Chapter 54: The twin necklace

The digital clock on my nightstand reads 12:14 AM. The bedroom is dark except for the bright blue light from my phone screen. Next to my bed, Sarah is asleep on a spare mattress on the floor, her breathing slow and heavy. She insisted on staying the night so I would not have to be alone with my thoughts, but sleep is impossible for me. My eyes burn from crying, and my throat feels dry.

I open the official school journalism app, The Academy Chronicle, just to give my mind something else to focus on. The front page updates automatically at midnight.

My breath hitches in my throat. A new article is pinned to the top of the feed, with a high-resolution photograph taken in the student parking lot late this afternoon. The headline reads: Spotted: Jackson Thorne and Cheer Captain Chloe Back Together After Campus Split.

In the picture, Jackson is opening the passenger door of his black sports car for Chloe. Chloe is smiling brightly at the camera, her hand resting on his arm. Jackson’s face is partially turned away, but he is looking directly at her.

A sudden wave of nausea hits my stomach. I sit up quickly in bed, the sheets rustling loudly in the quiet room.

"Maya?" Sarah’s voice is groggy. She shifts on her mattress, rubbing her eyes as she sits up in the dark. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

I do not say anything. My hand is shaking as I extend the phone toward her, showing her the illuminated screen.

Sarah takes the phone, squinting at the bright light. As her eyes scan the headline and the photograph, her expression changes from sleepy confusion to disbelief.

"No," Sarah says, shaking her head vigorously. She drops the phone onto the blanket and looks up at me. "No, Maya. That is a lie. The journalism staff just writes whatever the wealthy families want them to write to create clicks."

"It's a photograph, Sarah," I whisper, my voice cracking. "They are together in the parking lot. He me in left the field and went straight to her."

"They broke up three months before you even transferred to this academy," Sarah insists, leaning forward and grabbing my knee to ground me. "Jackson hates her. He had once told Leo, when they were still friends, that he couldn't stand her elitism and the way she treats the scholarship students like trash. There is no way he just ran back to her in two hours. It doesn't make any sense."

"It makes perfect sense," I say, a cold feeling spreading through my chest. I reach under my oversized pajama shirt and wrap my fingers around the small silver pendant hanging from my neck. It is a delicate silver chain with a small crescent moon charm. Jackson gave it to me on the night we decided to make our relationship official. "Chloe always told me I was just a temporary distraction for him. She told me he was just using me as a charity case because he felt guilty about what his father did to Leo. He probably realized she was right."

Sarah stares at me, her face full of worry. "Maya, don't do this to yourself. You know how Jackson feels about you."

"I don't know anything anymore," I say quietly. I turn away from her, pulling my knees up to my chest and staring down at the dark bedroom wall until the sufinally comes up.

The next morning, the school hallways are louder than usual. The rumor about Jackson and Chloe has already spread to every single student at the academy. As I walk toward my locker to grab my chemistry textbook, people are whispering and pointing in my direction. I keep my head down, my eyes fixed on the floor tiles, trying to pretend I cannot hear them.

"Look at them," a girl nearby whispers.

I look up instinctively, and my body freezes in the middle of the corridor.

A few yards away, standing directly in front of Chloe's locker, are Jackson and Chloe. She is wearing her pleated cheerleading skirt and academy sweater, her blonde hair perfectly styled. Jackson is leaning against the metal locker door, his hockey bag hanging off his shoulder.

As I watch, Chloe laughs at something he says. She reaches up, wrapping her arms around his neck, and pulls him down into a long kiss right in the middle of the crowded hallway.

My heart drops into my stomach. I expect Jackson to pull away, or to look uncomfortable, but he doesn't. He places his hand on her waist, holding her against him as he returns the kiss. When they finally separate, Chloe looks over Jackson’s shoulder and locks her eyes directly onto mine. A smug, victorious smile spreads across her face.

Jackson slowly turns his head around. His eyes find mine across the crowded space. His expression is flat, showing no emotion at all. It is the exact same look his father, Arthur Thorne, uses when he addresses the public. He looks at me like I am a stranger.

I turn around on my heel and walk quickly in the opposite direction, my vision blurring with fresh tears. I duck into the nearest girls' restroom, pushing the heavy door open and leaning against the sink, breathing heavily.

A few minutes later, the restroom door opens again. The sound of loud giggling echoes off the tiled walls. I quickly step inside the end toilet stall and lock the door, pulling my feet up onto the seat so no one knows I am here.

"I am literally so happy for you, Chloe," a voice says from the mirrors. It is one of the varsity cheerleaders. "We all knew he would come back to his senses. That scholarship girl was just an embarrassing phase."

"Honestly, it was getting ridiculous," Chloe’s voice replies, sounding proud and arrogant. I can hear the sound of her opening a lipstick tube. "Jackson was just feeling bad for her family because of the accident. He’s a nice guy, so he did the whole charity thing for the past months. But he called me last night crying, saying he missed having a real girl by his side."

I press my hand over my mouth, a tear running down my nose. Hearing her call me a charity case out loud makes the pain in my chest feel like a physical wound.

"Oh my god, wait," the other girl squeals. "What is that on your neck? Is that new?"

"Yes," Chloe says, and I can hear the excitement in her tone. "Jackson gave it to me right before first period. He said he wanted me to wear it every day so everyone knows we are official again. It’s solid silver."

"It is so gorgeous! Let me see the charm."

I lean my head against the cold metal door of the stall. Slowly, I reach down and pull the silver chain out from beneath my school uniform collar. I hold the small crescent moon pendant in my palm, my thumb running over the smooth metal.

"Look at the little crescent moon," Chloe says through the wall, her voice echoing in the small restroom. "He told me he bought it specifically because it reminded him of me. Isn't that the sweetest thing you've ever heard?"

My body goes numb.

I stare down at the identical necklace resting in my hand. It is the exact same chain. The exact same charm. He didn't even bother to find something different for her. He just handed her the exact same token he had given to me, using the exact same lie.

The bathroom door opens and closes as Chloe and her friends walk out, their laughter fading down the hallway.

I stand up slowly in the stall, my hands shaking. I wrap my fingers tightly around the silver chain at my neck and pull with all my strength. The thin metal links snap with a sharp pop, cutting into the skin of my palms. I open the toilet bowl, drop the broken necklace directly into the water, and press the flasher handle down.