Chapter 3

The next morning, I walked through the school gates alone.

It was the first major milestone of my senior year, and for the first time, Luke wasn't by my side.

I found my assigned exam room on the campus map and was about to leave when someone slammed into my back.

My pencil case fell from my hands. Someone's foot caught it, sending it skidding across the ground. Pens, erasers, and a ruler scattered everywhere.

My exam admission slip flew several feet away.

"Oh, my God. Sorry! I didn't see you."

A girl I'd never met offered a quick apology.

I barely heard her. My eyes were fixed on my admission slip.

I rushed to pick it up, reaching for it just as a gust of wind caught the paper and sent it fluttering away.

My face went pale.

I stumbled after it, desperate to catch it before it went any farther.

A hand shot out and grabbed it in midair.

Luke.

He turned toward the girl, his expression cold. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

The girl looked taken aback. "What's wrong with you? It was an accident! I already said I was sorry!"

Luke ignored her. He picked up my scattered supplies and shoved them into my hands.

"Come on. I'll walk you to your exam room."

I lowered my head and followed him, clutching my pencil case against my chest.

As we passed the girl, she muttered under her breath, "God, she's so high-maintenance."

I recognized her voice.

She was one of the girls who'd been waiting for Luke outside my apartment building that night with Piper.

Luke walked me to my exam room before heading off to find his own.

For a moment, it almost felt like things were the way they'd always been.

But I hadn't imagined his coldness or the way he'd been treating me lately.

I just couldn't figure him out anymore.

By the time our exams were finally over, the whole school seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

That evening, after sorting through my study materials, I picked up my phone to relax for a while.

Then I came across Piper's Instagram story.

She'd posted a picture of a mechanical keyboard.

[Shout-out to my awesome friend for hooking me up! The switches feel amazing!]

My stomach dropped.

It was the exact same keyboard I'd given Luke. Even the two custom keycaps with his initials were identical.

He'd given my birthday present to Piper.

The hurt hit so hard that my eyes burned.

I grabbed my phone and called him before I could talk myself out of it.

"Did you give Piper the birthday present I bought you?"

"Yeah."

His answer was casual, like it was no big deal.

"I don't really like blue switches. They're too clicky. She likes them, so I let her have it."

I gripped my phone tighter, my voice rising.

"I had that keyboard custom-made for you! You took something I gave you and handed it to someone else. Don't you think that's messed up?"

Luke sounded annoyed.

"Seriously? It's just a keyboard. Why are you making such a big deal out of it?"

My voice shook.

"Luke, this isn't about the keyboard. You treated something I put my heart into like it was worthless."

He went quiet for a few seconds. Then I heard him take a deep breath.

"Fine. Fine. I'll ask her to give it back in a few days, okay?"

"Forget it."

For the first time in my life, I was the one who ended the call.

From that day on, we didn't speak again.

We didn't see each other until our class organized a reunion.

I had no interest in going, but my parents encouraged me. It was our first get-together since graduation, after all.

Diane also made a point of telling Luke to look after me.

It was the first time we'd been face-to-face since our argument.

On the way there, he seemed irritated. I was still hurt by what had happened, so I didn't make an effort to talk to him either.

We rode in silence, like two strangers who happened to know everything about each other.

When we arrived at the restaurant, everyone was already talking and laughing over one another.

I got a glass of juice and sat quietly, listening.

My vision problems made it difficult to stare at a computer screen for long, and bright sunlight often left my eyes aching.

At night, my vision got so bad that I could barely make my way around without help.

Video games, shopping trips, celebrity gossip—everyone seemed to have something to talk about.

I couldn't join in any of it.

We'd barely been seated for a few minutes before I already wanted to go home.

Then someone suggested playing Truth or Dare.

The bottle spun around the table a few times before finally stopping in front of Luke.

He chose truth.

One of our classmates grinned mischievously.

"Luke Ward, you've always looked out for Wren. So tell us. Are you in love with her?"