Pamela thought she had cried herself empty the night before. But by morning, her pillow was still damp, her eyes swollen, her chest hollow. She skipped her first lecture, curled under her blanket, replaying everything again and again. Jossy's silence. Lilly's smirk. Her own breaking voice.
By afternoon, her phone buzzed.
Jossy: Can we talk? Please. Just once.
Her thumb hovered over the screen, trembling. Every part of her screamed ignore him, but the ache in her chest whispered something else. Against her better judgment, she typed:
Pamela: Where?
Jossy: The old basketball court. Tonight. 7.
⸻
The sun was dipping low when Pamela made her way to the abandoned court. Students rarely came here anymore, the place cracked and forgotten. The fading orange light stretched shadows long across the uneven ground.
And there he was Jossy.
He looked nervous, pacing with his hands shoved deep in his pockets. When he saw her, his eyes softened, but Pamela's heart stayed hard.
"You came," he said quietly.
"Say what you have to say," she replied, her voice flat.
He exhaled shakily, running a hand through his hair. "Pamela, I never wanted to hurt you. I care about you"
"Stop," she cut in, her voice sharp. "You've said that before. Care doesn't look like sneaking around with my best friend."
Jossy flinched. His lips parted as if to argue, but then he sighed, defeated. "You're right. You deserve the truth."
Pamela's chest tightened. Her fingers dug into her palm, bracing for impact.
"Lilly and I…" He hesitated. "We were together before you. Long before. She was my first everything. We broke up, but… she never really let me go. And when you and I started dating, she"
"She what?" Pamela's voice cracked, both furious and desperate.
"She said she still loved me."
The words slammed into Pamela like a blow.
"And what about me, Jossy?" Her voice trembled now, tears burning her eyes. "Was I just some… distraction while you waited for her to come back?"
"No!" He stepped closer, his face etched with guilt. "It wasn't like that. I liked you I like you. But Lilly she knows me in ways no one else does. I thought I could handle it, but…" His voice trailed off.
Pamela's tears spilled over. "So you strung me along. Made me believe I mattered, while all this time, it was her."
He reached out, desperate, but she recoiled like his touch burned.
"Pamela, please. It's not that simple."
She let out a bitter laugh, broken and sharp. "It's exactly that simple. You chose her. You always did. I was just too blind to see it."
⸻
A rustle echoed behind them. Pamela turned and froze.
Lilly.
She stepped out of the shadows, her arms folded, eyes glittering with something between triumph and mockery.
"So," Lilly said smoothly, "you finally told her."
Pamela's stomach dropped. "You knew?"
"Of course I knew," Lilly replied, her lips curving into a smug smile. "Why do you think I suggested we exchange boyfriends? I wanted him back, Pamela. And now…" Her eyes slid to Jossy. "Now he's mine again."
Pamela's world tilted. Her knees felt weak, her breath shallow. She looked at Jossy, praying he would deny it. Praying he would choose her, even now.
But he said nothing.
The silence was louder than any confession.
Pamela shook her head slowly, a broken laugh escaping her lips. "I see it now. The two of you… you've been playing me this whole time."
Lilly smirked. "Don't take it so personally. You're sweet, Pamela, but you were never meant for him. He needs someone like me. Someone who truly understands him."
Pamela's heart cracked in two.
Her tears blurred the court, but she forced herself to stand taller, her voice shaking yet firm. "You may think you've won, Lilly. But remember this betrayal always comes with a price."
She turned and walked away, every step heavy, but her spine unyielding.
Behind her, she heard Jossy call her name once weak, uncertain but she didn't look back. She couldn't.
Because if she did, she'd shatter completely.
⸻
Back in her room, Pamela locked the door and collapsed on the bed. Her roommate tried to knock, but she didn't answer. She needed silence. She needed air.
Her phone buzzed endlessly, Jossy's name flashing again and again. Then Lilly's. Then Ken's, Jossy's friend, the one who had always been kinder than the rest.
Pamela stared at the screen, her tears finally drying into something colder, harder.
If Jossy thought she would keep waiting, if Lilly thought she had broken her completely they were both wrong.
Pamela might be hurting, but she wasn't weak.
And deep down, she knew this wasn't the end.
Not by far.
Because sometimes, the deepest betrayals plant the strongest seeds of change.
And Pamela… was about to change.