LOGINSummer's PovIt had been days since the conversation in the kitchen and life had quietly rearranged itself around one central fact: the exam was coming, and after the exam, I had to give them an answer.I was not thinking about that. I was thinking about the exam.I finished getting ready, grabbed my bag, and went downstairs.Crew and Gray were already at the dining table. Books open, notes spread out, two people who had apparently been up longer than me. Gray had made breakfast. He always made breakfast now, had quietly taken it over without anyone formally deciding that was how things would be. The maid came twice a week to restock the fridge and clean, but Gray cooked because Gray liked fresh food and did not trust anyone else to get it right."Morning," I said."Morning." Gray looked up briefly."Morning." Crew did not look up from whatever he was reading.I sat down. "How was your night?""Fine," Crew said. "Would have been better if someone had stayed awake past midnight."Gray
Summer’s PovRuby had been in my wardrobe for twenty minutes and showed no signs of stopping.“This one,” she said, pulling out a dress and holding it against herself. “And this one.” Another one over her arm. “Oh, and definitely this one.”“Ruby.”“Mm?”“You need to stop taking my clothes.”She turned around with three of my dresses draped over her arm and looked at me with complete innocence. “I don’t know what you mean.”“That is the fifth item you have picked up.”“It’s the third.”“Ruby, I counted.”“Well, stop counting.” She turned back to the wardrobe. “Your stepdad has money, Summer. You can replace anything I take. You can replace everything in this wardrobe twice over and nobody would even notice.”“Well, that doesn’t mean you can just – ““What is yours is mine and what is mine is yours.” She said it like she was reciting something ancient and sacred. “That is the best friend agreement. You signed it when we became friends. It is legally binding.”“I signed nothing.”“Spiri
Summer’s PovI told her everything.All of it. The party, the shots I lost count of, kissing Crew against the wall, Gray walking in, what I said after, what happened after that. I sat on the bed and talked and Ruby sat across from me and did something I had never seen her do in the entire time I had known her.She stayed completely quiet.No reactions. No interruptions. No sound at all. She just watched my face while I talked and when I finally stopped she stared at me for a long moment.Then she said, “What the actual fuck, Summer.”“I know.”She stood up. “No. No, no, no.” She started pacing. “I thought I was reckless. I genuinely believed that I was the chaotic one in this friendship. I have held that title for years and I was proud of it.” She turned to look at me. “And then you go and do this.”“Ruby – ““You absolute legend.” She pressed both hands to her face. “Oh my God. I’m screaming. I am internally screaming right now.”“This is not a compliment situation.”“How was it?” Sh
Summer's PovEveryone had cleared out.Marcus, Jason, the two girls whose names I never fully caught, the random guy nobody claimed to have invited -- all gone. The house was quiet again except for the sound of Crew and Gray moving around putting things back in order, and Ruby, who was still asleep in my room doing what Ruby did best.I was on the couch with my phone, scrolling through nothing in particular, letting my brain rest.Then I saw it.Susan's profile. A selfie. Her and Tyler, both smiling, Tyler's arm around her shoulders, the kind of photo that looked effortless because someone put effort into making it look that way.The caption said: *officially his.*I was not following Susan. The algorithm had simply decided that this was something I needed to see this morning. I stared at it for a moment, then kept scrolling like I had not stopped at all.So it was official now. They had gone on their little date and he had asked her out and she had said yes and now it was on the inte
Tyler's PovSusan took forever to get ready.I sat on the edge of the bed watching her move between her bag and the mirror, trying different earrings, changing her mind, going back to the first ones. I was not complaining. I was nervous enough for both of us and the extra time was doing me a favor.When she finally turned around she looked genuinely lovely. Simple dress, hair down, the kind of effortless that actually took effort."You look beautiful," I said.She tilted her head. "Hmm. Acting all sweet this morning.""I'm always sweet. You know that.""I do know that." She stood on her toes and pecked me quickly, then pulled back and picked up her bag. "Okay. I'm ready. Let's go before I change my mind about these earrings."We headed out.****Downstairs was still carrying the evidence of last night. Cups on the wrong surfaces, cushions displaced, the general aftermath of people who had stopped caring about tidiness around the third hour of a party. Gray was already moving through i
Tyler's PovI was still half-asleep, tangled in the sheets, when the knock came.Susan was already up and moving toward the door before I could properly sit up. I knew who it was the second I heard the soft rhythm of the knock. Summer.The guilt hit me square in the chest, fast and heavy. Because there was Susan in that thin nightgown that barely reached her thighs, and there was me, clearly just waking up beside her. No way Summer missed what had happened in this room last night.It *had* been a wild night. The kind I didn’t usually let myself have. I’d enjoyed every second of it—Susan’s laugh, her hands, the way she made everything feel simple. But underneath that warmth sat something I kept shoving aside, something I’d gotten scarily good at ignoring.I’d told myself it was fine. Summer had Crew. Maybe Gray too, from the way things looked lately. And me? I was her best friend. Practically a brother in her eyes. There was no path there, even if part of me sometimes wondered.Susan o







