as soon as you can."

My hand was trembling as I held the phone. My voice was shaking badly. "Walker, it's pouring out here. I can't get a cab, and the soonest ticket I can get is for tomorrow morning."

I started sobbing quietly. "I'll try to figure something out. Please, tell Mom to hang in there. I swear I'll make it back."

After the call ended, I switched back to the ride-hailing app.

It'd been half an hour, and the wait time was still the same.

To be safe, I bought a ticket for tomorrow morning, in case everything went south.

Just then, my phone chimed.

I quickly opened the ride-hailing app and saw I finally got a ride.