Alice woke up at noon. The moment her eyes opened, pain shot through her shoulders.
"Ow..."
She groaned and rolled over. Her legs felt heavy. Her arms hurt. Even her back ached. Weeks of basketball practice. Weeks of tennis training. Weeks of preparing for the sports festival tournaments. Every muscle in her body felt like it had been beaten with a hammer. Alice buried her face into her pillow.
"I don't want to move..."
A few seconds later her bedroom door opened.
"You're finally awake?"
Her mother's voice drifted inside.
Alice groaned.
"What time is it?"
"Twelve."
Alice sat upright immediately.
"Twelve?!"
"You slept like a corpse."
Alice dropped back onto her bed.
"Wonderful."
"Come eat breakfast."
"I'm not hungry."
"You haven't eaten since last night."
"I'll survive."
Her mother sighed.
"Don't blame me when you faint."
The door closed. Alice stared at the ceiling for several minutes. Then hunger eventually won. Unfortunately, she didn't feel like eating actual food. She wanted junk food. Something salty. Something sweet. Something unhealthy. She dragged herself out of bed and shuffled downstairs. The kitchen was empty. Her parents were in the living room. Perfect! Alice quietly opened a cabinet. Nothing. Another cabinet. Nothing. Fridge. Still nothing useful.
"Why do we never have snacks when I need them?"
She continued rummaging through shelves. Then her phone vibrated. Alice frowned. Unknown irritation immediately filled her chest. She pulled the phone from her pocket. Emily Carter. Alice froze. For several seconds she simply stared at the screen. Emily. Of all people. Her thumb hovered over the decline button. Part of her wanted to ignore it. Part of her wanted to block Emily entirely. Ever since everything that happened with Melvin Blackthorne, Alice's opinion of Emily had changed. Not completely. But enough. The memory still left a bitter taste in her mouth.
Emily had tried to get close to Melvin despite knowing Alice was dating him. Alice never fully understood why. And honestly? She didn't want to. The phone continued ringing. Alice sighed. Then answered.
"...Hello?"
There was silence. Then static. Then gibberish.
"Alice—wait—I—um—"
Alice blinked.
"What?"
Emily sounded completely panicked. Without saying another word Alice climbed the stairs and entered her room. She locked the door. Her mother had a supernatural ability to appear whenever something interesting happened. No chance she was risking that. Alice sat on her bed.
"Emily?"
"Alice."
Emily sounded like she had been crying.
"Can you... can you listen for a minute?"
Alice hummed. Emily took a deep breath. Then another. Then another. Alice waited. Finally Emily spoke.
"Ok... so.... It's about Melvin."
Alice said nothing. Her fingers tightened slightly around the phone.
"The summer festival."
Another pause.
"I never told you what happened."
Alice hummed again. Emily started talking. And once she started, she didn't stop. Words poured out endlessly. The summer festival in her neighborhood. The after-party. The alcohol & drugs. The stupid decisions. The mistakes. According to Emily, she had gotten drunk. Very drunk. And high. Alice wasn't sure whether that made things better or worse.
Emily continued explaining. She said she barely remembered parts of that night. She remembered laughing. She remembered dancing around with friends. She remembered finding Melvin. She remembered getting too close. Then— The kiss.
Emily's voice cracked.
"I kissed him."
Alice remained silent.
"I kissed him, Alice."
Nothing. Only silence. Emily sounded increasingly desperate.
"I took photos too."
Alice's expression didn't change. Emily continued. Photos from the festival. Photos from the after-party. Photos with her bandmates. Photos at the watchtower. Photos with Melvin. Selfies. Group pictures. Embarrassing snapshots. Everything. Apparently she still had them and she was willing to share as proof that nothing was intentional. Alice listened quietly. Emily apologized. Once. Twice. Ten times. Twenty.
The apologies kept coming. Then Emily admitted something else. After the festival she had drunk-texted Melvin several times during the week. Not many. A couple. Then she stopped.
Alice finally laughed. A short laugh. Not because anything was funny. Because it wasn't. At all.
"I don't care."
Emily went silent.
Alice stared at her bedroom wall.
"I don't care anymore."
"Alice—"
"We broke up."
Another laugh.
"What's the point of clarifying this now?"
Emily sounded devastated.
