CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Echo

It felt different without him.

Not better.

Just… quieter.

We were back at the benches.

Same place.

Same people.

But something had shifted in the space between us, like the air had been cleared out and replaced with something thinner.

Something you had to get used to breathing.

William was talking about something.

Football, I think.

Anne was half-listening, half-watching everything like she didn’t fully trust the calm yet.

Flora sat beside me.

Not awkward anymore.

Not distant.

Just… there.

That was new.

Sarah hadn’t said much since yesterday.

She was there, physically, but every now and then she’d drift — like she was replaying things she couldn’t undo.

No one pushed her.

No one asked.

Some things didn’t need questions.

“It’s weird,” William said at one point. “Feels like something should be happening.”

Anne nodded slightly. “Yeah.”

Flora glanced at me. “That’s because something was always happening.”

She didn’t say his name.

She didn’t have to.

“It’ll settle,” I said.

I wasn’t sure if I believed that.

“Or it won’t,” Flora replied quietly.

Silence sat with us again.

Not uncomfortable.

Just… aware.

After a while, the conversation picked up again.

Small things.

Normal things.

Homework. Teachers. Someone failing a test.

It almost felt like before.

Almost.

And that was the problem.

Because “almost” meant we were noticing the difference.

I leaned back slightly, letting the conversation blur into the background.

For the first time in a while, nothing was pulling at me.

No tension.

No watching what I said.

No second meanings hiding underneath everything.

It should’ve felt good.

But something about it didn’t sit right.

Like a noise stopping too suddenly.

Like a room going quiet when it shouldn’t.

I glanced across the courtyard without really thinking.

Just habit.

Just… checking.

And that’s when I saw him.

James.

He wasn’t near anyone.

Not properly.

Standing off to the side, near the edge of the building.

Alone.

But he didn’t look alone.

He was smiling.

Not at anyone.

Not at anything.

Just… smiling.

To himself.

A quiet laugh followed.

Short.

Contained.

Like he was in the middle of a conversation no one else could hear.

My stomach tightened.

Because it wasn’t over.

Not even close.

Flora noticed me go still.

“What?” she asked quietly.

I didn’t answer straight away.

I just kept looking.

James turned slightly.

Not enough to face us.

But enough that I knew—

He knew I was watching.

The smile didn’t drop.

If anything—

It sharpened.

And then he looked away.

Like he’d already moved on.

Like he’d already chosen something else.

Or someone else.

“Liam?” Flora said again.

I exhaled slowly.

Shook my head.

“Nothing,” I said.

But it wasn’t nothing.

Not even close.

Because across the courtyard—

James laughed again.

Soft.

To himself.

And all I could think was—

Who’s next?

The End