Chapter 1: The Start of the End
Summer had barely started, and I already felt like I was falling apart.
While everyone else at school was buzzing about road trips and sleepovers, all I could think about was Travis. My boyfriend. My safe space. The guy I had been with for three years.
Or at least, he used to be that guy.
Lately, something had changed. He wasn’t texting back as fast. He bailed on plans. And when we were together… it was like I wasn’t really there. I noticed. Of course I noticed. But I didn’t say anything. That’s not what I do. I kept smiling, kept pretending, kept telling myself that maybe he just needed space.
So I decided to fix it — the only way I knew how.
“I’m gonna show up at his house,” I told Erin, my voice barely a whisper as we sat under the tree behind school.
Erin gave me a look. “Wait, like… unannounced?”
I nodded and held up the little paper bag I’d packed. “I got his favorite snacks, and these movie tickets I found online. Thought we could go out. Just the two of us. Like before.”
She frowned, chewing her lip. “Lil… I dunno. He’s been acting weird for a while now.”
“I know,” I admitted. “That’s why I’m doing this. He just needs a reminder. We’re still us.”
Erin didn’t push it. Maybe because she knew I wouldn’t back down even if she tried.
I didn’t tell my mom, either. That would’ve turned into a disaster.
“Dating ruins girls,” she always said. “Focus on your future, not on football boys.”
So I told her I was studying at Erin’s. Then I slipped out the door with my heart racing and hope swelling in my chest.
The sun was brutal as I walked to Travis’s place, but I barely noticed. My thoughts were too loud. About him. About how things used to be. About how badly I needed something — anything — to go right.
This summer was supposed to be mine.
I didn’t text when I got to his house. That would’ve ruined the surprise.
The front door was unlocked. My hand shook a little as I pushed it open.
“Travis?” I called out, stepping inside.
There was steam drifting down the hall — he was in the shower. Perfect timing, I thought. Maybe I could do one of those cute flirty entrances girls in movies always pull off.
Then I saw him.
Fresh out of the shower. Wet hair. Towel around his waist. Looking at me like I was a fly that slipped in through the window.
“Lily?” His voice was flat. No smile. No warmth. Just… irritation.
I tried to smile, lifting the bag a little. “I thought I’d surprise you. I brought snacks and movie tickets, and I figured—”
Then Angela walked out of the bathroom behind him.
“Babe, can I take this hoodie home? It smells like you.” She asked him as she closed the bathroom door. Since Travis was not answering her, she followed his eyes to see me standing there.
Angela.
No wonder she’s been avoiding and ignoring my texts. I thought she was my friend since she always cared and checked on me from time to time, but I guess I was wrong about that. She’s busy fucking my boyfriend on the side. I raised my eyebrows looking at her, waiting for her to say something.
She blinked. “Oh. Um… hey. Surprise?”
I stared at her. Then at him. And I didn’t say a word.
My hands went cold. My chest cracked. I dropped the bag.
And I ran out.
The sun was too bright. My breathing was too shallow. I ran and ran, not caring where my feet were going. Everything I had been holding together with duct tape and hope just… fell apart.
I didn’t stop until I reached the bridge.
It wasn’t high. Not the kind you see in movies. Just a plain stretch of metal and concrete over the river. But it was quiet. Still.
I walked to the edge. My hands clutched the railing.
And for the first time, I let myself think it — Maybe I don’t have to keep doing this.
School. Parents. Expectations. Lies. Fake smiles. I was tired. So, so tired.
The wind brushed past me like it was saying goodbye.
I closed my eyes.
“It’ll be quick,” I whispered. “Maybe no one will even notice.”
I leaned forward.
Then something — no, someone — grabbed me from behind. Hard.
“Hey!” a voice shouted, rough and panicked. “What are you doing?!”
I screamed, stumbling back as strong arms yanked me away from the edge. I hit the pavement, the wind knocked out of me.
I looked up, gasping.
And there he was.
Tall. Messy dark hair. Shoulders like a wall. A face I only recognized from football posters and whispered hallway gossip.
Jake Roberts.
The captain of East Haven High’s football team — our school’s rival. The kind of guy who left a trail of broken hearts and broken rules. Everyone knew his name. Everyone had a story.
What the hell was he doing here?
