Chapter 20 Something Unsaid
By the time Trina returned to school, the world had already decided she was fine.
She laughed where laughter was expected.
She smiled when people looked.
She walked the halls like she always had.
Nothing about her seemed broken.
And yet, something about her felt… slightly displaced.
The three of them sat together in class, just as they always had.
Trina between them.
Roomy on her left.
Alex on her right.
From the outside, they looked the same the trio everyone recognized.
Trina leaned back in her chair, whispering something ridiculous to Roomy that made him snort quietly. She smiled, eyes bright, alive in the way people expect of her.
Alex watched the exchange, not jealous just aware.
He couldn't place it.
Her voice sounded the same.
Her laughter was the same.
But the space around her felt different.
Not distant.
Just… shifted.
The teacher spoke. Pens scratched paper. The classroom hummed.
Trina focused easily, answering questions when called on, offering the right smile at the right time.
When Alex leaned closer to ask for a pen, she passed it to him without looking, their fingers brushing briefly.
The contact sent a strange jolt through both of them.
Alex stilled.
Trina didn't react.
Or maybe she did too subtly for anyone else to notice.
Roomy noticed.
He always did.
He caught the way Trina's gaze lingered somewhere far off when she wasn't speaking. The way her shoulders stayed relaxed but her breath sometimes went shallow for just a second before settling again.
Not panic.
Not fear.
Something quieter.
Something held.
"Are you okay?" Alex asked eventually, casually, like he always had.
Trina glanced at him, smiling easily.
"Yeah. Why?"
He hesitated.
"No reason."
She nodded, accepting the answer.
That was the strange part.
Before, she would've pushed.
Teased him.
Demanded honesty.
Now, she simply let it go.
And Alex didn't know why that unsettled him more.
They talked about normal things.
Assignments.
The upcoming party.
Random nonsense Roomy kept muttering under his breath.
Trina stayed present. Engaged. Real.
And yet, Alex felt like he was standing beside her rather than with her.
Like there was a thin sheet of glass between them invisible, but firm.
Inside her chest, something warmed.
A soft pulse.
Not painful.
Not alarming.
Just there.
Trina inhaled slowly and exhaled again.
Not now, she thought.
The feeling settled.
She smiled again.
At lunch, they sat together like always.
Trina joked. Roomy laughed. Alex listened.
Everything looked fine.
But Alex noticed he was doing most of the listening now.
Trina didn't fill every silence anymore.
And for the first time, Alex wondered what it felt like to be the one carrying the weight of quiet.
Roomy watched them both.
And something deep in his gut told him this wasn't a phase.
This was a shift.
The kind you don't notice until it's already happened.
When the bell rang, Trina stood, stretching casually.
"See you guys after class," she said, light and easy.
She walked away without looking back.
Alex stared after her longer than he meant to.
Roomy followed her path with his eyes.
Nothing had happened.
And yet everything had.
The girl that talked much and long to be composed finally this it right? right?