I wipe my feet on the mat and glance toward the living room. My parents are on the couch, chilling.
Mom reads a stack of papers. dad nurses a drink.
I step closer. "What’s going on upstairs?"
Mom doesn’t even look up. "Daisy brought her friends over. They’re sleeping here tonight." She flips a page. "One of them finally found a boyfriend, apparently."
Great. That lands like a slap.
Then dad chimes in. "Have you started the presentation with that punk yet? It’s due next week."
The question hits me straight in the chest. I lower my eyes instantly.
I envy Daisy. God, I do.
She gets to scream with her friends about some boy, laugh too loud, sleep in late, basically have a normal summer.
Meanwhile, I just scrolled through the most disgusting, vile, humiliating texts from my now ex-girlfriend, and then I come home to this. The reminder that even heartbreak doesn’t grant me the luxury of time. I still have to deal with a stupid presentation. With Gio, of all people.
"We’ll do the presentation as soon as we can," I tell my dad, forcing my voice steady.
He nods, already checking something on his phone, like he expected it to be done yesterday.
"And his name is Gio," I add, already turning toward the door.
16) Hug Me Back
Rava
I leave the house again, feeling like shit.
Today was… honestly? The biggest failure and the biggest win of my life.
A success because I escaped a cheater, a disaster because I did it in the most humiliating way possible. I need to get away from everyone, somewhere quiet, somewhere no one will bother me. I know exactly where to go. The same beach I always escaped to when I was younger.
Back when my parents fought constantly, when I wanted to read my fantasy books without anyone laughing at me, when I secretly ate snacks my mom wouldn’t allow because "you’ll get fat, Rava."
Eventually, I stopped coming. People discovered the spot as the perfect hidden corner to have sex once the sun goes down, and I couldn’t exactlyrelaxwith random couples fooling around nearby.
I pause by the kiosk next to me.
Yeah, tonightdefinitelycalls for some cheap wine to take the edge off. I buy a bottle, slip it into my bag, and continue toward the beach.
I know I said I’m never drinking again.
Yeah, well. I also said I wouldn’t let my relationship fall apart, and look at me now.
You can’t be sure of anything. Ever.
Not people, not promises, not yourself. One day you’re convinced you’re building something real, and the next you’re reading messages of your girlfriend throwing herself at the one man on earth designed specifically to ruin your peace.
I reach my old hiding spot. It’s exactly how I remember it. Just a small cave right by the sea, with the entrance facing straight toward the horizon.
I toss down my bag and towel, ready to finally breathe. That’s when I see a fucking used condom lying next to my towel.
"Fucking hell," I curse, grabbing my things quickly and moving a bit further outside.
Great. Other people are out here having sex, and I’m sitting alone with a bottle of wine, crying over my failed relationship right on top of someone else’s crime scene.
