Zariah couldn't keep it together anymore.
The walls she'd spent months building were starting to crack. In the middle of math class, she'd space out completely. In science, she started crying without warning—just silent tears that she wiped away before anyone noticed.
Except Jasmine. Always Jasmine.
But even Jasmine couldn't catch everything.
One day, Zariah stood in the hallway, her backpack still slung over one shoulder, just… frozen. Students walked around her like she wasn't even there. Her breath caught in her chest, and she couldn't move, couldn't think. Her heart pounded so hard it made her ears ring. The walls tilted. Her vision blurred.
She slid down to the floor, hugging her knees.
I'm breaking, she thought. And no one sees it.
Jasmine found her eventually and walked her outside. "You had a panic attack," she whispered. "You need help, Z. This isn't something you can hide anymore."
But Zariah shook her head. "I can't. No one would understand."
Jasmine didn't push. Just stayed.
But that night—the night everything tipped—Zariah didn't call her.
She had another breakdown. Her thoughts screamed louder than ever. Everything—her mom yelling on the phone, the empty fridge, the grades that still came back with "Well done!" written across them like a cruel joke—it all became too much.
She grabbed the blade again. Went deeper this time. Too deep.
At first, she didn't even feel it. Just saw the blood. More than usual. A lot more.
Her head spun. She leaned against the wall. Her breath caught. What have I done?
Then—a knock at her window.
Jasmine.
"Zariah, open up! You weren't answering your phone. I swear, if you're ghosting me again I'll—"
She saw the blood. Through the glass. Her voice dropped into panic.
"ZARIAH—OPEN THE DOOR!"
Zariah barely made it to unlock it. Jasmine pushed through and caught her as she stumbled.
"Oh my God. Oh my God—no. No, Z." Her voice cracked as she pulled her friend into the bathroom, grabbed a towel, wrapped it tightly around her arm. "Stay with me. Please. Please stay."
Zariah blinked slowly, her body heavy, her mind numb. But Jasmine's hands were warm. Steady. Real.
"I didn't mean to," Zariah whispered, her voice almost gone. "I just wanted it to stop."
Jasmine didn't say anything right away. She just held her tighter than ever before.
"You scared me," she finally said, her voice shaking. "I can't lose you. I won't."
The bleeding slowed. The world didn't end. But something changed that night.
Zariah still wasn't ready to ask for help.
But she finally realized... Jasmine wasn't going anywhere.