I felt strange—uncomfortably tethered—as we wandered through the city in a group. Felix held my hand the entire time, his grip unrelenting, almost possessive. It was as if I were a dog on a leash, and he, the owner, terrified that if he let go for even a second, I'd disappear.
Every time I tried to drift toward Eve, Felix's grip would tighten, or worse, he would shoot me a warning look sharp enough to slice through my intentions. I couldn't even speak to my friend without feeling like I was crossing some invisible boundary.
"Aren't you exaggerating?" I finally asked him in a quiet voice when his arm curled around me again. "I just want to ask her something."
His reply came without hesitation. "I don't like your friend. She's a witch who'd be thrilled to see us fall apart."
I blinked in disbelief. "Excuse me? Eve would never say anything like that. She supports us—she always has."
"Words and thoughts don't always match. The way she looks at me? That's enough to know what she really thinks."
I stared at him, my heart sinking. Lately, Felix had seemed... paranoid. Suspicious. Almost haunted by some invisible threat only he could perceive.
"You're overthinking things," I muttered.
"You defend her because she's your friend. But one day, you'll see her true nature." His voice was bitter, edged with some past wound I couldn't yet name. "I know how this ends. I've been here before."
There was no doubt he was alluding to what had happened with Mike. But I didn't have the strength to argue—not after last night. Felix had become increasingly irritable, unreachable. Talking to him now was like trying to reason with a storm.
Up ahead, I caught sight of Eve catching up to a dejected Mike. She slung an arm around his shoulder with easy affection. It was almost comical—her boyfriend holding one of her hands while she tugged along her soulmate with the other.
I might have laughed, but Felix's sharp gaze landed on me again, snuffing out any lightheartedness in an instant.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I whispered, unnerved.
"Maybe you should just go with them," he said coldly. "If I'm not enough to make you happy."
And then he let go of my hand.
Just like that.
He stepped aside without looking back, and I froze in place, stunned. His words echoed inside me like a slap. I stared at him, wide-eyed, as a sinking dread unfurled in my chest.
This side of Felix—this cold, bitter version—I had never seen before. And it scared me. I had believed this trip would bring us closer, give us space to breathe and deepen our connection. But instead, it was unraveling everything between us.
I hadn't meant any of it the way he'd twisted it.
Eve noticed I had stopped walking and turned back. Her expression shifted the moment she saw my face. The tears threatening my eyes must have told her everything.
Then she glanced at Felix.
If looks could kill, he would have dropped where he stood.
Without a word, she left the boys and came straight to me, her expression hard with fury but her touch gentle as she looped her arm around mine.
"What's going on?" she asked softly.
"I don't know," I whispered, voice trembling. "But I have a bad feeling that once this trip is over, I'll be single again. I don't want to say it out loud... but things are falling apart, Eve. Badly."
She held me closer, shielding me from the others as we trailed behind the group. Felix didn't look back. Not once. He walked ahead like the world had offended him, like I no longer existed.
This wasn't the boy I had fallen for.
This wasn't the man I had given my heart to.
*
This was, without question, the worst trip I had ever been on.
On the bus ride home, I sat next to Eve, my best friend—the only comfort I had left. Her boyfriend took the seat beside Mike, and Felix... Felix sat all the way at the back, slumped against the window with his headphones in, staring out at the fading landscape as if it were more important than the ruins of what we once had.
He hadn't said a word to me since our walk through the city. Since he decided to stop talking to me altogether. I had tried—God, I had tried—to reach him, to open up and speak from the heart. But he'd walked away, letting the silence speak louder than any goodbye ever could.
I rested my head against the cool window, hoping the glass would disguise the tears welling in my eyes.
"Don't be sad, Selena," Eve said softly beside me. "When I see you like this, it breaks my heart."
"I just want things to be good between me and Felix again," I whispered, barely holding myself together. "I'm scared they won't be. How am I supposed to act like everything's fine when it's not? I care about him so much, Eve. I just want it to go back to how it was."
Eve reached over and gently stroked my hair, and the tenderness in the gesture nearly undid me. I felt my throat tighten, the tears pressing harder behind my eyes.
"My mother always said it's not worth crying over guys," she said, her voice both teasing and oddly wise. "Crying ruins your beauty. And that's exactly what those bastards are after. They want to suck all the pretty out of you and leave you a shriveled hag no one wants."
For some reason, her ridiculous logic made me laugh through the tears. Maybe it was the absurd image in my mind—Eve as an ancient, wrinkled crone, glaring at Sebastian with eternal disappointment.
"How do you do that?" I asked, sniffling, wiping away tears with the back of my hand. "How do you make me laugh even now?"
"Because I'm your best friend," she said, leaning her head against my shoulder, "and that's literally my job."
"I'm so glad I have you," I murmured, closing my eyes for just a moment, letting her warmth remind me I wasn't completely alone.
"You finally appreciate me," she teased. "Took you long enough. I mean, if you count on your fingers all the times I saved your emotional ass..."
