EPISODE THIRTY NINE 39: HEARTSTUCK.

AVA'S POV

As I walked up to my locker to stash some binders, all I could think about was escaping this high school dungeon. Suddenly, I clumsily dropped a small letter on the floor. Wait-hold on-I didn't put that there.

Curious, I picked it up and unfolded the paper. The handwriting was cute, with a tiny rose sketched beside it. Could it be... a secret admirer? My heart did a little somersault. The letter read:

𝓕𝓻𝓸𝓶 𝓪 𝓷𝓸𝓽 𝓼𝓸 𝓼𝓮𝓬𝓻𝓮𝓽 𝓪𝓭𝓶𝓲𝓻𝓮𝓻.

𝓔𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓼𝓲𝓷𝓬𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓭𝓪𝔂 𝓘 𝓱𝓪𝓭 𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓼𝓽 𝓶𝓮𝓽 𝔂𝓸𝓾 ,𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓱𝓸𝓵𝓭 𝓪 𝓼𝓹𝓮𝓬𝓲𝓪𝓵 𝓹𝓵𝓪𝓬𝓮 𝓲𝓷 𝓶𝔂 𝓱𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓽,𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓵𝓪𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓽𝓮𝓷𝓭𝓼𝓫 𝓽𝓸 𝓯𝓮𝓮𝓵 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓪𝓲𝓻 𝔀𝓱𝓮𝓷𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓘'𝓶 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝔂𝓸𝓾 ,𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓭𝓸𝓷'𝓽 𝓪𝓬𝓽 𝓯𝓪𝓴𝓮 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓶𝓮 ,𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓵, 𝓲𝓽𝓼 𝔀𝓱𝔂 𝓘 𝔀𝓪𝓷𝓽 𝓾𝓼 𝓽𝓸 𝓫𝓮 𝓽𝓻𝓾𝓵𝔂 𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓵 ,𝓽𝓸 𝓫𝓮 𝓶𝔂 𝓰𝓲𝓻𝓵𝓯𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓭. 𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝔀𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝓱𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓷𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻 𝓽𝓱𝓸𝓾𝓰𝓱𝓽 𝔂𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓫𝓻𝓸𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻'𝓼 𝓫𝓮𝓼𝓽𝓯𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓭 𝔀𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝓪𝓼𝓴 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓸𝓾𝓽 𝓫𝓾𝓽 𝓘 𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮𝓫 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓽 𝓲𝓼 𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝓘 𝓬𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓪𝓫𝓸𝓾𝓽, 𝔂𝓸𝓾. 𝓛𝓮𝓽𝓼 𝓶𝓮𝓮𝓽 𝓾𝓹 𝓪𝓽 𝓯𝓸𝓻𝓰𝓸'𝓼 𝓵𝓪𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓽𝓸𝓭𝓪𝔂.

𝓨𝓸𝓾𝓻 𝓼𝓮𝓬𝓻𝓮𝓽 𝓪𝓭𝓶𝓲𝓻𝓮𝓻.

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓻𝓵𝓲𝓮.

Whoa. My mind whirled. I never knew Charlie liked me like this. Sure, we hung out sometimes because I liked his vibe-he's cool and smart, and... well, cool. But I'd give him my answer at the restaurant today.

---

I walked into the restaurant, and wow, it was dazzling-golden designs twinkled like they were alive, and the wine-colored walls made everything feel rich and warm. Definitely, this guy's got some cash, I thought with a smirk. The receptionist asked if I had a reservation, and I nodded.

I'd chosen a knee-length blue dress and paired it with black wedges. I'd brushed my bone-straight hair until it gleamed, and I was looking good-at least, according to Hadizah, who'd showered me with compliments.

I put my blue purse on the table, waiting for Charlie. The intricate blue and gold design of my dress must've been eye-catching, judging by the glances I got. It brought out the color of my eyes, though some of those stares made me squirm a little.

Then, Charlie appeared in a red t-shirt and black jeans. A subtle chain glinted at his neck, and one of his ears was pierced. He looked like he'd stepped out of a magazine, his dark hair framing his face in a way that was almost unfair.

He took a seat and apologized for being late.

"You look pretty this evening," he said.

"Thank you," I replied coolly. No blush. Not from me. Compliments are nice, but I'm not the type to go all red-faced at every single one. Girls deserve to be complimented, after all.

