The next morning, Riya Kapoor—better known as Riu—sat in the student lounge at Redwood University, her fingers wrapped around a steaming cup of coffee. She watched the swirl of students buzzing around the room, but her mind was stuck on yesterday's encounter. The memory of the tall, brooding guy who had slammed into her, covered in blood, still gnawed at her. He hadn't even bothered to apologize, like she was invisible, or worse, an inconvenience.
She wasn't one to let things go easily, and this—this had her fuming.
"I swear, if I see that asshole again, I'm going to tear him apart," Riu muttered, her voice low but laced with frustration. Her grip on the coffee cup tightened until her knuckles turned white. The heat of the cup seemed to mirror the fire inside her. She hated feeling dismissed.
Lana, one of her new friends at Redwood, looked up from her phone, raising an eyebrow. The conversation had shifted suddenly. "Wait, who are you talking about?"
Riu exhaled sharply, rolling her eyes. "Some guy—tall, brown hair, covered in blood like he'd just stepped out of a street brawl. A total jerk. Bumped into me like I wasn't even there and walked off like nothing happened." The memory only fueled her irritation.
Soumya, sitting beside Lana, leaned in with curiosity, her dark eyes glinting with interest. "Are you talking about... Zane?" Her voice carried a hint of disbelief, as if the name carried more weight than Riu had realized.
Riu shrugged, taking a quick sip of her coffee. "I don't know his name, but whoever he is, he's a nightmare."
Lana's eyes widened, her mouth curving into a knowing smile. "Oh my god, that's Zane Holloway! You seriously don't know him? He's like... Redwood's walking mystery. One of the hottest guys here, but impossible to figure out."
"Hot, maybe," Riu scoffed, setting her cup down a little harder than she intended. "But he's also an asshole."
Lana grinned, leaning back in her chair as if the mention of Zane was a common topic of conversation. "Well, you're not wrong there. Zane's... complicated. He doesn't talk much. When he's not in a mood to fight, he's barely noticeable. But when he does clash—especially with Logan Cruz—it's like a freaking war zone."
At the mention of Logan, Soumya's interest deepened. She leaned forward, her voice lowering conspiratorially. "Logan Cruz is worse. Zane might be quiet, but Logan? He's dangerous. Rich, unpredictable, and always up to no good. But somehow, the girls here lose their minds over him."
Riu frowned, her brow furrowing as she connected the dots. "Wait, Logan? The guy Zane was fighting yesterday?"
Lana nodded, her eyes gleaming with amusement. "Yep. That's him. Logan's like... the king around here. He's got this whole bad-boy thing down to a science. And yeah, he's definitely involved in some shady stuff. But every week, without fail, he throws these huge charity events. It's like clockwork. It keeps him out of serious trouble, and for whatever reason, people eat it up."
Soumya jumped in, her tone half disbelieving, half fascinated. "It's like a game for him. One minute, he's getting into fights, the next, he's feeding homeless kids or writing fat checks to local charities. Girls think it's sexy—like this dark, dangerous guy with a heart of gold. But trust me, that heart's buried deep under layers of shit."
Riu sat back, shaking her head, still trying to make sense of it. "So, let me get this straight—he's involved in crime but covers it up by doing charity events? And people fall for it? That's... ridiculous."
Lana laughed, flipping her long hair over her shoulder. "Yeah, it's ridiculous, but it works for him. Half the girls here would kill to be on his arm, even if it's just for one night. And then there's Zane... quieter, more of a lone wolf. He's got his own crowd, but he's not as flashy as Logan."
Riu's mind spun with the absurdity of it all. Just two days at Redwood, and already she was neck-deep in drama she hadn't asked for. A fight between two guys who apparently thought they owned the place, and she had been caught in the crossfire. It all felt... strange. And yet, there was something about it that tugged at her curiosity.
"Welcome to Redwood," Lana teased, nudging Riu playfully. "Stick around long enough, and you'll see more of these guys than you ever wanted to."
Riu chuckled, though her mind was already wandering, trying to sort out what the hell was happening at this school. There was a certain intrigue to it all. Not attraction, exactly—at least not in the usual sense—but a curiosity. Logan wasn't the kind of guy who drew her in with his looks. It was something else.
