The hallway buzzed with end-of-year chaos—streamers half-hung, caps being measured, half the seniors pretending to care and the other half pretending they didn't. Maya walked through it like a ghost with glossy hair and a designer bag, silent but glowing in that way people who've survived something unspeakable do.
And of course, Eddie fucking Thompson was behind her again.
"Yo," he said, casually leaning against a locker like he hadn't destroyed her life and dipped for months. "Ms. Sinclair. Quick question—if I graduate next to you, can we color-coordinate our tassels? I was thinking blood-red."
She didn't even blink. Just flipped her hair and walked faster.
He speed-walked next to her. "You used to laugh at my jokes."
"I also used to think you had a soul. Funny how trauma resets expectations."
"Oof," he clutched his chest dramatically, "She's still got it."
She spun around so fast he flinched. "Stop following me, Eddie."
"I'm not following. I'm participating. In group bonding. Very senior-core."
"Do I look like I want to bond with the guy who planned my personal hell like it was a science project?"
The hallway went quiet. Some kid dropped his Red Bull.
Eddie's voice dropped too. "Maya, come on. Just talk to me."
But she was already gone, heels clicking, spine straight, eyes ahead.
It got worse after that.
Maya was assigned to help decorate the gym for graduation. Guess who volunteered to help just so he could "accidentally" keep ending up on the same ladder?
"You think the balloon arch should go here or over there?" he asked, waving at identical corners.
"I think you should go anywhere but here."
"But if I leave, who's gonna hold this end of the ribbon and look at you like you're the last person on Earth who mattered?"
She sighed, loud. "You're not funny."
"I'm hilarious. You're just emotionally unavailable."
She threw the roll of tape at his head. Missed. Damn it.
Sally and Luna found him outside the auditorium later, sitting on the steps like a kicked puppy with designer shoes.
Luna crossed her arms. "The fuck do you want, Thompson?"
"I just—look, I know I'm the last person she wants to see."
"You think?" Sally snapped. "You shattered her, Eddie. She has fucking panic attacks because of you."
"I didn't mean for it to go that far. I didn't mean for anything to—"
"Oh, so it's all just a cute little accident that you pretended to love her while secretly blaming her for your ex's death?" Luna barked. "Oopsie?"
Eddie looked up, eyes glassy. "I know I fucked up. I know. You can call me sick, delusional, toxic—I deserve all of it. But I swear to God, I love her. I don't love anybody else. I never did. Sammy… I couldn't save her. But Maya—Maya made me want to live again. And I broke her. I know that. But I'm not walking away without trying. Not this time."
Sally stared at him for a long moment. Then rolled her eyes. "You're a piece of shit."
"But you're gonna help me, aren't you?" he asked, quietly.
She sighed. "God help me."
It was Sally's idea to lock them in the study room. Said they needed "forced proximity and a controlled environment." Eddie thought it sounded like a murder plot. Still showed up.
The click of the door locking behind Maya made her whip around like a bomb had gone off.
"Nope. No. Unlock this shit right now—SALLY?! LUNA?!"
She banged on the door. "This is not funny—open it!"
"You always did have a flair for dramatics," Eddie muttered, already sprawled on one of the couches like he owned the place.
"You're loving this, aren't you?" she hissed.
He grinned. "A little. I mean, locked in a room with you? Feels like karma finally did me a solid."
She paced like a caged animal. "Get. Away. From. Me."
"I can't," he said. "That's kinda the point. I'm done running, Maya."
"I didn't ask you to run! I asked you to be honest! To not treat me like a fucking science experiment!"
His voice cracked. "I didn't know how to be honest. I didn't know how to stop being angry. At myself. At you. At the world."
"Oh, spare me, Eddie," she said, laughing bitterly. "You want to talk about anger? Let's talk about what it's like to realize every bad thing that's happened to you for months was a game to the guy you were in love with."
"I wasn't playing—"
"Shut up." Her voice was shaking now. "You planned it. Every text. Every look. Every time you kissed me, you were thinking, 'This dumb bitch has my ex's heart.' Right?"
He didn't answer.
She stepped closer, voice rising. "Say it. SAY IT."
"I didn't think you were dumb," he whispered.
She shoved him. "I GAVE YOU EVERYTHING. I trusted you. I fucking loved you."
"Maya—"
"You were my safe place. My anchor. You knew all my secrets, and you weaponized every single one. You took me apart piece by piece and made me feel like I was the villain."
She was full-on sobbing now, and Eddie looked like his lungs were caving in.
"Even Vic—I could forgive him. He was a dick, but he never lied about it. You? You made me feel safe and then you gutted me like I was disposable."
Eddie looked like he couldn't breathe.
"I wake up with someone else's heart in my chest, and it hurts, okay? Every goddamn day, it hurts. And now I know why. Because it beats for people who leave. People who lie. People like you."
Silence.
And then: "I never stopped loving you," he said, voice ragged.
"Too bad I stopped loving you back," she snapped.
But even as she said it, her voice cracked.
He stepped toward her, slow. "You can hate me forever. I'll take that. Just don't pretend we didn't exist."
She looked up at him, mascara streaked, face trembling. "We didn't exist. You were acting. And I was your favorite scene."
And that was when he broke. Fell to his knees like the weight of everything finally crushed him.
"I was in too deep," he whispered. "I didn't know where Sammy ended and you began. But I know now. Maya… you're not her. You never were. You're more. You're everything."
She stared at him. Broken. Furious. Still in love. Still bleeding.
And then she turned her back and whispered, "I hope you feel this heartbreak for the rest of your life."
"Open the damn door," she said, voice hoarse.
"Maya—"
"Call someone. I swear to God, Eddie—call someone and get me the fuck out of here before I lose my mind."
He reached for his phone, hands shaking like he was holding a live wire. One call. One word.
Five minutes later, the lock clicked. Zeke was standing in the doorway with Sally and Luna behind him, looking like they'd been waiting for the explosion.
Maya stormed out first, eyes red, lips pressed together like she was holding back a scream. Her friends flanked her like bodyguards. Luna shot Eddie the kind of look that could flay a man alive.
Sally didn't even say anything—just glared at him like he was beneath words.
Zeke lingered for half a second, looked Eddie dead in the eye, and said, "You broke her. Don't expect applause because you finally figured out you give a damn."
And then he was gone too.
Eddie stayed in the room alone, knees still on the floor, like if he moved, the whole place would collapse.
Maybe it already had.