All Chapters of To the two boys I like: Burn me the safe way: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

87 Chapters

Morning After

Elena woke up slowly, consciousness creeping in through layers of sleep. Her eyes adjusted to the morning light filtering through her bedroom curtains, and she yawned, stretching lazily before the memories hit.Last night. The warehouse. Noah.She sat up suddenly, heart racing as everything came flooding back. The fight, the man in the hallway, the motorcycle ride, the kitchen, his hands, his mouth, the way he'd carried her upstairs when her legs had gone weak from his kisses.She was in her room. In her bed. Still wearing her pajamas.Where was he?Elena grabbed her phone from the nightstand, squinting at the bright screen. 6:15 AM. There was a message waiting.You awake, princess? Had to leave before I get you in trouble. And yes, I took you to your room. See you in school.She bit her lip, staring at the text. Her lips were still slightly swollen from last night, sensitive when she pressed them together. Heat bloomed in her chest as she remembered everything. The way Noah had kisse

Empty Chair.

"...So if we look at the derivative of f of x equals three x squared plus two x," Mr. Hendricks was saying, turning to write on the board, "we apply the power rule to each term separately. Who can tell me what we get?"Elena was not looking at the board.She was looking at the empty chair in the third row where Noah usually sat with his hoodie pulled up and his long legs stretched out and his general air of someone who was physically present and mentally somewhere else entirely. The chair was pushed in. Neatly. Like nobody had touched it all morning.He hadn't shown up."Elena?" Mr. Hendricks was looking at her. Half the class turned.She blinked. Looked at the board. "Six x plus two," she said automatically, because she'd done this problem in her sleep two years ago back in London."Correct." He turned back to the board, satisfied.Elena turned back to the empty chair.She'd been doing this for the entire lesson. Glancing at it every few minutes, telling herself to stop, glancing aga

Complete Freaking Disaster

That evening Noah was standing on the empty stretch of beach south of the pier, hood pulled up against the wind, hands shoved deep in his jacket pockets. The ocean was doing its thing, relentless and grey, waves hitting the sand in that rhythm that never changed. He'd been there maybe twenty minutes just staring at it, not thinking about anything specific, which was a lie. Thinking about everything specific."Hey, man."Noah turned. Liam was walking across the sand toward him, hands in his own pockets, that easy stride he had like the world had never once tried to knock him sideways.Noah felt something complicated settle in his chest. Relief, maybe. Guilt underneath it. He was glad to see Liam. He was always glad to see Liam. They'd been best friends since forever and some things didn't change just because everything else did."Hey." Noah managed a small smile. Genuine. "What's up?"Liam stopped beside him, looked out at the ocean for a moment before speaking. "How was Maya?""Good.

Split Knuckles

Noah hit the bag.Jab. Cross. Hook. The rhythm was automatic, muscle memory taking over where his brain had stopped being useful. The heavy bag swung on its chain in the small yard behind his house, the sound of impact echoing off the fence, the neighbor's dog barking in response every third hit or so.He'd been at it for maybe an hour. Shirtless because the evening was warm and also because he needed to feel something other than what was happening in his chest. Sweat plastered his hair to his forehead, ran down his spine, made his hands slippery inside the wraps.Jab. Jab. Cross. Uppercut.The bag was old, patched in three places with duct tape, filled with sand and fabric scraps and whatever else he could find when he'd made it two years ago. It hung from the beam his dad had installed when Noah was twelve, back when his dad was still around to install things, still teaching him proper form instead of learning it himself in warehouses that smelled like blood and money.Hook. Hook. C

Scrolling

Dinner was pasta with too much garlic and not enough conversation.Elena ate mechanically, answering her mother's questions in monosyllables. Yes, school was fine. No, nothing interesting happened. Yes, she had homework. No, she didn't need help with it. Claire asked if she'd made plans with Liam this weekend and Elena said maybe, which wasn't an answer but Claire took it anyway, probably too tired from her shift to push.When Elena stood to clear her plate, Claire waved her off. "I've got it, honey. You go do your homework."Elena didn't argue. She escaped upstairs before her mother could ask anything else, before the conversation could turn into something that required actual emotional participation.Her room felt smaller than usual. She shut the door, leaned against it for a second, then crossed to her bed and sat down hard enough that the springs complained.The whole day had been a disaster of distraction.Noah hadn't been in any of their shared classes. Not math, not English, no