Something about this place felt like stepping into a different reality. One she wasn't entirely prepared for.
---
On the other side of town, Zane Holloway sat on the edge of his bed, staring down at his electric guitar, the sharp edges of its body pressing into his thighs. His room was dimly lit, shadows dancing along the walls as the sun fought to break through the thick curtains. The tension in his chest felt unbearable, like a knot he couldn't untangle, and the only thing that made sense was the music.
He strummed a few harsh chords, the sound echoing through the empty house, filling the silence with something tangible. The fight with Logan still hung heavy in his mind, replaying in vivid flashes—Logan's smug grin, the adrenaline coursing through his veins, the snap of his fist connecting with Logan's jaw. It had all felt so inevitable, like it was leading up to that moment for weeks.
But now? Now it felt like he was unraveling.
He played harder, each note more intense than the last, as if he could drown out the chaos in his head. The sharp, metallic sound of the guitar strings cut through the room, but it wasn't enough. Nothing was ever enough.
His phone buzzed beside him, the sound jolting him out of his thoughts. He glanced down, seeing his mom's name flash across the screen.
His stomach sank.
Mom.
Zane picked up the phone, hesitating for a moment before answering. "Yeah?"
His mother's voice was shaky, barely held together by a thin thread of control. "Zane... it's your dad. There's been an accident."
The world stopped. His fingers froze on the strings, the music dying instantly. His heart pounded in his chest, the words hanging in the air like a weight pressing down on him.
"What happened?" Zane's voice cracked, panic creeping in.
"I don't have all the details... but it's bad. You need to come to the hospital." Her voice trembled, and Zane could hear the fear in it.
Zane didn't wait for more. He threw the guitar aside, grabbed his jacket, and bolted out the door, his mind racing, fear clawing at his throat. The ride to the hospital was a blur of screeching tires and angry horns, but Zane didn't care. He needed to get there. He had to.
When he finally reached the hospital, he pushed through the doors, the sharp smell of antiseptic filling his nostrils. His mother, Alisa, sat in one of the waiting room chairs, her face pale, eyes swollen from crying. She was clutching Zane's uncle, Ben, her entire body trembling.
"Mom?" Zane's voice was small, a whisper. He couldn't stop the tremor in his hands.
Alisa looked up at him, her face breaking into raw grief the moment her eyes met his. She reached for him, pulling him into a tight embrace. "He's gone, Zane. Your father... he's gone."
The words hit him like a truck, stealing the breath from his lungs. His father... the man who had been larger than life, who had always been there... gone. Just like that.
Zane collapsed into his mother's arms, the weight of it all crushing him from the inside. He could feel the tears burning in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. Not here. Not now. He had to stay strong—for her.
But inside, he felt like he was breaking apart piece by piece.
The doctor walked into the room, his face a mask of professional sympathy. "I'm sorry for your loss," he said quietly. "We did everything we could, but..." He trailed off, the words hanging in the air like a final blow.
Uncle Ben placed a hand on Zane's shoulder, his grip firm. "We'll get through this," he said softly, his voice a low murmur meant to reassure. But Zane wasn't so sure. It felt like the ground had been ripped out from under him, like his world was shattering and no one knew how to fix it.
Zane stood there, the hospital lights too bright, the sterile smell too sharp, and everything felt unreal—like he was trapped in a nightmare he couldn't wake up from. His father, gone? Just like that?
He blinked back tears, biting the inside of his cheek until he tasted blood. He couldn't cry. Not here. Not in front of everyone. He had to hold it together—if not for himself, then for his mother. She was already breaking apart in front of him, and the last thing she needed was to see her son fall apart too.
"You can take the body when you're ready," the doctor said, his voice flat, clinical. It didn't even seem real. Zane felt like he was in some kind of sick movie, the kind where the characters' pain was muted by cold words and sterile environments. The word body hit him like a punch to the gut. His father wasn't just a body. He was more than that. He had to be more than that.
Alisa broke into sobs again, and this time, Zane couldn't hold back any longer. The tears burned in his eyes and then spilled over, his chest heaving as he finally let himself feel the weight of it all. He collapsed into the chair beside his mother, his shoulders shaking as he buried his face in his hands.
