Chapter 37 : Shattered

*Lily*

I tapped my pencil on the book consistently, breaking the profound silence that had settled over the weekend in my room. My phone kept buzzing with calls and texts from Adrian, but I ignored it, pretending to be deeply focused on the complicated biology stuff in the book, acting like I was really into it.

"Are you really going to ignore him all weekend?" Rachel's voice sliced through the quiet, her eyes curious orbs above the rim of her coffee mug. She sat cross-legged on her bed, knee-deep in her own books, yet undeniably attuned to the undercurrents swirling around us.

"Exams are breathing down my neck," I lied without looking up, my voice emotionless. "I don't have time." The words felt hollow, even as they left my lips.

Rachel frowned, setting her mug down on her desk with a gentle clink. "Lily, he's called like twenty times. Something's up, isn't it? You never ignored him like this ever since you two started going out."

"Nothing's up," I said, a little too quickly, s