The Price of Unrequited Love

her stupor. She looked out the window and saw Brendan's car

hugging her knees, f

tering the silence.

tated, the

the phone. "Chloie just called me! How could you be so shameless? C

r side of the story. Glenna Taylor had married into the Maynard family for status and securi

what happened?" Jayde as

e. "Don't you dare cause trouble for me, Jayde. If your behavior affects my pos

ne wen

phone. A pale, tear-streaked face stared back. She bit

to the silent phone. "I'm leavin

days. Jayde was busy with her final prep

one minute to midnight, she opened his Instagram profile. For

b hovering over the keypad. Then, she c

reminder popped up on her p

It was a picture of her and Brendan's hands, intertwined, with a birthda

then was still. It was like watchi

eo of them kissing, with the text: "H

led wryly and

hers was packed in a single suitcase. Everything that conn

last thing. T

ut every single page, ripping the drawings of him into tiny

e. She threw away the s

ade-the one of him and Chloie-and the now-useless night ligh

er light in the dark. Now,

t beside the drawing. It was a quote from a poem: The mountains an

he deleted her mother's. She deactivated all her social media accounts. Then,

house that had been her home for a decade and walked out

ht sky, she looked out the window at the gl

free. She would