"I just—"
"Five months."
Emily stopped speaking. Alice's voice remained calm. Dangerously calm.
"This happened five months ago."
"I know."
"And now you remember?"
"I always remembered."
Alice rolled her eyes.
"Then why now?"
Emily's breathing became shaky.
"I felt guilty."
Alice didn't respond.
"I felt horrible."
Still nothing.
"I wanted to tell you."
Alice laughed again. Then ended the call. The room became silent. For approximately seven seconds. Then her phone started ringing again. Emily. Alice stared at the screen. Then answered.
"What?"
"Alice please don't hang up."
Alice said nothing. Emily rushed forward. Words stumbling over each other.
"I'm sorry."
"I know."
"I never wanted to steal Melvin."
Alice closed her eyes.
"I never wanted to hurt you."
Silence.
"I swear."
Alice leaned back against her bed.
"If you were really loyal," she said quietly, "you would've told me five months ago."
Emily stopped speaking. Alice continued.
"Not today."
"Not after everything."
Emily sounded close to tears.
"My parents were having problems."
Alice frowned. Emily continued.
"They were fighting all the time."
"I barely stayed home."
"I was always out."
"Mostly with Jace."
Alice remembered Jace. Emily's closest friend. The one she constantly disappeared with. Emily continued swearing. Swearing on everything. Swearing she could prove it. Swearing she had more photos. Swearing she never meant to hurt Alice. Alice listened. But something inside her had already stopped listening. Because maybe Emily was telling the truth. Maybe she wasn't. Alice genuinely couldn't tell anymore. And that realization hurt most. The fact that she no longer knew whether her best friend was lying.
Alice sighed. Then hung up again. This time she blocked her. The room became quiet. Alice stared at the ceiling. She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She wanted to smash her phone against the wall. She wanted to laugh like a lunatic. She wanted to have a complete breakdown. Instead— She sighed. Placed her phone on the bed. And went downstairs.
Breakfast tasted like cardboard. The afternoon was worse. Alice had just returned to her room when her phone buzzed again. Sophia Reed. Alice immediately knew why she was calling. She answered anyway.
"Hello."
"Alice."
Sophia sounded cautious. Alice already hated the conversation.
"I heard what happened."
Of course she did. Emily probably called everyone. Alice remained silent. Sophia continued.
"Emily's a mess right now."
Alice felt irritation rise.
"Okay."
"She's really emotional."
"Okay."
"Alice, I think you should talk to her again."
Alice stared out her bedroom window. The irritation grew. Sophia continued.
"Maybe forgive her."
Alice laughed. Not pleasantly. Sophia hesitated.
"I just think—"
"You think what?"
"Emily feels terrible."
Alice closed her eyes. Then Sophia said something that made everything worse.
"I'm worried she might hurt herself."
Alice snapped.
"Don't."
Sophia fell silent.
"Don't do that."
"Alice—"
"Don't you dare."
Her voice trembled. Not from sadness. From anger. Pure anger.
"So now I'm responsible for Emily too?"
"That's not what I meant."
"Then what did you mean?"
Sophia tried explaining. Alice wasn't listening anymore. Months. Five entire months. And now everyone suddenly wanted her forgiveness. Sophia kept talking. Alice interrupted.
"If Emily couldn't take responsibility for her actions at the right time, how is that my fault?"
Sophia sighed.
"Alice—"
"No."
Alice's eyes burned.
"I trusted her."
The words came out broken. Painfully broken. Sophia became quiet. Then she changed directions.
"Alice."
"What."
"You're not even dating Melvin anymore."
Alice laughed. A horrible laugh.
"That's what you think this is about?"
"No but—"
"I don't care about Melvin."
Sophia stopped. Alice continued.
"If Melvin cheated with some random girl I'd probably never think about it again."
Her voice cracked.
"But Emily?"
Silence.
"My best friend."
Sophia didn't answer. Alice clenched her jaw.
"Do you understand the difference?"
