*Lily*The morning sun had only just begun to breach the horizon, the rays peeking through the cabin window in the secluded valley. I squinted against the light as I surfaced from my bed, feeling the residue of weariness clinging to my limbs.We had stayed up late into the night, huddled around a flickering fire sharing stories. Not to mention my little rendezvous with Adrian in the woods and the games we played during the day.I was exhausted. "Morning, Lily," Rachel greeted me as she rose from her bed and stared up at me. "Ready for the trip back?""I could use another few hours of sleep, but well, what choice do I have?" I replied, lazily rubbing the remnants of dreams from my eyes.We packed our belongings with mechanical movements, the lethargy weighing on us all. After breakfast, which was a subdued affair of sandwiches and fruit, we boarded the bus that would shepherd us back to Elysium. The hum of tired conversations faded as the vehicle swayed rhythmically, lulling
*Lily*The Bronze Wing dormitory had always been a place of vibrant chatter and echoing laughter, but now it lay under a shroud of silence. The question on everyone's lips—what had happened to her?—seemed to float in the air, unanswered and increasingly ominous.I couldn't shake off the creeping sense of dread that snaked its way into my thoughts. The Order was involved; I could feel it in my bones. I just didn’t know how.It was a cold Friday morning, two days after Jenna's departure, that I found myself trailing Iris, Jenna's roommate. She was the key, the sole connection left to Jenna, and the only option I had to try and contact her."Excuse me, Iris?" I called out as I spotted her walking out of a classroom, catching up to her just before she could disappear into the throng of students milling around between classes. "Hi, Lily," Iris greeted me as I stopped by her side. She halted in her steps to look at me expectantly."Can we talk for a second?" I asked, hoping my voice
*Lily*I tapped my pencil on the book consistently, breaking the profound silence that had settled over the weekend in my room. My phone kept buzzing with calls and texts from Adrian, but I ignored it, pretending to be deeply focused on the complicated biology stuff in the book, acting like I was really into it."Are you really going to ignore him all weekend?" Rachel's voice sliced through the quiet, her eyes curious orbs above the rim of her coffee mug. She sat cross-legged on her bed, knee-deep in her own books, yet undeniably attuned to the undercurrents swirling around us."Exams are breathing down my neck," I lied without looking up, my voice emotionless. "I don't have time." The words felt hollow, even as they left my lips.Rachel frowned, setting her mug down on her desk with a gentle clink. "Lily, he's called like twenty times. Something's up, isn't it? You never ignored him like this ever since you two started going out.""Nothing's up," I said, a little too quickly, s
*Lily*"Lily, what the hell happened?" Rachel's voice was close to me now and I could feel her gaze heavy on me, laced with an urgency I could scarcely address. "Just tell me, you're scaring me. Come, get up from the floor."Rachel helped me to get back on my feet and I stumbled forward, her hand gently guiding me to my bed. I tossed myself onto it, my fingers gripping the duvet as if anchoring myself to something tangible might alleviate the tempest inside me. But the tears continued anyway, unbidden and relentless, spilling hot and fast down my cheeks."Jesus, Lily," Rachel breathed, her shock palpable in the air. Her hand was tender upon my back, tracing small circles in a rhythm that seemed to echo the pounding in my chest."Adrian..." I managed to choke out the name between sobs, each syllable laden with sorrow and the bitter taste of farewell."Did you guys fight?" she probed gently, her voice trembling with worry. My heart ached to confide in her, to unravel the twisted s
*Adrian*Lifting weights had become a hollow ritual for me whenever I needed to vent. The gym of my apartment building, usually a haven for releasing pent-up energies, now felt like a prison cell, confining me with my own reflections as I tried to focus on the burn in my biceps.Just one more set, I thought to myself. But even as I pushed through the motions, my concentration faltered, betraying me as it latched onto the image of Lily.Her smile, her laughter, her scent, her skin... I missed every single detail of hers. Since she'd walked away without a word of explanation as to why she was breaking up with me, my world had crumbled beneath me, leaving me grasping to return to how my life was before I had met her.I racked the weights with a clatter, rubbing the sweat from my brow as I leaned against the cool metal frame. Because of that, my documentary for the Festival Submission lay neglected for days now, since nothing I did seemed to satisfy me. Hours spent hunched over the
*Lily*"Another night burning the midnight oil, huh?" Rachel's voice threaded through the silence of our dorm room, pulling me back from the precipice of self-pity.My fingers fumbled through stacks of notes on genetic mutations, but each word seemed to blur into an indistinct hum, much like the ache throbbing through my skull. It wasn't just the relentless study sessions for the upcoming exams that were to blame; it was Adrian's absence. No matter how hard I tried to keep my brain busy, I couldn't stop thinking about him.I glanced up at Rachel, forcing a smile that didn't reach my eyes. "Just trying to guarantee good grades," I replied, my voice betraying a hint of the fatigue that had become my constant companion.Rachel arched an eyebrow as she collected the laundry scattered across her bed. "You're drowning yourself in those textbooks." Concern softened her features, and she approached me, resting a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Getting sick won't help you ace your exam
*Adrian*Seated at the bar, my fingers traced the rim of my half-empty glass, the liquid sloshing gently as I contemplated why on earth I had agreed to come here. When I accepted Chris' invitation, I definitely did not expect to see Lily here too.But then again, that was just one more thing about her that I hadn't seen coming. Just like I wasn't expecting our break up either.I was taken aback when I turned around to scan the crowd and spotted her sitting at the far end of the bar. I thought I was imagining things, maybe the alcohol was having a quicker effect on me now that I was heartbroken.Who knew?But there she was, the source of my torment, in bone and flesh, drinking and laughing with her friends as if she hadn't just dumped my ass a few days ago. I took a sip of my drink, trying to calm the uneasy feeling that had settled in my chest. I hadn't seen or spoken to Lily since we split up, and I wasn't sure if I was ready to see her now. Was she really okay with all of
*Lily*The karaoke night had taken a turn I would never have expected in a million years. Before I could wrap my mind around what was happening, I was pinned to a wall outside of the bar, Adrian lavishing me with his kisses and intoxicating touch.Feeling the heat of his body pressed against me made me temporarily lethargic, as if I couldn't think properly. His touch sparked a rebellion in my flesh, demanding indulgence, but my mind screamed for me to stop, to pull him away. My scholarship—my future—depended on keeping my distance from him. Yet, when agony swam in his eyes and he confessed his misery, a pang of guilt twisted inside me like a knife. I was the one responsible for it, and for some reason beyond myself, I couldn't push him away."I miss you so much," Adrian had confessed. "How can you do this to us, huh? How can you pretend this is not real?"That shattered my resolve, and I let him kiss me, the taste of him bittersweet and intoxicating. My hands found their way to