I stared at Krystian, sitting right in front of me. He stared back, quietly, like he already knew what I was about to say. Maybe he did. Maybe he just didn't want to hear it.

"Are we just going to let her go?"

"She's already gone, Delphine," Romeo said flatly, tightening the straps of his bag.

"My point exactly!" I snapped, my voice sharp and shaky as tears threatened in my eyes. "None of you are helping!" I looked between them, waiting, begging for one of them to prove me wrong. But they just sat there.

"Delphine-"

"No!" I cut Krystian off, thrusting a hand between us. "Let me talk. Please. I'm tired. I'm so tired! How can you both just sit still, acting like this is fine? Like it's okay that she left without a real explanation?"

"Are you . . . about to cry?" Romeo asked, his tone laced with disbelief.

"Can you be more sensitive?" Krystian shot Romeo a glare, his voice low with irritation.

Of course. Now it was going to turn into another round of their silent competition. As always, they were about to make it about themselves, and not the actual mess I was drowning in.

"Maybe you both want me to give up," I whispered, but my voice rose, raw and cracking. "Maybe that's it. Maybe if either of you were in my shoes, youʼd actually care. You wouldn't keep dodging the truth and pretending everything's okay!"

Krystian's jaw tensed. "What do you want to know?"

I froze. "What?"

"What do you want to know?" he repeated, softer this time. "We've told you everything we know."

I laughed bitterly, wiping my face. "No, you haven't. I'm still in the dark. Everything is falling apart around me, and I don't even know why. Why did Danielle threaten Toyosi? Why did she and Hymn fight? Why does it feel like everyone knows something except me?"

"I know why they fought," Romeo said suddenly, too casually, like it meant nothing.

I turned to him, stunned. "You what?"

"I overheard them in the Greenhouse before the fight."

"You were spying on them?" Krystian scoffed, disbelief in his voice.

Romeo rolled his eyes. "If walking into the Greenhouse to read and hearing them shouting at each other like the whole school didnʼt have ears counts as spying, then sure."

Krystian looked away, clenching his jaw, probably resisting the urge to lash out. He knew where this could go. We all did.

"And you kept that to yourself?" My voice cracked again. "All this time?"

Romeo shrugged. "Didn't remember you asking."

I let out a shaky breath, wiping at my cheeks. I hated that he had a point. I hated that I was even in this position; lost, tired, angry, desperate, and still no real answers.

Wiping my face with the back of my hand, I sniffed and tried to get a grip. As if on cue, both boys bent to grab books from their bags, fanning themselves with the same distracted energy.

"Well, I'm asking now," I said quietly. "What happened?"

Romeo placed his book down; his brow furrowed in thought. "I can't remember the exact words they said that day, but Hymn was pissed. Your sister kept bringing up some boy-Life? No . . . Praise? Yeah, she kept repeating those names."

"Hymn's brother," Krystian murmured, gaze fixed on the floor, refusing to acknowledge Romeo's presence.

Romeo turned to me instead, confused. "Isn't Hymn an only child?"

"Found out that wasn't true just recently," I said quietly, still piecing things together myself.

Romeo fell silent for a moment, then pressed on. "From what I heard, your sister kept drilling it into Hymn's head that no matter what he did, he'd never measure up to Praise. She kept comparing them, mocking him like he was some sad second-hand item. She mentioned that if . . . " His voice slowed as he looked toward Krystian, nose scrunching. ". . . this guy over here ever turns Toyosi down, then she'd run off to Praise instead. Because apparently, she trusts him."

Silence enveloped us before Romeo added, "Hymn walked off after that. Can't say I blame him. He probably didn't want to break your sister's nose. If Danielle had been Daniel, she'd have married the hospital that very moment."

"Romeo, not funny," I snapped, glaring at him.

He lifted a shoulder, unfazed. "Just saying. Your sister doesn't know how or when to quit. She probably followed him straight to class to continue round two. By the time I got there, they were already yelling and throwing around threats like bangers on Christmas Eve."

Silence settled over us like a heavy blanket. The weight of it was thick and uncomfortable. Krystian stayed still for a moment, his eyes dark and unreadable. Then, without saying much else, he reached for his bag and pulled it over his shoulder with a slow, heavy motion.

"I should go," he said quietly, almost like he was talking to himself.

"Krystian . . ." I called, but he didn't look at me.

His voice was softer this time, almost careful. "I'll see you around."

Then he turned and walked away, leaving behind the silence, and something heavier I couldn't quite name.

˗ˏˋ༻ʚ♡︎ɞ༺ˎˊ˗

𝙷𝚎𝚢, 𝚋𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚎!

𝙸'𝚖 𝚜𝚘 𝚜𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝙸 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎𝚗'𝚝 𝚛𝚎𝚙𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚒𝚕. 𝙴𝚡𝚊𝚖𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚠𝚘 𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚔𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚞𝚗𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝚞𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚋𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚐𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚞𝚜 𝚋𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚜.

𝙷𝚘𝚠 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚎? 𝙳𝚒𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚒𝚗? 𝙸'𝚟𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚏 𝚚𝚞𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚖 𝚋𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚖. 𝙽𝚎𝚡𝚝 𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚖 𝚒𝚜 𝚎𝚡𝚊𝚖 𝚜𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚠𝚊𝚢, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚝, 𝙸'𝚖 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚊𝚝 𝚛𝚞𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐.

