LOGINAlex The group kept arguing about what to do next. Damien wanted to head straight to the station with the phone and logs. Jax kept saying they needed to loop in his contacts first so nothing got twisted. Mark paced the living room, rubbing his face, muttering how none of it would bring his brother back anyway.I sat on the couch, ribs screaming every time I breathed too deep, head still fuzzy from earlier. “Guys, can we just pick one thing and stick to it? ”Mom walked in from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. “Alex, you look awful.”“It’s just from the stress mama you can…”Before anyone could answer, the doorbell rang. Mom sighed and went to open it. “Probably that gas delivery. I was short this week and figured why wait.”We all paused. I glanced at Jax. He shrugged. Damien crossed his arms tighter.Mom came back a minute later. “They left the canister by the back. I’ll hook it up quick. Dinner won’t cook itself.”Mark snorted. “Gas? Really? Right now?”“Life doesn’t stop
Nancy “Yeah.” I said my eyes lighting up. Sara nodded fast. “Okay come here. ”I looked into her eyes and saw the same deep want that I felt burning inside my own chest. We stood very close together in the quiet darkness of her room, and our hands began to move slowly over each other. I pulled her shirt up carefully, and she lifted her arms so I could take it off completely. Her skin felt warm and smooth under my fingers as I touched her sides gently. She did the same thing to me, and soon my shirt came off as well. We stood there in just our pants for a moment, looking at each other with nervous excitement, and then we leaned in to kiss again. This time the kiss felt much deeper than before, with our mouths opening naturally and our tongues touching in a way that sent warmth all through my body.My heart was beating fast and loud in my chest. Her hands moved to my back, pulling me even closer against her. I could feel her chest pressing softly against mine, and that closeness ma
NancyI finished staring at the ceiling and sat up on the bed. My phone felt heavy in my hand like it knew what I was about to do. I typed out a message then deleted it. Then another one. Then a third. The words kept coming out wrong every time. Too much. Too little.Finally I just went with the truth that had been sitting in my chest since I left Sara’s house earlier.I heard everything at your house tonight. Can we talk? I’m not mad. Just scared too.My thumb hit send before I could chicken out. I tossed the phone on the blanket and rubbed my face hard. The seconds dragged until it buzzed. Sara replied right away.Oh god Nancy. I’ve been dying here. You really heard?Yeah. All of it.I waited for her dots to stop bouncing. They did not.I was so scared to tell you. I thought if I said it out loud you would pull away and that would be it. Our friendship gone. I tried dating those guys to make the feelings stop but they never did. It was always you.My heart pounded so loud I could he
Nancy I pushed the front door open and stepped inside. The house was quiet except for the low hum of the fridge in the kitchen. It was already late evening sliding into night and my head would not stop spinning. Everything I overheard from Sara and her mom kept replaying. Sara saying she loved me. Her mom knowing for months. The part about me being the one all along. My chest felt tight like someone was sitting on it. I dropped my bag by the stairs and rubbed my face hard with both hands.I did not know what I felt. Angry. Scared. Maybe something else I did not want to name yet. Sara lied to me for so long and now it turned out she did it because she was fighting herself. I walked toward the living room because I needed water or something normal to do with my hands. The lights were off but I heard soft sounds. I turned the corner and froze.Alex and Mark. Kissing. Like really kissing. Alex had his hand on Mark’s neck and Mark was pulling him closer. My mouth fell open.“What the hell
NancySara stopped in her tracks on the sidewalk. She looked lost.“Why not?” Sara asked. Her voice sounded shaky and small. “I need to talk to her. I have to explain everything. She does not understand yet.”Her mom looked at her for a long moment before answering. She did not sound angry. If anything, she sounded tired.“She needs space. She will come around when she is ready. It is not like I want you guys together anyway.”Sara stared at her in disbelief. She looked as though she had heard the wrong words.“What do you mean?” she asked quietly. “You do not want us together?”“No.”“But… why?”“Because I do not.”Sara rubbed both hands together nervously. She looked toward the house for a second before looking back at her mom.“I am not asking you to approve of us. I just need to explain things to Nancy. She deserves to know why I lied.”“She deserves peace today.”“She deserves the truth.”“She will hear it when she is ready.”“She may never want to see me again if I leave now.”H
Nancy Sara desperately tried to explain. She stood there with the towel still wrapped around her hair. Her hands shook as she reached out but stopped halfway. Tears already filled her eyes and her face looked pale.“Nancy, please. Just listen to me for a minute. Yeah, the crush on Alex was real. It was there for months. I wrote about it all the time because I thought he was cute and funny and confident. I came over to your house hoping he’d notice me. I made excuses to stay longer just to catch a glimpse of him in the hallway or when he picked you up after practice. I even asked you questions about him on purpose.”I sat on the edge of the bed. The diary felt heavy in my lap. My chest hurt like someone punched it hard. I could barely look at her without feeling sick.“But it changed,” Sara said. Her voice cracked right in the middle. She wiped her cheek with the back of her hand. “Hanging out with you more, it was not just about him anymore. I swear it. Things shifted slowly and I di
Alex I grabbed Jax by the shoulder hard because he was already turning the doorknob and I knew if he stepped out my family would wake up and everything would get even worse. “Jax stop you are not leaving in this rain it is pouring like crazy out there.” Damien just stood there with that stupid smi
Alex I tried to argue right away because having both Jax and Damien under the same roof with my family around felt like asking for trouble after everything that had gone down earlier. “Mom come on, we can drive slow. It is not that bad and we have got places to be anyway. This is not a good idea a
Alex I stood there frozen with my socks still wet from the grass back home and my heart slamming so hard I thought everyone could hear it. Mom was smiling at first the way she always does when she sees me but then her face changed as she looked me up and down and saw how messed up I looked. Jax st
AlexI stood there in my own living room feeling like my chest was about to crack open from how hard my heart was banging around. Damien just stared at me with those big desperate eyes waiting for me to say something that would fix his mess. All I knew right now was I was going to do what was right







