The quiet hospital room was filled with the low beep of machines, and the weight of something unsaid.
Mom walked in, her lips pressed tightly together, as if she'd rehearsed what she was about to say a hundred times and it still didn't come out right.
"I talked to the department," she said softly, sitting beside me. "They finalized the transfer. I have to leave for Arizona in a week."
The breath left my lungs. "One week?"
She nodded, gently brushing a strand of hair from my face. "I know it's sudden, Ava. But I'm trying to figure out if you can stay—maybe with your aunt. It's just… complicated."
I nodded slowly, my heart sinking. A week. Just one week left here. One week to say goodbye to everything I'd finally started to love—Chloe, Ezra, the warmth I'd found.
Damien.
I didn't realize the door wasn't fully shut. That someone had been there—listening.
---
DAMIEN'S POV
(Overhearing outside the room)
His footsteps had slowed as he neared the door, hesitant, unsure if she'd want to see him.
But when he heard Ava's mom say "One week," everything froze.
She was leaving?
He backed away from the door like he'd been punched in the gut. The world spun slightly. His chest tightened with panic and betrayal.
He thought they had more time. He thought maybe—just maybe—she still cared enough to fight for them.
But now she was just leaving?
---
Later – School Hallway
AVA'S POV
I didn't expect to find Damien waiting near my locker.
He looked different—tired, raw, like something inside him had snapped. "So you're just going to leave?" he said, voice cold.
"What?" I blinked.
"One week, right?" he bit out. "That's all the time you need to forget about me?"
I stepped back, stunned. "You—You heard?"
"I heard enough." His eyes were filled with something I couldn't place—anger, hurt, fear. "You're really leaving just because I messed up once? Because of one fight?"
"That's not why!" I yelled, voice breaking. "It's not my choice—"
"Oh, come on, Ava!" he snapped. "You're running away because you always do. You never gave me a chance to explain. And now you're proving you're just like everyone else—walking away when it gets hard."
My throat tightened. "That's not fair—"
"No," he said bitterly, "what's not fair is me trying, and you deciding to walk out of my life in a week."
"You think this is easy for me?" I cried. "You think I want to leave?"
"Then don't!" he roared.
I stood frozen. My chest ached with the force of the argument, the pressure collapsing on top of me all at once.
"Enough!" Rylan's voice boomed through the hallway as he appeared from behind the staircase, rushing toward us. "Damien, stop!"
He pushed between us, shielding me. "She's still recovering. Don't you see how pale she looks?"
"Stay out of this, Rylan," Damien growled.
"I won't," Rylan snapped. "You've said enough."
I clutched my head, the walls beginning to sway.
"Ava?" Rylan turned just in time to catch me as I collapsed against the lockers.
Damien reached out too, horror replacing the fury in his face. "Ava—!"
---
Later – Hospital Room
RYLAN'S POV
The doctor looked serious this time.
"She fainted from emotional overload," he said quietly. "Her vitals were unstable for a while. If she undergoes any more emotional trauma soon… it could have long-term consequences."
I stared at Ava, her hand limp in mine, her breathing shallow but steady.
Damien stood in the doorway again—silent, shattered.
"She's not like the rest," I whispered to him without looking. "She breaks quietly. You just never noticed."
---