The Collision

Ariana's POV

I woke up gasping and pressed my back flat against the damp sheets. My hands were already clenched into the blanket like it could stop me from falling apart.

Davian's voice drilled into my skull again, clear as that rainy night outside the café.

"You were never enough, Ariana. I needed someone who actually made me look good. Not some scholarship girl chasing stories no one cares about."

I could still see the way his lip curled when he said it, the way rain slid down his jacket while he turned and walked off with her arm linked through his. She laughed at something he whispered, and I stood there holding two coffees that were going cold.

Every secret I told him in the dark; my fears about failing, my worries about money and the way I cried about my parents' fights, he had turned into punchlines for his friends. I sat up slowly and digged my fingers into my thighs. I swallowed hard a few times but the lump stayed.

I got out of bed and walked to the sink on stiff legs, I splashed cold water on my face and stared at my reflection; the same slim build, same plain features, same eyes that now looked flat and tired. I brushed my teeth in silence as the mechanical back-and-forth motion sound filled the room.

My phone screen glowed with the scholarship reminder: Portfolio due in five days, keep the grades or lose the funding. My chest tightened again, I pulled on jeans and my gray sweater, tied my hair back tight, and made instant coffee.

The bathroom door clicked open. Becca came out with her towel twisted around her wet hair. Her shoulder-length brown strands stuck out in every direction, and her bright smile hit me before I was ready for it. She always looked like she had just heard a good joke, even at eight in the morning.

"Morning, sunshine" she said, dropping onto her bed and grabbing her mascara. "You were making those sounds again in your sleep. Another one about Davian?"

I stayed by the desk, gripping my coffee mug with both hands. "Yeah, same crap."

Becca's smile faded a little, she twisted the mascara wand slowly. "Ari, it's been six months. You can't keep letting him live rent-free in your head like this. Come to the hockey house party with me tonight, just one night. Remember you used to love getting dressed up with me."

I shook my head and set the mug down. "I've got an article draft due and notes to organize, scholarship doesn't care if I'm tired or sad, Becca. One bad semester and I'm back home with nothing."

Becca leaned forward, her expressive face serious now. "That's what kills me. You used to talk about falling in love like it was this big adventure, remember how you'd gush about the guy who would actually listen? Now you shut down every time I mention dating. What did Davian really do to you? Tell me again, because I still don't get how one guy broke my best friend this bad."

I sat on the edge of my bed, knees together and stared at the floor. I twisted the hem of my sweater. "He made me believe I was safe with him. I told him about how my parents screamed at each other over money, I told him how scared I was of ending up like them; always chasing someone's approval. He held me and said I was his safe place too. Then he used every word against me and laughed about it with his buddies. I gave him parts of me I never gave anyone, and he treated them like jokes."

Becca moved over and sat beside me. Her shoulder bumped mine gently. "I hate him for that, I really do. Because of him you stopped smiling the way you used to and you barely talk about anything except classes now. I miss the Ariana who believed people could be good. Love isn't always a trap, you know. Some guys actually stick around and mean what they say."

I let out a short breath and stood up, needing space. "I watched my parents chase each other's validation until the house felt like a war zone. Davian proved it to me again, love is just people using each other until someone better shows up. I'm not doing that shit anymore, I have to focus on my journalism degree, my scholarship and my own future, that's it."