Page 51 of Envy

We slip out the back exit, away from prying eyes. The night air is cool, thick with the scent of damp earth. Streetlights flicker, casting long shadows against the pavement.

A car door slams. I freeze. Laughter A voice. His voice.

Cassie walks ahead of Garret, her heels clicking against the wet pavement.

Amy must sense my hesitation, my urge to disappear. We stay hidden, watching as they round the building toward the entrance.

Garret isn’t wearing the same clothes he had on this morning. Luke was right. He was with her. And that’s why he told me not to wait.

A bitter taste fills my mouth. “Can I stay with you tonight?” I whisper, my voice barely there.

Amy doesn’t hesitate. “Yeah, of course.”

Garret doesn’t owe me an explanation. We are nothing. But I can’t face him tonight. Not after this. Not after realizing how foolish I’ve been.

I had one night. One fleeting moment where I let myself dream of something different.

He said my name like it was something precious.

He said I smelled like flowers.

He said I was beautiful.

“Are you going to get that?”Amy asks, shifting on her bed to face me.

Her dorm room setup is different from mine. She’s on the third floor, in a space meant to be shared, but she doesn’t have a roommate. There’s an empty twin bed against the far wall, sheets folded neatly at the foot. She gave me a spare blanket, and though the room is small, it feels warmer than mine ever has. A tiny desk sits against the window, cork-board pinned with notes and photos, fairy lights strung above it like a halo, casting a soft glow across the walls.

It’s the only light in the room.

My phone vibrates against the chipped nightstand, buzzing like it’s possessed. The screen flashes with another missed call from Garret, followed by a series of texts.

Garret: Where are you? You never made it home.

Garret: Rose, answer the phone.

Garret: ?

The screen lights up again, the glow hitting the ceiling like a flashlight in the dark.

I sigh, my fingers hovering over the power button. He could make me pay for ignoring him. Just like John. Garret acts likehis house is my home, but I don’t have a home. Never did. Never will.

He should have let me drown in his pool.

It would’ve been a perfect way to get rid of me—an accident, my own fault. Not at the hands of the people who have already planned my death.

I press the button, watching as the screen fades to black. A silent rejection.

I don’t want to hear him threaten me. I don’t want to listen to whatever excuse he has, don’t want to see whatever expression he’ll wear when I finally face him.

Not yet.

I drop the phone onto the nightstand with a thud—like shutting the final page of a book, a chapter closed.

“Don’t want to hear it, huh?” Amy’s voice is quiet, mirroring the storm inside me.

Anger. Regret. Defeat. Acceptance.

“What’s the point?” I turn on my side, resting my head against my palm. “Thank you.”

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