𝙷𝚘𝚠'𝚜 𝙰𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚎 𝙳𝚎𝚋𝚘𝚛𝚊𝚑? 𝙷𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚎'𝚜 𝚘𝚔𝚊𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚛𝚎 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚘𝚞𝚝. 𝙿𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚛𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚢 𝚜𝚊𝚏𝚎. 𝙸 𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚕𝚢 𝚌𝚊𝚗'𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚒𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚒𝚍𝚊𝚢𝚜, 𝙸 𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚍.

I lay flat on the track field, letting Seidi's words linger as I read them one last time. Then I let the screen go dark and rested my phone on my chest, eyes squinting against the sun's blinding glare above me. It felt too bright for how I was feeling.

It was Friday. The coach wasn't around. Word had it he was sick and had stayed home. Ore had stepped in as the unofficial commander-in-chief since practice began and she'd just given us a short break.

"Are you trying to get blind?" Chika's voice cut through, her face suddenly blocking the sun like a living eclipse.

I sighed and sat up, watching her settle beside me. It was odd seeing her alone, with no Daniela attached to her hip for once. Like the coach, Daniela wasnʼt in school today.

"You okay?" she asked.

I glanced at her, then shifted my gaze to the football field where Krystian sent a clean kick toward Romeo's post. Romeo caught it without breaking a sweat and tossed it to another teammate.

"Yeah," I said with a heavy sigh. "Just got a lot on my mind."

"Is it the exams in two weeks?" Chika groaned. "Because if it is, I feel you. Next week, this school is going to be soaked in panic. Just watch."

I shook my head, still watching the field.

"It's not that. At least . . . not yet," I murmured, hugging my knees and resting my chin on them. "It's something else. A rumour."

"I smell gist." Chika turned to me with a bright grin. "What gist?"

"Well . . ." I hesitated. My trust in Toyosi wasn't exactly rock-solid. But what unsettled me most was how quickly the guys had dismissed even the possibility of her being involved. I wasn't siding with her and just needed to know the truth for myself.

"I heard . . ." My voice dropped. "I heard you and Daniela saw Toyosi crying the day Danielle died. Is that true?"

"Me and Daniela ke?-oh!" Chika's eyes widened as the memory clicked. She snapped her fingers. "Omo, you needed to be there. Daniela and I had gone to the restroom to touch our lip gloss-you know, fine girls things-when we heard crying."

"What?"

"Sobbing is even too small. That cry? It was wailing. The type that makes your nose drip and your voice shake like generator wire. We honestly thought someone was dying in there. It was louder than a banshee-"

"Chika," I said, giving her a look. "Focus."

"Ah, no vex," she chuckled. "Anyway, we were both like, 'who is crying like that?' And when we peeked, it was Toyosi. Her eyes were puffy and her face was red. I mean, that girl looked like someone had dragged her heart across uneven cement. My first thought was,"-she placed a finger under her chin like she was deep in thought-"'Who broke this one's heart?'"

"What happened after that?" I asked quickly.

She gave a little shrug. "We felt bad, honestly. You know how Toyosi's always been the perfect one; composed, graceful, every girlʼs dream life. But that day? She looked like she was falling apart. So we helped her out of the restroom. Thought she was heading back to class, but she stopped at the press club instead. Maybe she wanted to join, and Danielle turned her down or something. That couldʼve been the reason she was crying."

I gave her a look but said nothing.

"Why're you asking?" she asked after a moment.

I shrugged casually, like it didn't matter. "Just because."

˗ˏˋ༻ʚ♡︎ɞ༺ˎˊ˗

I walked toward class, barely aware of my surroundings. My steps felt automatic; my thoughts tangled. Chika's words kept echoing in my head, refusing to quiet down. The image of Toyosi crying hunted my line of vision. Could she have been telling the truth all along?

My gut whispered for me to step back, to see the bigger picture, but my mind was louder, reminding me of how easy it would be to fake innocence, especially with a well-timed alibi.

"Sorry," I mumbled, snapping back to the present after bumping into someone for the third or fourth time. I looked up. "Ivie?"

She blinked at me, dazed. Her eyes looked even more hollow than usual, mixed with exhaustion like she hadn't slept in days.

"I-I . . ." she started, voice barely there. I frowned slightly, waiting.

People walked past us in the hallway, heads turning. Most of them were probably wondering why I, of all people, was standing here talking to Ivie.

"I need to tell you something," she finally said, so quietly it nearly got swallowed by the hallway noise.

"Are you okay?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer. She gave a small nod, one that didn't convince me in the slightest. "Okay . . . do you want to talk here, or-?"

"The press club." Her words came out fast, as if afraid she'd change her mind. She gripped the front of her skirt tightly, fingers curling into the fabric, twisting it in knots.

"It's-it's important."

I didn't move right away. Just watched her. She had lowered her eyes to the floor again, shoulders trembling. She looked like she was holding herself together by a thread.

"You . . . you don't have to be scared," she said suddenly. I almost laughed, but not out of humour. Those words felt strange coming from her. She finally looked up, meeting my eyes with a gaze that was flickering and unsure.

"That place has been empty," she whispered. "Since . . . since your sister died."

My breath caught in my throat. "What?" I coughed, startled. "What are you talking about?"

"I know. . . . " Her voice was quiet again, broken. She swallowed, hard. "I . . . I know Danielle is your sister."

˗ˏˋ༻ʚ♡︎ɞ༺ˎˊ˗

Hey everyone, thanks so much for the birthday wishes, I truly appreciate you guys.

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Adios😘