Raven knew—deep in her bones—that Chris loved her.
Just like she loved him.
It wasn't complicated. It wasn't confusing. It was pure and real.
For months, everything had felt like it was going right.
Late-night talks, stolen laughs, the way his hand fit perfectly in hers.
She thought they were unstoppable.
Her birthday was on May 2.
They celebrated it like it was the only day that mattered—filled with warmth, surprises, and promises whispered in the dark.
But the next day?
Chris changed.
Cold. Distant. Like the light had dimmed and she was left fumbling in the dark.
And then, on May 7—just five days later—he broke her.
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Raven's voice trembled but stayed firm, eyes searching his for answers she'd been dying to hear.
"Why, Chris? Why did you change after my birthday? One day, you were all smiles and promises… and the next, you were like a stranger."
She swallowed the lump in her throat, voice breaking just a little.
"Did I do something wrong? Was I not enough?"
Chris looked away, guilt and pain flickering across his face.
"No. You were more than enough. You were everything."
"But then… why?"
He hesitated, then met her gaze, raw and honest.
"I was scared. Scared that loving you would break me."
Raven's breath hitched.
"Break you? How?"
Chris ran a hand through his hair, struggling with the words.
"I thought I could handle it—the feelings, the future we were building. But I was wrong. I got overwhelmed, and instead of fighting… I ran."
Her eyes filled with tears, but she held them back.
"So you ran. And left me behind."
Chris nodded slowly.
"I thought it was the only way to keep you safe—from me. From the mess I was becoming."
Raven's voice softened, but her hurt remained.
"Did you ever really want to leave?"
He looked at her like she was the only thing real in the world.
"No. I wanted to stay. More than anything."
"Liar," Raven's voice cracked but stayed sharp.
"I tried to talk. To fix everything. The whole year… maybe even now."
Her eyes burned with the weight of every unanswered call, every ignored message.
"I tried thirteen times to hear your voice again."
She took a shaky breath, pushing the pain further into her words.
"You blocked me on socials. You told others I was the reason for the breakup."
Her voice grew colder, harder.
"The fact that you gave different reasons to different people—but no reason to me."
Chris's face tightened. No words came.
Raven swallowed the lump in her throat and whispered,
"Why couldn't you be honest with me? Even once?"
Chris finally spoke.
Voice low. Careful. Like walking through a minefield.
"I thought disappearing would hurt you less than watching me fall apart."
Raven blinked.
"What?"
"I wasn't okay, Raven," he said, eyes distant. "I didn't want to drag you into my mess. So I figured… if I made you hate me, it'd be easier for you to move on."
He actually said it.
He actually thought making her feel abandoned, unwanted, discarded—was better than telling her the truth.
Raven laughed.
A short, bitter sound that didn't even sound like her.
"You thought ghosting me, humiliating me in front of everyone, making me question every damn shit we had was better than being honest?"
Chris didn't answer.
Which was his biggest mistake.
Raven stepped back, tears in her eyes but rage in her voice.
"You don't get to call that love, Chris."
She shoved his chest hard.
"You don't get to ruin me and pretend it was for my sake."
She stepped back, her eyes never leaving his.
"I waited, Chris. I waited for a version of you that never came back."
The silence stretched...
heavy, suffocating, final.
And then she turned.
Her footsteps echoed in the empty hallway as she walked out of the classroom.
No pause. No look back.
Only the sound of her fading away.
Chris stood there.
Still.
Silent.
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"Maybe love was never the problem—maybe he was."