She wasn't wrong. I truly was grateful for her—more than she probably knew. Eve was like a sister to me, a part of my life I couldn't imagine losing.
"We should go for hot chocolate when we get back," she suggested brightly. "I think we both need a mood-lifter, and nothing heals emotional damage like sugar."
"Witch," I muttered with a weak smile, "you know I'll never say no to chocolate. It's why I'm getting fat like a monster."
"Please. You're already in a relationship. You don't even need to care about your figure anymore."
"Are you crazy?" I gasped. "That's exactly why I need to care. If I let myself go, the cutie will run for the hills. He'll be out of my life faster than you can say 'spilled toad.'"
"You already look like a spilled toad," she said sweetly, "and he still agreed to be your boyfriend. So you're safe."
I let out a low, breathy laugh, only to freeze when I saw the expression on her face. Her eyes widened like a volcano about to erupt.
"Excuse me?" she gasped. "Did you just say I look like a sprawling toad?"
I should have known better than to provoke her.
With zero hesitation, Eve stood from her seat, turned around, and shouted across the bus, "Sebastian!"
The entire bus went dead silent.
All heads turned in her direction, and I shrank in my seat, covering my mouth to keep from bursting out laughing.
"Do I really look like a sloshed toad?" she asked her stunned boyfriend, who looked like he'd just been hit with a flying plate of spaghetti.
Sebastian's face turned a violent shade of red as he gawked at her, speechless. His eyes darted toward Mike, silently pleading for backup.
"He looks confused," Mike chimed in with a smirk, "so I'm betting he does think that—but he's too scared to admit it out loud."
"No! No, it's not like that," Sebastian stammered, waving his hands defensively. "You just surprised me with the question! I mean... I think you look perfect."
His voice was high-pitched and flustered, and his ears turned crimson.
"Aww," Mike cooed mockingly, "how cute."
Despite the chaos she caused, Eve beamed. "Well, that's nice to hear. I am perfect."
I turned to glance toward the back of the bus, my smile fading.
Felix was still sitting there, still facing the window. But for one brief second, he looked back at me. Our eyes met, and I saw something flicker across his face—something raw and aching.
But then, just as quickly, he turned away again, as if the sight of me wounded him too deeply to endure.
I exhaled, the joy from the moment fading like a breeze.
What could I possibly do to fix this?
How could I bring us back to what we once were?
*
Every place has its charm, but nothing compares to home. That truth hit me the moment I stepped into my room, letting the familiar air wash over me. I collapsed onto my bed with a heavy sigh, sinking into the mattress like it could absorb the ache in my chest. I stared up at the ceiling, my thoughts circling endlessly around one person—Felix.
Even after we got off the bus, he hadn't looked at me. Not a word. Not a glance. He just walked off, as if I were a stranger he once knew in another lifetime.
And I couldn't understand it. What had I done that hurt him so much he now refused to even acknowledge me? Was it the smile on my face while I was talking to my friends? Was that all it took to set him off? It felt like, lately, he believed I belonged only to him—that even my laughter needed his permission, that I had no right to be close to anyone but him.
With a weary groan, I reached for my phone and stared at his name in my contacts. My thumb hovered over the call button. Should I be the one to reach out first? Would he even pick up? And even if he did… why should I be the one to apologize when I hadn't done anything wrong?
I massaged my forehead, trying to rub away the forming headache, when suddenly the screen lit up and his name appeared. My heart stuttered, then picked up speed.
Felix was calling.
I hesitated for just a second before answering.
"Hello?" My voice came out small, cautious.
"I don't want our relationship to be like this," he said, his voice heavy, tinged with something close to regret.
I swallowed hard. My throat ached with all the things I wanted to scream at him, but I held them back—for now.
"Do you think I want this, Felix?" I asked, trying to steady the tremble in my voice. "It hurt—the way you treated me during the trip. I thought it was going to be the best time for us, and now… now I just want to forget it ever happened."
"I know. I exaggerated. I'm sorry. This is my fault."
Those words—his words—brought a surge of relief rushing through me. I hadn't realized how much I needed to hear them until now.
"I won't deny it," I said quietly. "You really did go too far."
"I thought about everything on the way home," he continued, voice softer now, humbled. "And God, I feel so stupid. I acted like a total idiot. I hurt you."
Tears pricked the corners of my eyes and slid down my cheeks without warning.
"Yes, Felix. You did hurt me," I whispered. "You weren't yourself. It was like… like you lost your mind."
"Will you forgive me, Selena? Please. I promise it won't happen again. I think I just… got paranoid after everything with Mike."
I wanted to tell him that his grudge against Mike was irrational, that maybe he needed to work it out instead of projecting it onto me. But I knew if I said that, the fragile peace we were just starting to rebuild might shatter again. And maybe they did need to work it out without my interference. I'd already played too big a part in their falling out.
"I can't stay mad at you," I murmured. "So yes, I forgive you. But Felix… I really hope you mean it when you say it won't happen again."
"I promise."
But promises were just words. Beautiful, delicate things—too easily broken.
And one day, I would come to understand just how meaningless they could be.