Chapter 4

Nathan's silence only made Daphne more certain of her assumptions. The look she gave me was filled with utter disappointment and exhaustion.

"Enough, Jenson. Stop bullying him. There needs to be a limit to your jealousy. I honestly didn't think that… you'd ever turn into someone like this."

With that, she carefully helped Nathan up and guided him over to a flat patch of ground nearby to rest.

I stood there frozen, watching her walk away.

Memories from high school flooded my mind. At that time, another guy had framed me for stealing money. She had stood firmly by my side without doubting me for a single second.

"Babe, you don't have to explain anything. I will always believe you, no matter what."

It turned out that "always" had an expiration date.

After hours of nonstop trekking, we finally reached the summit. The group was only staying briefly before heading back down.

The scorching sun had left my throat parched. My water bottle was in my backpack, so I tracked Daphne down in the crowd and asked her for it in a raspy voice.

But when I pulled the zipper open, my heart sank. My water bottle was gone.

Seeing my stunned expression, Daphne offered a detached explanation. "Nate ran out of water, so I gave him yours. Just consider it an apology for dragging him down earlier."

She paused for a brief moment, then her tone softened as she relented. "Look, he's fine, so I'm not going to blame you anymore. Just don't do it again. I'll have him give your water bottle back to you now."

A short distance away, under the shade of a tree, Nathan was taking small sips from my bottle.

"Ugh, this hike completely ruined my sneakers," he grumbled. Then, right before my eyes, he tipped the bottle and poured the remaining water all over his mud-stained shoes.

"What the hell are you doing?" I roared and lunged forward to grab it.

He let out a startled cry and let go. The bottle crashed onto the muddy ground, empty.

My eyes flared with rage as I yelled at him, "What is wrong with you? You used my drinking water to clean your shoes?"

"Babe, calm down…" Daphne tried to intervene as she caught up, but I fiercely shoved her back, causing her to stumble.

"I already told you that his fall had absolutely nothing to do with me! Why should I apologize to him? What gives you the right to just hand my stuff over to him? Who are you trying to play the saint for?"

My throat was so dry that it felt like it was on fire.

Daphne looked at my bloodshot eyes and sighed. "Nate just likes to be clean. He didn't do it on purpose. Don't be so petty. The student council logistics team has spare bottled water. I'll grab you one. Just stay here and wait for me."

With that, she turned and hurried off.

Nathan's eyes darted back and forth, as if he were plotting something. The next second, he followed after her.

The blood from the scrapes on my palms had dried into an uncomfortable, sticky crust.

I hadn't had a single drop of water in hours. My vision was beginning to blur, darkness creeping in at the edges. With no other choice, I sat down on the spot, waiting for Daphne to bring the bottled water.

But even when the crowd gradually packed up and began their descent, there was still no sign of her.

With a grim expression, I pulled out my phone to message her, only to see a photo someone had just dropped into the freshman group chat.

"Why are we getting hit with couple goals even during a hiking drill?"

Scrolling through the chat, I realized that Nathan had suddenly gotten dizzy from heatstroke.

Daphne had hooked his arm around her, pulling him close so their bodies pressed tightly together. They had hurried into the car waiting halfway up the hill and left ahead of schedule.

A profound sense of grief and misery washed over me.

The Daphne I'd known for over a decade seemed dead to me. The woman who could discard me so easily felt like a stranger.

The sun beat down mercilessly overhead. Dizzy and lightheaded, I helplessly buried my face between my knees.

If I passed out from dehydration right here, I wondered how long it would take for someone to notice and drag me back.

As my mind spiraled, a familiar voice drifted into my ears. "Jenson, the news says there will be a Perseid meteor shower tonight. Want to watch it together?"