Chapter 7
485words
The breaking point came during spring semester of sophomore year.
Valentine's Day.
Lucas's desk overflowed with pink envelopes and heart-shaped boxes.
He barely glanced at them before dumping the entire pile into the trash.
After final bell, Sophia cornered me in the hallway.
"Evelyn," she said sweetly, "do me a favor and give this to Lucas."
She thrust a pink envelope into my hand.
"Why me?" I asked, immediately suspicious.
"I'm too nervous," she said with a flutter of eyelashes. "Please? Do this and I'll leave you alone. Promise."
I stared at the envelope, weighing my options. The promise of peace was too tempting to resist.
I approached Lucas at his locker and held out the envelope.
"This is—"
Before I could explain, Sophia's voice rang out behind me.
"Lucas!" she shrieked. "I caught her! Evelyn's giving you another creepy love letter!"
I froze in horror.
What?
"No, I didn't—"
"Still lying?" Sophia jabbed her finger at the envelope. "Everyone just saw you hand it to him!"
Lucas frowned and tore open the envelope.
Inside was a page of desperate declarations of love, signed with my name.
The handwriting perfectly matched my own.
But...
"I didn't write this!" I protested frantically. "Sophia gave it to me to—"
"I did what?" Sophia cut me off, her eyes instantly filling with tears. "Evelyn, how could you? Everyone knows about your obsession with Lucas, but to do this after we started dating..."
She collapsed into dramatic sobs.
A crowd formed instantly, all of them turning on me.
"God, Evelyn is such a psycho!"
"After everything Sophia's done for her!"
"Pathetic stalker bitch!"
I looked desperately at Lucas.
His eyes met mine briefly.
I silently begged him to speak up.
He had to know the truth. I'd seen him watching when Sophia handed me the envelope.
But he said nothing.
He just frowned slightly and looked away.
Lucas turned and walked away.
In that moment, something inside me broke permanently.
I lunged forward, desperate to make him face the truth.
"Lucas! You know I didn't—"
CRACK.
A hand connected with my cheek.
Sophia had slapped me hard enough to make my ears ring.
The sound echoed through the suddenly silent hallway.
I clutched my burning cheek, tears streaming down my face.
Sophia jabbed her manicured finger in my face.
"You pathetic liar!"
I looked past her to the end of the hallway.
Lucas stood there, deliberately looking out the window.
Everyone else stared at me with disgust and contempt.
I turned and fled, pushing through the crowd, running until my lungs burned.
I hated Sophia Bennett. I hated her friends. I hated everyone who had ever laughed at me.
But most of all, I hated Lucas Harrison.
He knew the truth and chose to remain silent.
That night, I made my decision.
I would transfer schools. I would escape this hell.
