Chapter 2: Blood on the Floor

That night, overwhelmed by guilt for what she thought she’d caused, she jumped into the freezing river that cut through the edge of town.

The sheriff showed up at dawn, hat in hand. The Maple Heights river was always cold, even in July. I stared at the coffee mug clutched in my hands, trying to keep them from shaking. Sometimes, I still hear the rush of that river in my dreams.

That same day, I disappeared from Tyler Mason’s life too.

I packed up my things, left my phone on the pillow, and walked out the front door without looking back. The house was silent except for the rain tapping against the windowpane. I didn’t say goodbye to anyone. Not even him.

We saw each other again ten years later.

At our high school reunion, he grabbed my arm, his eyes red and wild, and demanded,

“You ditched me for years over a stupid rumor. All this time, have you even been able to sleep at night?”

His grip was desperate, almost panicked, like he was trying to squeeze a decade of regret into a single second. The gym smelled like old sweat and cheap decorations. I could barely meet his eyes. My heart was pounding, but when I finally spoke, my voice was calm and even.

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“Lila, don’t wait for this year’s scholarship.”

The words cut through the usual Monday morning chatter, sharp and unexpected. Sunlight streamed through the grimy classroom windows, dust swirling in the beams. My hands tightened around my notebook, knuckles white.

“I gave it to Savannah for you.”

When Tyler Mason strode into the classroom with Savannah Hart, our class queen, she was still cradling a couple of stray kittens in her arms.

Savannah’s hair was curled to perfection, her smile bright as she hugged the kittens to her chest. She looked like she belonged in a glossy teen magazine, not this rundown classroom. The kittens mewed softly, making everyone turn and look.

The whole class instantly started gushing.

“Of course. Our class queen isn’t just gorgeous, she’s got a heart of gold. She’s using the scholarship to help stray cats.”

Someone snapped a photo, and I heard the whoosh as it went up in the class group chat. The room buzzed with admiration. I felt invisible, like I was watching my life from outside a window.

But I stood frozen.

The constant itching and pain down there had tormented me for six months.

The nurse at urgent care said it’d only take a couple hundred bucks to fix it.

For these six months, I busted my butt, aced every class, and ranked first in the whole school on every exam. This scholarship was supposed to be mine.

I couldn’t help but stand up, and the class’s chatter died instantly.

The room got so quiet I could hear the buzz of the fluorescent lights. My heart hammered in my chest. I swallowed, my mouth dry, but I forced myself to my feet anyway.

I gathered every ounce of courage and stood in front of Savannah, asking softly,