I can't breathe sometimes. Not because of the school's suffocating air, but because every corner reminds me of something… or someone.
Today was no different. The hallway was buzzing with laughter, sneakers squeaking against polished floors, lockers slamming shut—everything I thought I wanted when I begged my mom to let me "live normally." Yet, as I walked through the crowd, I felt eyes on me. Not the curious stares of students sizing up the new girl… something heavier. Watchful. Trained.
I caught my reflection in the glass trophy case. For a second, it wasn't me staring back, but Jason. His smile—lazy, teasing, the one that made my stomach knot in the worst and best ways. I blinked hard, and it was gone. Just me. Just Jessica.
"Are you okay?" one of my classmates, Emily, asked, falling into step beside me. I forced a smile, nodding like my head wasn't spinning.
We sat through Literature together, the teacher droning on about tragic heroes. My pen hovered above my notebook, but all I wrote were two letters—J and A. I scribbled them out quickly before Emily noticed. But I could still feel him there, sitting at the edge of the desk, mocking my messy handwriting like he always did
By lunchtime, I was drained. I tried to laugh at a joke someone made about the cafeteria food, but my voice cracked halfway. I excused myself, muttering about needing water.
That's when I saw it again. Through the cafeteria window, parked across the street, was the same black sedan. I noticed it yesterday, too. At first, I told myself it was just a coincidence. But today, I knew better. My father… he had set eyes on me. Bodyguards disguised as shadows. Watching. Waiting. Pretending it was for my safety, when really, it was another chain. Another reminder that I could never be free of the name "Falcones".
By the time I got home, my chest was tight. Mom noticed immediately—she always does. She pulled me into a hug before I could even fake a smile.
"You're trying too hard," she whispered into my hair. "You don't have to be perfect here."
For a moment, I wanted to believe her. But when Dad's office door opened downstairs, the sound of his voice snapped me back. Orders. Names. Money. Things I shouldn't have to hear, yet I always do.
I shut myself in my room, trying to block it all out. But the silence was worse. That's when I heard it.
"Jess…"
My head jerked up. The voice was so faint, so achingly familiar. Jason.
I grabbed the necklace he'd given me, clutching it like it could anchor me. "You're not here," I whispered, shaking my head. "You can't be here."
But the lamp on my desk flickered once, then again. My skin prickled.
Maybe it was just bad wiring. Maybe it was my brain playing tricks.
Or maybe Jason never really left me at all.