Henry found the envelope at twilight.
It sat alone on his windowsill like it had been left there by the wind, quiet, unassuming, but full of weight.
His name was written in Mia's handwriting. That soft, almost timid cursive he knew from the notes she passed him in class. The name looked innocent. But something about the way the envelope was sealed made his stomach twist. He hesitated for a moment, then opened it. By the time he finished reading, his hands were trembling.
Henry lowered the letter, his chest rising and falling with uneven breaths. He sat down slowly on the edge of his bed, the words echoing in his mind.
'A break.'
No…no, this didn't make sense.
They were fine, weren't they? Just a few days ago, they had kissed, chatted a lot, smiled at him like he was the only person she could breathe around. Now she was saying he lied too much. That there were too many secrets.
He squeezed his eyes shut, running a hand through his hair.
"Damn it," he whispered, voice cracking.
Had she found out?
Did she know about Lily?
The thought sent a jolt through him like electricity. But no, how could she? He hadn't even told her the full truth yet. He was waiting for the right time. He wanted to protect her. That was the only reason he would held it back. Wasn't it?
Henry stood up, pacing the room, the letter still in his hand like a wound that wouldn't stop bleeding. He thought of her voice. The way she said his name when she was annoyed. The way she laughed, even when she tried to hold it back. The way her eyes looked straight through him sometimes, like she could see parts of him he couldn't face. Maybe that's what scared him the most. She had seen him and now she was walking away.
Later that night, he sat on the hood of his car outside her house. After getting her new house address from Elise. He didn't knock. He didn't call. He just waited hoping maybe she would come out. Maybe she would see him and change her mind. Maybe she would open the door and say it was all a mistake.
But the lights in her window stayed off and the street stayed quiet. He pulled out his phone.
Henry: Can we talk? Please. I don't understand.
No response.
Henry: I miss you.
Still nothing. He typed again.
Henry: If I did something wrong… I'll fix it. Just tell me what it is.
He stared at the screen. The little "delivered" checkmark stared back at him like a slap. Then, with a breathless laugh full of heartbreak, he added one last message:
Henry: You don't get to walk into my life, set everything on fire, and leave without telling me why.
Still… nothing. Henry leaned back against the windshield, the cold settling into his skin. He knew she was hiding something and now, he was starting to realize... so was he.
The detention center sat like a shadow on the edge of the city, tall fences, gray walls, and silence that seemed to press against the air. Hilda had never been inside before, and the sterile chill of the visiting area made her skin crawl.
She sat at the metal table, her knee bouncing under the surface. The walls were cold, the fluorescent lights humming like they had secrets of their own. She didn't look around. She didn't smile. She was here for one thing.
A guard opened the side door, and Carl walked in, hands in his pockets, his jumpsuit loose around his lanky frame. He looked thinner and tired but the minute his eyes landed on Hilda, the corners of his mouth tugged into a smirk.
"Well, well," he said, sitting down across from her. "Didn't think you would actually come."
"I told you I would."
Carl leaned forward. "How is it going out there? Mia still playing cool?"
Carl's eyes narrowed. "She doesn't know anything."
"She knows enough to get you stuck in here," Hilda snapped. "She makes you look like the villain. Like she is some kind of broken girl with secrets but all she does is ruin people."
Carl leaned back, eyes scanning the room before settling on Hilda again. "So what? You want to scare her? Teach her a lesson?"
"No," Hilda said coldly. "I want to make her disappear. Like she made you disappear."
Carl stared at her. Hilda didn't flinch.
"She's been unstable since she got here," Hilda continued. "Always talking about things that don't make sense. People think she's weird. It wouldn't take much to push her over the edge. Or make it *look* like she broke down."
Carl rubbed his jaw. "You thinking social? Public embarrassment?"
"I'm thinking of ruining her. From the inside out. Start slow—get inside her head. Isolate her. Make people question her stories. Then? We expose her. Her lies. Her fake trauma. Everything."
Carl grinned. "You're scarier than I thought."
"She chose the wrong person to mess with," Hilda said flatly.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Carl leaned forward, lowering his voice. "There's a locker, bottom row, building C. Inside, there's a notebook. Pages I tore out before she left our previous school because of the same weird stories. Names, notes and stuff that could... change the way people see her."
"What's in it?"
"Pieces. Things I heard her say. Things she wrote. Some stuff that sounds insane if you don't know the full story."
Hilda smirked. "Then I guess we make sure no one ever knows the full story."
They shook hands across the table. A deal sealed in silence as the guard came to escort Carl away, he turned back one last time.
"Tell Mia I said hi."
Hilda stood slowly, eyes cold and unreadable. "Don't worry. She'll know you never really left."
The sun had barely begun to set over Lashington when Elise received the message.
Unknown Number: Hey. It's Carl, don't freak out.
Elise stared at the screen for a moment, her fingers hovering over the keyboard. She hadn't heard from Carl since the day he got detained at least, not directly. The last time she had heard about him was when he wanted to attack Mia.
Now... he was texting her like nothing had happened.
Elise: How did you get my number?
Carl: Hilda. Chill. I just need to ask something. You're not in trouble.
She hesitated.
Elise: What do you want?
Carl: Mia. I need to talk to her. I owe her an apology, okay?
That surprised Elise.
Elise: Why? After everything?
Carl: I messed up. I know it. You don't need to defend her—I'm not here to fight. Just… I heard she moved. To Rivercliff, right?
Elise paused. Her gut prickled.
Carl: Look, I'm not trying anything shady. Just want to say what I couldn't say before. She deserves that much, right?
He was being oddly sincere. Or maybe just really good at pretending. Elise bit her lip, her fingers trembling slightly as she typed back.
Elise: She doesn't want to see you. Not after what you did.
Carl: I get that, but just the address, Elise. I will leave a letter and walk away, no drama. You have my word.
Elise: Why not message her?
Carl: She blocked me. I Can't blame her but I cannot fix it if I can't face it.
For a long minute, Elise just stared at the screen. He sounded calm, reasonable maybe even guilty. Part of her wanted to believe he'd changed. That maybe detention had taught him something. And another part—the one still trying to hold all her friendships together—just wanted the tension to stop.
Elise: Rivercliff Heights, 12 Foxgate Lane. But if you show up and hurt her again, I swear…
Carl: that won't happen. Thanks, Elise. You won't regret it.
But as soon as the message was sent, Elise's heart sank. A sharp tug in her chest, like she'd just opened the wrong door. Something in his last message felt too smooth and too final. That night, Elise couldn't sleep. She kept checking her phone. Kept replaying the conversation in her head. She felt like she should tell Mia she gave Carl her house address and for the first time in a long while, she didn't feel like Mia's protector. She felt like she had just betrayed her.
Carl immediately sends Mia's home address to Hilda.