Jayden’s pov: Face to face

I froze, my chest heaving as Liam’s piercing gaze locked onto mine. His footsteps grew louder, and I couldn’t move. My legs felt glued to the ground. My heart was racing so fast, I thought it might explode. What was I doing here? Why didn’t I just stay home?

“Jayden,” Liam growled, his voice sharp and filled with irritation. “What the heck are you doing here? In front of my house?”

I opened my mouth, but the words refused to come out. My throat was dry, and my hands were trembling.

“I… I just…” I stammered, my voice barely above a whisper. “I wanted to talk to you about… about yesterday.”

“Talk to me?” he snapped, his eyebrows knitting together. “Are you serious right now? Didn’t I make it clear that I don’t want to talk to you? Shouldn’t you get the message by now? Or are you that dumb?”

His words hit me like a punch to the gut. Dumb. He called me dumb. I swallowed hard, trying to keep my composure, but my voice cracked as I spoke.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked, my voice trembling. “Why are you hurting me like this? Even if you don’t want to be my friend anymore, you don’t have to insult me. I don’t deserve this, Liam.”

He scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. “Hurting you? Seriously? I told you I don’t want to be friends with you anymore. Isn’t that enough? Get a grip, Jayden. Get a life. I have plenty of friends. I don’t need you hanging around like some lost puppy.”

His words cut deeper than I thought possible. My chest felt tight, and I struggled to breathe.

“But you were the one who said you wanted to be friends,” I said, my voice breaking. “You were the one who said we could rely on each other. What changed, Liam? What did I do wrong? Just tell me, and I’ll fix it.”

Liam’s expression hardened, his jaw clenching as he took a step closer. “You want to know what’s wrong? You’re clingy, Jayden. You’re too much. I can’t deal with it anymore. You’re a guy. Stop acting so desperate. It’s pathetic.”

I felt like the ground had been ripped out from under me. His words echoed in my head, over and over, each one sharper than the last.

Wow so this is how he feels about me, he thinks I'm pathetic.

I'm a very clingy person, maybe that's bad, I need to change that about me, it's not good at all.

“Pathetic,” I whispered, tears stinging my eyes. I blinked rapidly, refusing to let them fall in front of him

“Yes, you're very pathetic, if not why would you be here by this time of the night, just cause I didn't talk to you at school?” He spat.

“That's because I thought we were friends….” I was saying.

He cut in, “But how do you know, I don't see you as a friend.” He said, his words cutting deep I'm my heart.

Tears almost dropped from my eyes. But I held it in “Alright. Thank you for telling me how you really feel. And I'm sorry for coming here this night as a pathetic person to talk trash. This pathetic person would want to take his leave now!” 

I stepped back, my hands trembling at my sides. “I just came here to tell you something. I’m leaving. I’m leaving this city, Liam. I just thought you should know. I thought, maybe… as someone I once called a friend, you’d care.”

Liam’s face remained blank, cold, unbothered. Not a single flicker of emotion crossed his features.

This was when I knew, I was the only one genuine about our friendship, and it's not enough.

“If you want to leave, then leave,” he said, his tone indifferent. “It doesn’t concern me. Bye, Jayden. Don’t come back.”

I felt my chest tighten as the finality of his words sank in. It was like a dagger pierced in my chest. He didn’t care. He really didn’t care. I was the only one in the friendship all along.

I'm really pathetic.

Before I could say anything else, the girl stepped forward towards us. She smiled at Liam, then slipped her arm through his. Without a second glance at me, he turned and walked away with her, the door closing behind them.

He let her hold him, what's it about? I don't care anymore also.

I stood there, frozen, unable to move. My legs felt weak, and my vision blurred as tears finally spilled over.

This was it. This was the end.

I turned and ran, my feet pounding against the pavement as I made my way home. The cold air stung my face, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop. My chest ached, not from running, but from the weight of everything I’d just heard.

When I reached home, I burst through the door, startling my mom. She looked at me, her eyes wide with concern.

“Jayden! What’s going on? Why are you crying?” she asked, rushing toward me.

“Let’s leave,” I said, my voice breaking. “Mom, please. Let’s leave this city. I can’t stay here anymore. I need to get out of here. Please.”

“What happened?” she asked, grabbing my shoulders. “Talk to me, Jayden. What’s going on?”

“I can’t explain right now,” I said, shaking my head. “I just know I can’t stay here. I’ve packed my things already. We can leave tonight. Please, Mom.”

She looked at me, her eyes searching mine for answers. “Jayden, we can’t just leave like this. You need to calm down and—”

The sound of the doorbell cut her off. We both turned toward the door, her grip on my shoulders tightening.

“Who could that be?” she whispered, her voice filled with unease.

“I’ll check,” I said, wiping my face quickly. My heart pounded as I walked to the door, each step heavier than the last.

When I opened the door, my breath caught in my throat.