Chapter 126 HARPER
I knew something was wrong the second I saw Racquel.
It wasn’t just that she was there. It was the way she pulled in, too fast, like she didn’t care who she startled or what scene she caused. The car cut right between me and Tyler, forcing me to step back, my heart jumping into my throat.
For a second, I just stood there, trying to make sense of it.
I just stood there, trying to make sense of it, until the window rolled down and revealed her face. Racquel. Of all people.
Confusion hit first, followed by something colder settling in right behind it.
“Tyler,” she said, her voice tight. “We need to talk.”
I looked at Tyler, expecting him to brush her off. To tell her he wanted nothing to do with her. To come over to me instead like he always did.
He didn’t.
He stopped, his attention fixed entirely on her.
Not me.
Something in my chest shifted, quiet but unsettling.
“Not now,” he said.
Relief came too quickly.
But Racquel shook her head, pushing her sunglasses up slightly. “It can’t wait.”
Tyler hesitated.
I watched him, waiting for him to say no again. Waiting for him to choose me. Waiting for him to do what felt obvious.
Instead, he exhaled and nodded once. “A few minutes. That’s it. We have class.”
A few minutes.
That was all it took for something to twist inside me.
He glanced back briefly, his eyes brushing over me, then over Peter, like he was checking everything was fine before stepping away.
Then he walked toward the passenger’s side.
Just like that.
“Come on,” Peter said beside me, a little too quickly.
Before I could react, he took my hand and started walking toward the building, his grip light but firm, like he didn’t want me lingering there.
I let him lead me, but my gaze stayed fixed behind us.
Tyler leaned down toward the window.
Racquel reached over to him, saying something I couldn’t hear.
Then he opened the door and got in.
I stopped walking.
Peter didn’t.
He kept talking, like nothing had just happened. “I swear, if they add one more Saturday class, I’m dropping out. This school actually hates us.”
I blinked, dragging my attention back to him. “What?”
He gave a short laugh. “I’m serious. Recreational and development lessons? On a Saturday? Who even comes up with this stuff?”
I stared at him, confused, before it clicked.
He was distracting me.
My eyes narrowed slightly, but I didn’t say anything. I just nodded along, letting him talk while my thoughts drifted somewhere else entirely.
I glanced back.
The car was still there.
Tyler was still inside.
Something about that didn’t sit right.
By the time we got into the building, Peter let go of my hand like nothing had happened. “I’ll see you in class,” he said, already turning toward the boys’ locker room.
“Peter.”
He stopped, glancing back at me.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
“Nothing,” he said easily. “Don’t worry about it.”
Nothing.
I held his gaze, searching for something more, but he just gave me a small shrug.
“It’s nothing serious,” he added, then turned and walked off before I could press him further.
I stood there for a second, feeling more unsettled than before.
Nothing serious definitely didn’t look like that.
Classes blurred together after that.
I tried to focus. I really did. But my mind kept circling back to the same thing.
Racquel.
Tyler.
The way he didn’t even hesitate that much before agreeing to talk to her.
The way Peter had practically dragged me away.
I pressed my pen harder against the page than I needed to, my notes turning messier with every passing minute.
What were they talking about?
Why did it feel like everyone knew something I didn’t?
A thought slipped in before I could stop it.
What if she was trying to get him back?
I froze, staring down at my notebook.
No.
I shook my head slightly, pushing it away.
That didn’t make sense. Tyler wouldn’t do that. Not after everything. Not after the way things had been between us.
Still, the thought lingered, quiet and persistent.
By the time art class came around, I was exhausted from thinking.
I walked in, my eyes immediately searching for Tyler.
He came in a few minutes later.
Relief flickered in my chest when I saw him, but it didn’t last.
Instead of coming to sit beside me like I thought he would, he walked straight past and took a seat next to Peter.
I blinked, thrown off.
Maybe it was nothing.
Maybe he just needed to talk to him.
I told myself that as I picked up my brush, trying to focus on the canvas in front of me.
It didn’t work.
They leaned closer to each other, speaking in low voices I couldn’t hear. Every now and then, Peter would say something that made Tyler nod, their conversation staying between them like a closed door.
Tyler didn’t look at me.
Not once.
That was what got to me.
I dipped my brush into paint, my movements slower now, distracted. My eyes kept drifting back to them, even when I told myself not to.
It shouldn’t matter this much.
But it did.
Because this wasn’t how he acted with me. Not anymore.
By the time class ended, my chest felt tight again.
I cleaned up quickly and headed straight for him before he could leave.
“Tyler.”
He turned at the sound of my voice, and for a second, everything else faded the way it always did.
“Hey,” he said.
Hey.
Just that?
I swallowed the questions sitting at the back of my throat and forced a small smile. “Are you doing anything after school? I was thinking we could still go on that date, you know. Like an unofficial one,” I chuckled.
He hesitated.
It was small, almost unnoticeable, but I saw it.
“I’d love to,” he said, “but my parents want us to visit my grandparents today. So I can’t.”
Oh.
I nodded, trying to keep my expression even. “Okay.”
“We can do something another time,” he added.
“Yeah,” I said softly. “We can.”
I shifted slightly, searching for something else to hold onto.
“Can I come over now? We could continue the sessions before you guys have to leave.”
Another pause.
“Maybe some other time,” he said. “I’ll call you later, alright?”
Later.
Everything was later.
“Alright,” I said.
He leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to my cheek before pulling away. Then he turned, already heading off.
Peter followed without saying much, just giving me a brief look before leaving too.
And just like that, I was standing there alone.
I let out a slow breath, blinking a few times as the sting built behind my eyes.
I hated this.
I hated not knowing what was going on. I hated feeling like I was being pushed to the side without explanation.
I turned to leave, needing air more than anything else, but someone stepped into my path.
Mark.
“Hey,” he said, looking at me carefully. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I replied quickly.
He didn’t look convinced. “Things good with you and Tyler?”
“Yeah,” I said, forcing a small smile. “Everything’s…perfect.”
The word felt strange in my mouth, but I held it there anyway.
He nodded slowly, still watching me, but I didn’t give him the chance to ask anything else. I moved past him, heading toward the exit.
The moment I stepped outside, my eyes went straight to the parking lot.
Racquel’s car was pulling away.
My steps slowed.
Tyler was in the front seat.
I could see him clearly through the windshield, turned slightly toward her, focused on whatever she was saying like nothing else existed.
Something twisted sharply in my chest.
I looked away quickly, swallowing past it, but the feeling stayed.
I searched for Peter instead, spotting him a few cars away. He was watching the same thing. Racquel’s car.
The moment it disappeared out of the gate, he turned.
Our eyes met across the parking lot.
Something in his expression shifted.
Before I could even take a step toward him, he got into his car.
“Peter—”
He didn’t wait.
The engine started, and he pulled out quickly, driving off like he was trying to avoid something.
Or someone.
I stood there, watching his car disappear the same way Racquel’s had.
The realization settled in even if I didn't want to admit it.
Whatever was going on… I wasn’t part of it anymore.
And it hurt more than I thought.