Vanessa’s return to school was quieter than I expected. She walked through the halls with her head down, her usual sharp, commanding presence replaced by something more fragile. Her shoulders were hunched, her movements hesitant, and for the first time since I’d known her, she looked unsure of herself. The whispers followed her, cruel and cutting, echoing off the lockers like taunts she couldn’t escape. For a moment, as she hesitated in the middle of the hallway, I thought she might turn around and leave.
But she didn’t.
And then I saw him—Logan. He was walking beside her, his usual confidence tempered with a quiet protectiveness. At first, I thought it was a coincidence, but as the day went on, it became clear that Logan wasn’t just nearby; he was sticking by Vanessa’s side. He waited for her outside her classes, walked beside her down the hall, and sat with her at lunch. His presence was a shield, and the glares he shot at anyone who dared to snicker or whisper made that clear.
The cafeteria was buzzing with speculation. I sat with Sarah, picking at my sandwich while the conversations around us blurred into a constant hum of gossip.
“He’s such a good guy,” someone said at a nearby table. “I mean, after everything, he’s still there for her.”
“Maybe they’re back together,” another voice added, the words like a punch to my chest. “I mean, it would make sense, right?”
I forced myself to focus on my tray, my appetite completely gone. The thought of Logan and Vanessa together again made my stomach churn, the ache in my chest spreading with every passing second.
“He’s just helping her,” Sarah said quietly. “Don’t read into it.”
“I’m not,” I lied, my voice barely above a whisper.
But it was hard not to when every glance I stole at Logan and Vanessa felt like a reminder of everything I’d lost. The way he leaned toward her when she spoke, the way his brow furrowed in concern—it was impossible not to wonder. Not to feel the sting of jealousy mixed with something I couldn’t quite name: guilt, maybe, or longing.
I spotted Vanessa later in the hall, her steps quick and erratic as she made a beeline for Logan. Her expression was a mix of hurt and fury, her lips pressed tightly together as though she were barely holding herself together. Logan stood by his locker, casually leaning against it as he laughed at something one of his soccer teammates said. His easy smile faded as soon as Vanessa approached, her intensity impossible to miss.
“Can we talk?” she asked, her voice trembling. It wasn’t a request.
Logan’s brow furrowed, concern flickering across his face as he nodded. “Yeah, of course.”
He led her to the far end of the hallway, away from the crowd of students milling around, but I was close enough to catch snippets of their conversation. I ducked behind a row of lockers, my chest tight as I strained to hear without being seen.
“Do you still have feelings for her?” Vanessa’s voice cracked, and the vulnerability in her tone was startling. She didn’t need to say who “her” was. The weight of the question hung in the air like a thundercloud.
Logan’s reply came quickly. Too quickly. “No. There’s nothing going on.”