Chapter One: The Beginning of the End
My name is Bry, short for Bryson, but no one calls me that except my mom when she's mad. I've lived next door to Remira—Remi to everyone else—since we were kids. She's always been this vibrant force of nature, the kind of girl who could light up a room with just her presence. But lately, she's been different. Quiet, distracted, like her mind's trapped somewhere else. And I'd give anything to know where that "else" is.
But let me back up. This story really starts with Tess and Edward. Tess, Remi's best friend, is one of those impossibly confident girls who always seems to get what she wants. And what she wanted this time was Edward: tall, charming, and the kind of guy who'd be the star of a rom-com if life were a movie. They've been inseparable for months now, their love story like something out of a fairytale. Except for one problem—my fairytale had Remi as the heroine, not Tess.
Chapter Two: A Shift in the Shadows
It was a Wednesday evening when I first noticed it—the change in Remi. She'd been spending less time at our usual hangouts and more time "working on school projects." I didn't think much of it at first; she's always been a little scatterbrained when it comes to schedules. But then I started seeing her disappear down the alley near the coffee shop where we used to grab lattes after class. The first time, I told myself it was nothing. The second time, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
So one night, I followed her.
Chapter Three: Alley Secrets
The alley was dimly lit, just a single flickering streetlamp illuminating the cracked pavement and scattered trash. I hid behind the corner of a brick wall, my heart pounding like I'd just run a marathon. And then I saw them.
Remi and Edward.
He was leaning against the wall, looking every bit like the charismatic hero he pretended to be, and she was standing too close. Way too close. She was laughing at something he'd said, the kind of laugh that used to be reserved for our inside jokes. Then he touched her arm, a casual brush of his fingers that made my stomach twist into knots.
I wanted to believe it was innocent, that there was some perfectly logical explanation for why my best friend was meeting her best friend's boyfriend in a dark alley. But the way she looked at him—like he was the light in her shadowed world—told me everything I needed to know.
Chapter Four: A Fractured Heart
For weeks, I tried to confront her. Tried to find the words to ask what was going on without sounding like a jealous, lovesick idiot. But every time I opened my mouth, the words got stuck in my throat. Instead, I watched as she continued to sneak off, her laughter and smiles reserved for someone who wasn't me.
I couldn't bring myself to tell Tess, either. How do you destroy someone's happiness? How do you tell them the person they love is slipping through their fingers?
Chapter Five: The Weight of Silence
Three months passed, each day heavier than the last. I saw them together more times than I care to admit. Sometimes in the alley, sometimes at the park, once even at the diner where Remi and I used to share fries and milkshakes. Each time felt like a dagger to the heart, a reminder that I was nothing more than a bystander in her life.
I tried to move on. I tried to focus on anything but her—sports, school, even dating. But no one could hold a candle to Remi. No one else made my heart race the way she did, even when it felt like it was breaking every time I saw her with Edward.
Chapter Six: The End of the Beginning
The final straw came on a rainy Friday evening. I was walking home, the rain soaking through my jacket, when I saw them again. This time, she was crying, and he was holding her, whispering something I couldn't hear. My first instinct was to run to her, to be the one she leaned on. But I stayed frozen, rooted to the spot as the reality of it all sank in.
She didn't need me. She had him.
As I walked away that night, the rain mixing with the tears I refused to acknowledge, I realized something. Loving someone doesn't mean they'll love you back. And sometimes, the hardest part isn't letting go of them—it's letting go of the hope that they'll choose you.
**To Be Continued...**