Part 26 – The Shift
The week rolled on, the calendar inching closer to Anna's eighteenth birthday. The school corridors, once full of silent tension whenever Nick and Anna crossed paths, now seemed different—lighter, almost ordinary.
Nick had changed.
He no longer looked at Anna across classrooms or searched for her in the cafeteria. He no longer lingered when Ethan wrapped his arm around her shoulder. Instead, Nick laughed louder with his own group, walked through the halls like he owned the place, and acted as if Anna had never been a part of his story at all.
And strangely, that change made him more magnetic.
Girls noticed. They always had, but now, with his sharp jawline, careless smile, and the untouchable aura around him, more and more leaned his way. Whispers followed him—how he didn't care, how he was wild, how he was dangerous in just the right way.
A brunette from the cheer squad trailed after him between classes, giggling at his jokes. Another slipped her number into his jacket pocket when she thought no one was looking.
Nick didn't chase them. He didn't need to.
Moving on didn't mean falling in love again—it simply meant not letting the past control him anymore. And for Nick Carter, that came naturally. He wasn't the type to sit in a corner and drown in books or heartbreak. He lived loud, reckless, untamed.
Meanwhile, Anna noticed the difference.
One afternoon, as she and Ethan walked into the library together, Anna caught sight of Nick surrounded by a small group of girls near the vending machine. He leaned casually against the wall, tossing his soda cap in the air, a half-smirk on his lips as one of the girls touched his arm.
He didn't even glance Anna's way.
For a split second, something twisted in her chest—she wasn't sure what. Relief? Jealousy? Guilt? She quickly pushed it away, forcing a smile when Ethan pressed a kiss against her temple.
Ethan, of course, had noticed too. "Guess Carter finally found something better to do than lurking around you," he said with a faint smirk. "Good. He should've known his place a long time ago."
Anna only nodded. She wanted to say something, maybe even defend Nick, but the words caught in her throat. The truth was… Nick really had stepped back. He wasn't fighting anymore.
That night, as Anna lay in bed, her phone lit up with Ethan's usual goodnight message. He told her he loved her. He told her she was his forever.
And for the first time in a long while, Anna felt the weight of those words pressing down on her—because while Ethan was building a future around her, Nick had already chosen to walk away.
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