Lily wasn't expecting it.
The day started like any other—cloudy skies, hoodie on, a quiet confidence under her skin. But by lunchtime, everything had changed.
She walked into the cafeteria and froze.
Rachel was sitting at her usual table. But this time, she wasn't alone.
Beside her, grinning awkwardly and looking like she'd rather be anywhere else, was Sophie.
Lily blinked. Once. Twice.
Rachel noticed and smiled like she'd just won something.
Lily turned and walked out.
---
Sophie found her behind the library ten minutes later.
"Lily, wait," she said breathlessly. "It's not what it looked like."
Lily crossed her arms. "Then what was it?"
"I was trying to talk to her," Sophie said. "Not be friends. Just… understand."
Lily stared. "Understand her?"
"She came to me after the last Mirror Room meeting. Said she wanted to talk. Said she was tired of being who she was."
Lily's stomach twisted. "And you believed her?"
"I wanted to give her a chance," Sophie said gently. "Because people gave me chances when I was closed off. You gave me a chance."
"That's different."
"Is it?"
Lily hated how her throat tightened. "You could've told me."
"I was going to," Sophie said, stepping closer. "But you've been doing so well, and I didn't want to mess that up."
Lily's voice dropped. "You didn't mess me up. She did."
Sophie's eyes softened. "You're stronger than that."
Lily turned away. "Maybe I didn't want to be today."
---
Later that night, Lily sat alone in her room, sketchpad open but untouched. Her thoughts buzzed, messy and loud.
She didn't want to be the girl who held grudges. But she also didn't want to be the girl who always forgave just because it was easier than being angry.
She picked up her phone, her thumb hovering over Sophie's contact.
Then she opened her notebook and began to write instead.
> Sometimes the people who hurt us the most aren't the enemies we expect. They're the ones who get close when we finally let our guard down. But maybe healing isn't about never being hurt again. Maybe it's about knowing you'll survive it when you are.
She set the pen down and breathed.
---
The next day at school, Lily didn't speak to Sophie. Not out of spite—but because she wasn't ready.
Sophie seemed to understand.
During Mirror Room that afternoon, Sophie sat across from Lily in the circle but said little. Shayla ran the meeting, reading a short piece about her relationship with her sister and how silence could be its own kind of wound.
Lily listened. She didn't speak.
But at the end, as the group dispersed, she handed Sophie a folded piece of paper.
Sophie read it silently:
> I'm not mad. I'm not okay yet either. But I want to be. Let's try again. No secrets this time.
Sophie looked up, teary-eyed, and nodded.
---
On Saturday, Lily went to the bookstore. It had become her ritual—a place to sort her mind when the world got tangled.
But Nathan wasn't at the counter.
Instead, an older woman with silver-streaked curls greeted her.
"Looking for Nathan?" she asked.
Lily nodded.
"He's in the back. You can go ahead."
Lily stepped past rows of worn books, into the back room she'd never been in before. It smelled like ink and old leather. Nathan stood beside a tall shelf, re-shelving hardcovers.
He turned when he saw her—and his face lit up.
"Hey," he said. "You okay?"
She shrugged. "Rough week."
"Tell me?"
She stepped forward. "Sophie met with Rachel. Didn't tell me."
Nathan winced. "Oof."
"I felt betrayed. But I'm trying to let that feeling be what it is—temporary. I don't want to live there."
Nathan nodded. "That's hard. But honest."
Then he hesitated. "Can I be honest too?"
Lily looked up. "Always."
He took a breath. "I didn't tell you… but I used to be Rachel's babysitter. A long time ago."
Lily blinked. "What?"
"Yeah. Her parents hired me when she was about ten. I watched her spiral into someone mean, and no one stopped her. I tried. But eventually… I gave up."
Lily sat down on a stool. "That's… a lot."
"I never said anything because I didn't want you to think I was biased. Or hiding something."
She looked at him, really looked. "Thank you for telling me."
He nodded. "You're not the only one learning how to be brave."
Lily smiled softly. "I think we all are."
And somehow, in that messy honesty, something between them solidified—not perfect, but real.
Flawed. Fierce.
Unbreakable.