Heart burn

Elena took longer than necessary at her locker the next morning.She was waiting. She knew she was waiting. Pretending to reorganize textbooks that didn't need reorganizing, checking her phone three times even though there were no new messages, making herself busy with nothing so she had a reason to still be standing there when first bell was five minutes away.She wanted to see him.Needed to, actually. After yesterday's radio silence, after spending the entire evening scrolling through his photos like some kind of obsessed person, after lying awake until past midnight replaying their kitchen in her head, she just needed to see his face.The hallway was thinning out. People heading to class. She was about to give up when she saw him.Noah walked in through the main entrance, backpack slung over one shoulder, hood up despite the school's constant reminders about dress code. Hands tucked into his pockets. Moving with that particular unhurried stride he had, like he owned the hallway an

Well, It's a Yes

Elena made it through the rest of the day on autopilot.AP English was a blur. She took notes without reading them. History passed in fragments. At lunch JoJo asked her three times if she was okay and Elena said yes each time with decreasing conviction until JoJo stopped asking and just sat there with this worried expression that made everything worse.By the time last bell rang, Elena had made a decision.Not a good decision. Not one that felt right or true or like anything except the only option left after Noah had looked at her in that empty hallway and called what they had a mistake. But a decision nonetheless.She was going to say yes to Liam.Because Noah was right. Liam was good for her. Liam was kind and steady and wanted her in a way that wasn't complicated by best friends or underground fights or the particular self destruction Noah seemed committed to. Liam had asked her properly, out loud, with his whole heart visible in his face. And she'd kept him waiting for days becau

New Normal

Words spread fast.By Monday morning everyone seemed to know that Elena Hart and Liam Hale were officially together. She'd barely made it to her locker before three different people she'd never spoken to stopped to say congratulations like she'd won something.Liam was waiting at her locker when she got there. He'd started doing that, showing up before first bell with coffee and that easy smile. This morning he had her usual order and a chocolate croissant."Thought you might need fuel," he said, handing them over. "You mentioned you didn't eat breakfast."She had mentioned that. Once. Three days ago."Thanks." She took the coffee, took a sip. It was perfect, exactly how she liked it.He leaned down and kissed her cheek, casual and comfortable like they'd been doing this for months instead of days. When he pulled back he was still smiling. "You look tired. Late night?""Couldn't sleep.""Homework?""Something like that."She hadn't slept because she kept replaying Noah's face in the p

Distance and Aches

JoJo's text came Thursday night.‘Beach bonfire Saturday. Low key. You, Liam, me, Dusty, couple other people. Say yes.’Elena stared at it for a solid minute before typing back. ‘Who else is coming?’The response was immediate. ‘Does it matter? You need to get out. You've been weird all week.’She hadn't been weird. She'd been fine. Perfectly functional girlfriend who showed up to things and smiled at appropriate moments and let Liam hold her hand in the hallways.‘Fine. I'll come.’‘Good. 7pm. Bring snacks if you want but mostly just bring yourself.’—--Saturday came too fast.Elena spent an unreasonable amount of time deciding what to wear, which was stupid because it was just a bonfire with friends, not some formal event. She settled on jeans and a hoodie, then changed into a sweater, then back to the hoodie. Her mother knocked on her door at some point asking if she was okay and Elena said yes through the closed door until Claire gave up and went back downstairs.Liam picked her

Cracks

Elena decided to try harder.That's what she told herself Monday morning while getting ready for school. She was going to be present. Engaged. The girlfriend Liam deserved instead of this hollow version who kept disappearing into her own head.So when he suggested a study date at the library after school, she said yes immediately. When he asked if she wanted to walk on the beach Saturday morning, she agreed before he'd even finished asking. When he texted her throughout the day with random thoughts or funny observations, she made herself respond with more than one word answers.She was trying.The library study session should have been easy. They sat at their usual table in the back, textbooks spread between them, the afternoon light coming through the tall windows in that specific way that made everything look softer. Liam was working through calc problems, occasionally asking her opinion on something even though she was in a different math class. She had her history reading open in

1 2 3 4 5 6

...

SCAN CODE TO READ ON APP