Page 86 of Don’t Forget Me

I wondered whether he had caught on already.

When he finished directing the scene, he set his earphones on the wooden chair with his surname plastered on the back of it. Ezra examined me as he neared me. I couldn’t deal with this right then, so I forced myself to the restroom. I glanced back and noticed that he’d been stopped by the same assistant as before. I saw him smirk at her, then he glance in my direction.

Was he doing this on purpose?

I pushed the door to the bathroom open and let out a breath, my hands trembling as I shook them.

Tears had already begun to form in my eyes. When I looked down, through the blur of my vision, I realized my entire body had been shaking. My heart thumped against my ribcage. It was Blackthorn all over again. I forgave him, but I couldn’t forget what he did. How I wished I could.

I’d have to tell Camille that she was wrong; he didn’t like me. He was the same Ezra that I had ran away from five years ago.

There’d been a consistent pain in my chest as I forced my sadness away. I trudged to the white pristine sinks and opened the faucet, swiftly washing my face with fresh water. As I raised my eyes to analyze my physique, I hated what I saw. I was supposed to be strong and not suffer for a guy who had broken my heart once before. I knew better than this. Guys like him didn’t deserve my sadness. He’s just like Aldair, I told myself.

That’s a lie.

I chuckled. I’d told him a few days ago that I wouldn’t allow myself to suffer for those who weren’t worthy of my pain. He was the exception.

I couldn’t help but think of the closeness that we shared all those years ago. I had created a fallacy in my mind that claimed we’d be even closer than before if we ever found each other again. That the time apart would heal all wounds and make our hearts yearn for the other. That was a lie, too.

“Come on Lysandra, you have to get back out there,” I whispered to myself. They needed me out there; I was one of the screenwriters and the co-director. My readers needed me to give them the best version of this movie.

Swiftly, I wiped my face with the sleeve of my blouse. My tears marked the black fabric even darker. My legs quivered with every step that I took out of the washroom.

And I immediately regretted leaving my sanctuary.

thirty eight

LYSANDRA

5 YEARS AGO

“I have news!” Camille squealed as I entered the dorm.

My eyes widened as I remained in place, holding onto the knob of our room.

“They received my application for the next semester. I guess low-income transfer students have priority registration, and I got accepted! Well, my parents’ income isn’t super low in the US, but for the tuition at Lachlan, it is. They saw my current GPA here and decided to give me a chance as well. Also, is it too soon for me to ask to be your roommate?” she rambled.

Blessed be the man who would marry her.

It’d been three weeks since I accepted the offer to transfer to Lachlan. I spoke to my counselor and found out that the follow-up email was the headmistress’s doing. She shared my academic file with several other schools; she thought it would help with my chances at getting the best education in the UK. Cami decided to make a request to her counselors and the headmistress so she could transfer with me.

“You’re not happy?” she asked, perhaps perceiving my pondering.

“Of course I am,” I replied, closing the door. As I walked deeper into my dorm, I set my Blackthorn House Academy jacket on my desk chair. “I can’t believe we’re actually doing this.”

Camille climbed off her bed, grabbing my hands, and meeting my gaze. “Wherever you go, I go.”

That brought a smile to my face. I had found, within the past days, that she was the sunshine in my storm. Camille handled my grief with fierceness. There had not been a single moment in my sorrow that she’d allowed me to spiral. Cami was there to pick me up again. I owed her my life because she was healing a heart that she hadn’t broken.

“Also, I may or may not have caused permanent ear damage to Scarlett and Zack. Which means I have to leave this school before the investigations trace it back to me.”

“What did you do?” I asked, a grin forcing itself upon my lips. I couldn’t help it.

“I may or may not have followed them to their Music class and heard them speaking ill of you. It’s not my fault they were standing by the speakers.” She raised her hands defensively.

I snorted. Then we both bursted out cackling, falling on the floor, leaning our backs against our beds. “You—seriously,” I laughed. “I can’t believe you—you did that.”

She snickered deeply; there was no difference between her laughing and that of a pig’s vocal noises. I held onto my stomach as Camille snorted. “Cami, stop, you’re killing me.”