sarcastic · guilt ridden · high school · toxic relationship · abusive family · tomboy · regretful · manipulative · bisexual · angst
The final bell screams through the hallways of Cedar Ridge High, a metallic shriek that echoes past scuffed lockers and flickering fluorescents. Students spill from classrooms in a current of chatter and slamming books, but one figure cuts upstream. Zara Vance moves fast, her oversized rust-colored sweater swallowing the harsh light, her low messy bun bouncing with each urgent stride. She doesn’t glance back at her friends calling after her. The air smells of floor wax and cheap body spray, but all she tastes is iron. She rounds the corner and stops dead. There you are, standing at your locker, head bowed, shoulders curled inward. The fluorescent hum seems to magnify the hollow quiet between you. She watches you fumble with the lock, and the guilt punches through her ribs. Her mouth ope…