Chapter 3

The hospital room was eerily quiet, broken only by the steady beeping of the machines.

I held my breath, afraid I might miss something.

Ryan seemed to remember something and mocked, "I still don't get it. What was so special about that blond guy from the school next door that you'd get into a fight with those bad girls around him and end up getting expelled?"

Chloe said with a playful, pouty tone, "I only did it to get back at you. You were always hanging around that bookworm Emily, barely noticing me."

"Hanging around her?" Ryan scoffed. "That's because she was my free help. She'd copy my notes, do my chores, and get me food and drinks. Why wouldn't I take advantage of that?"

I was just his free help.

All those times in school when I thought we were both going after each other turned out, in his eyes, to be nothing more than guilt-free exploitation.

And Chloe, well...

I finally understood.

She didn't get expelled because of me at all.

She went and stole a bad girl's boyfriend to piss off Ryan, and that was why she got into that fight.

I happened to get caught in that alley by those girls at the same time.

After Chloe got expelled, I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd ruined her life. The guilt was crushing.

I brought her home, and my parents took her in with open arms, treating her like their own daughter.

If my mother cooked something delicious, Chloe always got to eat it first. Whenever my father bought new clothes, he always made sure Chloe got one too.

I put her above myself in everything. Even if I had to go without, I wanted her to have the best.

After my parents died in that car accident, Chloe became my only family. I did everything I could to take care of her as she was all I had left.

What a joke. How pathetic!

I felt like some idiot they'd groomed to toy with, always dancing to their tune.

Everything I felt, everything I gave, and all the trust I had were built on one big, dirty lie.

The last bit of comfort I had, the debt I thought I owed and had spent half my life trying to repay, was shattered at that moment.

I curled up into a tight ball beneath the covers, trembling all over from the overwhelming rage and humiliation.

I bit my lip until I tasted blood, not letting a single sound escape, and soon my mouth was flooded with a strong, coppery taste.

I had no idea how much time had passed, but eventually, they lost interest and left the room, looking satisfied.

As their footsteps faded away, the room fell silent once again.

I slowly opened my eyes. The ceiling was still that same harsh glare, but my world was nothing but wreckage now.

There were no tears left in me.

I threw off the covers and ripped the IV needle from my hand. The sharp pain of the needle breaking my skin was nothing compared to the agony tearing through my heart.

My bare feet pressed against the freezing tiles, legs barely holding me up as I headed for the hospital rooftop.

I wasn't trying to end it all.

I needed a quiet place, somewhere high up, close to the sky, to process how the two people I cared about most had betrayed me and figure out what to do next.

The wind on the rooftop was fierce, howling past my ears and making my thin hospital gown flap loudly.

I stood at the edge of the rooftop, looking down at the city, with thousands of lights glittering and cars flowing through the streets.

This city I'd spent years struggling in now felt so cold and unfamiliar.

I closed my eyes, letting the cold wind dry the blood on my face.

Suddenly, the sound of rapid footsteps echoed behind me.

Before I could react, strong arms wrapped tightly around me from behind, yanking me away from the edge of the rooftop.

An overwhelming sense of weightlessness hit me as I was pulled backward, crashing into a solid, warm embrace.