His mother's sobs filled the room, mixing with his own silent tears, and for the first time in a long time, Zane felt completely and utterly lost.
---
Riu, back at Redwood University, couldn't shake the weird feeling that had settled over her since her conversation with Lana and Soumya. The image of Zane Holloway, blood-streaked and angry, kept popping into her mind, no matter how much she tried to push it away. Something about the whole situation with him and Logan felt bigger than just two guys fighting. It felt like she had walked into a world she wasn't ready for.
As she made her way back to her dorm room, she thought about the conversation earlier, about how everyone seemed to have an opinion about Zane and Logan. How they were seen as untouchable, almost larger-than-life.
Lana's words rang in her head: "Zane's got this reputation... He's not like Logan, though. He's more... broken."
Riu wasn't sure what to make of that. Broken? From the outside, Zane looked like the kind of guy who had it all together. Cold. Distant. Dangerous, even. But broken? That wasn't a word she would have used to describe him. Not yet, anyway.
As she climbed the steps to her dorm, her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out, glancing at the screen. It was a message from Soumya.
Soumya: "Hey, I heard about Zane's dad. It's all over campus. Apparently, he died in some accident. Can you believe it? No wonder he's always pissed off at the world."
Riu froze, the words on the screen blurring for a second as the weight of them hit her. Zane's dad... dead?
She swallowed hard, feeling a strange twist in her stomach. All her anger from earlier dissolved into something else—something closer to sympathy. She couldn't imagine what it must feel like to lose someone like that, so suddenly, so violently. And now, with everything she'd heard about Zane... it made a little more sense. His anger, his isolation. It was starting to come together.
But she pushed the thought away, shaking her head. She barely knew him. Why was she even thinking about him this much?
Riu: "That's... terrible. Do you know what happened?"
Soumya: "No details yet, just that it was a car accident. Apparently, Zane is messed up over it."
Riu: "I don't blame him."
Soumya: "Yeah. Anyway, just thought you should know since we were talking about him earlier."
Riu tucked her phone back into her pocket, her thoughts swirling with conflicting emotions. She'd been so ready to hate Zane after their brief, hostile encounter. But now? Now things felt more complicated.
She reached her dorm room and unlocked the door, stepping inside and leaning back against the frame with a heavy sigh. The room was quiet, and for the first time all day, she let herself relax. Zane Holloway might have been a jerk, but maybe... just maybe, there was more to him than what she'd seen.
---
Zane sat in his father's favorite chair in the living room, the house eerily quiet. The sun had long since set, and the only light in the room came from the small lamp on the side table. His mother had gone to bed hours ago, too exhausted from crying to stay awake.
But Zane couldn't sleep. He couldn't sit still. The silence was suffocating, pressing in on him from all sides. He stared at the empty chair across from him—the one his father used to sit in every night when he came home from work.
The reality of it all still hadn't sunk in. How could it? One minute, his dad had been here, larger than life, a constant presence in their home. And now... now he was gone. Just like that.
Gone.
Zane clenched his fists, his knuckles white as he fought against the urge to scream, to punch something, to do anything to release the anger building inside him. But there was nothing he could do. Nothing would bring his father back.
He stood abruptly, unable to sit in the quiet any longer. He needed to move, needed to get out of this house. The walls felt too close, like they were closing in on him, suffocating him.
Grabbing his leather jacket, he stepped out into the cold night air. The streets were empty, the only sound the low hum of streetlights flickering above. Zane's breath came in short bursts, each exhale visible in the cold air as he walked down the quiet street.
His feet carried him without direction, his mind lost in a swirl of memories—his father's laugh, the way he used to clap Zane on the back after a tough day, his voice booming through the house as he talked about work.
And now there was only silence.
Zane found himself standing on the bridge overlooking Silverbrook, the water flowing lazily beneath him. He stared down at the river, watching the moonlight dance on the surface, feeling the weight of his grief settle deeper into his chest.
He didn't know how to move forward from this. Didn't know how to be the man his father had expected him to be. All he knew was that right now, in this moment, everything felt broken beyond repair.
And for the first time in a long time, Zane didn't know how to fix it.
---