Andrea woke up slowly.
Too slowly.
Her head pounded.
Her throat felt dry.
Her body felt heavy, like she hadn't slept at all.
She blinked at the ceiling.
White.
Still.
Quiet.
Too quiet.
"…ugh."
She turned slightly and instantly regretted it.
The room spun.
Her stomach twisted.
"Great," she muttered.
Fragments of last night hit her all at once.
Luna.
The drinks.
The fight.
Samuel.
The walk home.
Her chest tightened slightly.
Why do you even care?
I didn't want to leave you there.
Andrea pressed her hands against her face.
"I'm so stupid…"
The door opened without knocking.
Her sister.
Leaning against the frame, arms crossed.
"You're alive."
Andrea groaned.
"Barely."
Her sister stepped inside.
"You look like hell."
Andrea pulled the blanket over her face.
"Thank you."
Silence.
Then—
"You went too far."
Andrea froze under the blanket.
"I'm fine."
"No," her sister said firmly. "You're not."
Andrea pulled the blanket down and looked at her.
"I said I'm fine."
Her sister shook her head.
"You almost got into a fight again."
Andrea sat up slowly.
"And?"
"And?" her sister repeated. "That's not normal."
Andrea laughed dryly.
"Nothing about me is normal."
Her sister's expression softened slightly.
"That's not what I mean."
Andrea looked away.
"Then what do you mean?"
Her sister stepped closer.
"I mean this isn't you."
Andrea's jaw tightened.
"You don't know me like that."
Her sister frowned.
"I know you enough to see when you're hurting."
Andrea scoffed.
"I'm not."
Her sister didn't argue.
That made it worse.
Instead, she said quietly,
"You don't have to destroy yourself just to feel something different."
That hit.
Hard.
Andrea swallowed.
"I'm not destroying anything."
Her sister sighed.
"You are."
Silence.
Andrea looked down at her hands.
They were still shaking slightly.
"I just wanted it to stop," she whispered.
Her sister didn't ask what "it" was.
She already knew.
"The noise," Andrea added quietly. "In my head."
Her sister sat down on the edge of the bed.
"It won't stop like that."
Andrea laughed weakly.
"I figured."
Another silence.
Softer this time.
Then her sister said,
"Who brought you home?"
Andrea hesitated.
"…Samuel."
Her sister raised an eyebrow.
"Him?"
Andrea nodded slightly.
"He stayed with you?"
Andrea shook her head.
"No… just walked me."
Her sister studied her.
"And?"
Andrea frowned.
"And what?"
Her sister smirked slightly.
"You don't look like you hate him anymore."
Andrea rolled her eyes.
"I don't hate anyone."
Her sister gave her a look.
"Liar."
Andrea almost smiled.
Almost.
Later that day.
Andrea sat alone on her bed, headphones on, music playing softly.
But she wasn't really listening.
Her phone lay beside her.
Screen lighting up occasionally.
Messages.
Group chat.
More rumors.
She didn't open them.
Not this time.
Instead—
She thought.
About last night.
About how Luna didn't fix anything.
About how it actually made everything worse.
About how she kept trying the same thing over and over—
Hoping it would feel different.
It never did.
Andrea let out a slow breath.
"…I hate this."
But then—
Another thought.
Samuel.
The way he didn't laugh.
Didn't leave.
Didn't judge.
Just… stayed.
Andrea stared at the ceiling again.
"Why him…"
She didn't have an answer.
And that scared her a little.
Andrea reached for her phone.
Paused.
Then unlocked it.
Not the group chat.
Not the messages.
Instead—
She opened his profile.
Samuel.
She stared at the screen for a moment.
Her thumb hovered.
Then she typed.
Andrea:
Thanks for last night.
She stared at the message.
Heart beating slightly faster.
Then—
She sent it.
A few seconds passed.
Then her phone buzzed.
Samuel:
You're welcome.
Andrea smiled faintly.
Small.
But real.
She locked her phone and leaned back.
For the first time in a while—
She didn't feel like running.
Not completely.
Just a little less.