Sophia tried again. Again. And again. And again. Every sentence somehow circled back to Emily. Emily's feelings. Emily's guilt. Emily's emotions. Emily's pain. Not Alice. Never Alice. Finally Alice ended the call. Then blocked Sophia as well. Immediately. No hesitation. Three seconds later another call arrived. Grace Walker. Blocked her too. Texts started arriving. Dozens. Alice ignored every single one. Her chest felt hollow. Empty. Betrayed. What hurt wasn't even Emily anymore. Not entirely. What hurt was Sophia and Grace. The fact that both of them immediately took Emily's side. Accident or not. Drunk or not. Emily kissed her friend's boyfriend. And somehow Alice was expected to comfort everyone else. The unfairness made her stomach hurt. So she did the only thing she could. She opened her textbooks. And studied. An hour later she gave up.
The words blurred together. Nothing made sense. Her thoughts kept wandering. Eventually she picked up her phone. Unblocked the group chat. And typed. A single message.
I forgive Emily.
A pause. Then another message.
But I won't be hanging out with this group anymore.
The responses arrived instantly. Sophia replied first. Then Grace. The messages grew increasingly irritating. Overreacting. Being dramatic. Making a big deal out of nothing. Alice stared at the screen in disbelief. Nothing? This was nothing?
She took a slow breath. Then typed.
Sophia. Return the forty dollars you borrowed for jewelry.
The chat became quiet.
A few seconds later:
Seriously?
Alice ignored it. She typed again.
Grace. Return my books.
Another pause.
Then:
You're doing this now?
Alice typed one final message.
Emily. Return my blue leather jacket.
Unlike the others, Emily replied immediately.
Okay.
No argument. No excuses. Just okay. Sophia and Grace, however, continued talking. Complaining. Arguing. Trying to flip the situation. Asking why they were being punished for Emily's actions.
Alice stared at the screen. Then locked her phone. She refused to respond. Because the answer was simple. Nobody was being punished. She simply didn't want anything tying her to them anymore. The next message arrived thirty minutes later. From Melvin Blackthorne. Alice nearly laughed.
Of course. Why not complete the disaster?
She opened it.
A long paragraph. Then another. Then another.
Melvin explained everything. The summer festival. Emily. The kiss. His side of the story. Why he hadn't mentioned it sooner. Why he thought it wasn't important. Why he regretted staying silent.
Then finally—
An apology. A genuine one. At least it sounded genuine.
The final sentence read:
I understand if you never forgive me. I'm okay with that.
Alice stared at the screen. Then typed a single word.
Okay.
Send.
Melvin immediately started typing again. Alice muted the conversation. And never opened another message. The rest of the day passed strangely.
Alice existed. But barely. Lunch happened. She couldn't remember what she ate. Dinner happened. She couldn't remember that either. Several times her parents asked if she was alright. She lied every time.
"I'm fine."
The words came automatically. Her mother narrowed her eyes. Her father looked suspicious. Neither believed her. But neither pushed. By evening Alice sat alone in her room. The sunset painted orange light across the walls. Her phone remained silent. Blocked contacts. Muted chats. Unread messages. Everything felt distant. Like it was happening to someone else.
Alice looked at her desk. At her textbooks. At her basketball shoes. At her tennis racket. At all the things she cared about. Then she thought about Emily. Sophia. Grace. Melvin. People she had trusted. People she had believed would stay. Maybe Emily truly regretted it. Maybe Sophia genuinely wanted peace. Maybe Grace simply didn't understand. Maybe Melvin was telling the truth. Maybe all of them were. The problem was that it didn't matter anymore. Trust wasn't a vase. You couldn't glue it together and pretend the cracks didn't exist. The cracks always remained. Visible. Permanent.
Alice slowly turned off her lamp. Darkness filled the room. For the first time all day she felt tired. Not physically. Emotionally. The kind of exhaustion that settled deep inside the heart. She climbed into bed. Pulled the blanket over herself. And stared into the darkness. Tomorrow was Monday. Practice would start again. School would continue. Life would move forward. The world wouldn't stop just because her friendships were falling apart.
Alice closed her eyes. Yet one thought lingered. A painful realization she couldn't escape. What hurt wasn't losing Melvin. It wasn't even Emily's confession. It was discovering that when she was hurting, the people she trusted most had looked at someone else's pain first. And that was a wound she wasn't sure would heal anytime soon. Outside, the summer night remained quiet. Inside, Alice Hart lay awake long after midnight, wondering how many friendships had ended today. And whether any of them had ever been real in the first place.