Chapter 3The Love Letter I Threw Away

Rae was already by his side, gently helping him stand. The two of them began limping toward school together, completely forgetting I even existed.

I let out a dry, self-deprecating laugh. I rode the bike to the nearest trash can, tossed her breakfast sandwich inside, and kept riding.

By the time I reached homeroom, the bell had already rung. The teacher made me stand at the back of the class for the entire first period.

When the bell finally rang to dismiss us, Wright walked over to my desk, looking incredibly guilty. He held out a carton of chocolate milk, thrusting it into my hands.

"Thomas, I am so sorry. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have been late..."

Rae was hovering right behind him like a protective shadow. I looked down at the carton, then walked over to the trash can and dropped it right in.

Wright’s eyes immediately filled with tears.

"Thomas! What is your problem?!" Rae snapped, her face darkening instantly. She raised her voice, drawing the attention of the entire classroom. "Wright is trying to apologize. Do you have to be so incredibly petty?!"

I paused, looking at her with a cold, mocking smile.

"I'm lactose intolerant..."

"Stop making excuses!" Rae cut me off, her patience entirely gone. She grabbed Wright’s arm, pulling him away. "Just because I talk to someone else doesn't mean you get to throw a temper tantrum, Thomas! I'm not your property. I don't exist just to cater to you!"

I watched them walk away, a soft scoff escaping my lips.

Rae had forgotten. When we were kids, she had stolen a handful of wild strawberries from a neighbor's garden. She had popped one into my mouth. I ended up in the ICU that night, fighting to breathe.

I spent a week in the hospital. The day I was discharged, a sobbing Rae swore she would never let me get sick again.

Now, she didn't even remember.

After that classroom scene, Rae gave me the silent treatment.

She started saving seats for Wright in the cafeteria, buying him lunch, and detouring thirty minutes out of her morning routine just to walk him to school.

Every sweet, exclusive gesture that had once belonged to me was now proudly paraded in front of Wright.

The high school gossip mill was in overdrive.

"I thought Thomas and Rae were a locked deal. Guess the childhood friend always loses to the new guy."

"Sucks to be Thomas."

I blocked it all out, dedicating every ounce of my energy to my classes.

Perhaps she heard the rumors, because a few days later, Rae approached my desk with a strange, defensive air.

"Wright has a lot of pride," she said, her tone carrying a weird mixture of relief and expectation. "You shouldn't have embarrassed him like that in public."

She slid a small piece of paper onto my desk.

"If you apologize to Wright, we can go back to how things were."

I looked down. It was a faded, slightly crumpled piece of construction paper with crooked, childlike handwriting: Truce Token.

A wave of dark amusement washed over me, though I couldn't bring myself to smile.

I picked up the token and tore it into tiny, irreparable pieces.

Rae’s face froze. Without another word, she turned on her heel and walked away, her expression icy.

The next morning, she asked the teacher to change her seat. She moved from the row next to mine to the desk right beside Wright.

During AP Calculus, when I stood up to answer a question, I happened to glance down. Beneath their desks, their fingers were tightly intertwined.

If her previous coldness had been a childish attempt to make me jealous, this was different. Rae was now treating me like absolute air.

Meanwhile, she and Wright were moving at lightning speed.