"I see you found my letter," he said dryly, a hint of nerves in his voice.

"Yeah, and I came because I knew we had to sort things out," I replied, meeting his gaze.

"Yeah, I just hope for a positive reply. But whatever you say, I'll respect it," he said, sounding like he meant every word.

He was a gentleman, much more so than Brandon, that duffer. Thank goodness he's out of the picture.

"Charlie, you're nice, and handsome, and caring, and I like that about you. You're my brother's best friend, and he'd probably love it if I dated you. Even my dad likes you, which is a huge plus for me. But..." I paused, the words weighed down like stones in my chest. "I have school, volleyball, my family. Those three things are my top priorities. I'd date you without a second thought, but... I'm sorry. I can't," I said, feeling my heart ache as I broke the news to him. I hated hurting him, but I had no choice.

"Honestly, I expected this from you," he replied, with a bittersweet smile. "Your brother says a lot about you. You're one tough girl to win over, and I respect that. I'm just glad I got to tell you how I feel," he said, a quiet acceptance in his voice.

"I'm really sorry, Charlie," I said softly.

"It's fine. But please, don't turn down my offer to bring you here. What would you like to eat?" he asked, his smile warm, a hint of that classic maturity I admired about him.

"Well, it's my first time here. I'd like to try something new," I said, matching his smile.

"It's good, trust me. I've been here with my family a few times," he said, laughing.

"Charlie?" I said gently.

"Hmmm?"

"Thank you. For everything."

"It's nothing-you deserve so much more," he replied, reaching for my hand, and I felt my heart melt right there.

"Thank you," I murmured, and we ate together, feeling a peaceful bubble around us, almost like nothing else mattered.

Throughout the night, we talked, opening up more with each passing minute. It was worth every second.

JULIAN'S POV

Today's hockey game was going to be a storm. We were playing against one of the best schools out there. My heart pounded with anticipation; I needed this win to show Hadizah what I was made of.

After hours of persuasion, she'd finally agreed to wear my jersey. As I watched her from afar, she looked radiant-no matter what she wore, she always seemed to outshine everyone else. I only wished she saw her beauty the way I did.

I walked over to Anna and dragged her to a corner.

"I'm telling her. I can't keep putting her in the dark," I said, my tone firm.

"Oh, I knew you'd fall for her. She's got you wrapped around her little finger," she teased with a smirk.

"Yeah, think what you want, but I'm telling her. And I'll be telling Dad about you too," I shot back.

"Go on, I dare you! And don't forget all the girls you've had in your bed-they'll come up too. Tell her, I don't give a damn," she sneered.

"Anna, don't do anything stupid until I've talked to her. I mean it," I warned.

She didn't reply, just gave me the finger before walking off.

I only hoped everything would go well, so I could tell Hadizah the truth. I prayed things didn't blow up in my face.

The coach called us together to review our strategy. The game was about to start, and I whispered, Bismillah (in the name of God).

---

The game was brutal-neither side willing to lose. The crowd roared, our names echoing through the stadium like a battle cry. But no way were we letting them take this win.

In the end, the score was ours.

Home: 27.

Away: 24.

"That was a great game," Coach congratulated us. "One of our biggest wins this year."

I scanned the crowd, looking for Hadizah, but she was gone. She'd promised to wait for me here. Maybe she was in the lounge?

---

I walked over to the lounge. Empty. Then, at the garden, I finally spotted her. She was still wearing my jersey.

"Hadizah," I called out, but she didn't hear me at first.

"Nick!" I called again, making sure she turned to face me.

But when she looked at me, her usual bubbly expression was gone. She was crying, her eyes red and puffy, tears staining her cheeks.

"Hadizah, what's wrong?" I asked, nudging her gently, but she didn't answer. It was like the words were trapped. She just walked away.

I followed, and as I reached for her, I accidentally tugged too hard, pulling her hijab off her head.

In a flash, she turned, placed it back on, and I felt the sharp sting of her slap on my cheek.

"Julian, you are a bastard," she spat, her words sharper than any blade. Why? What had happened?

"What's this about?" I asked, trying to piece together the clues.

"Ask your stupid friends who thought it would be funny to place a bet on me," she snapped, anger burning in her eyes.

Oh no. Anna must have told her something.

"Hadizah, whatever you heard, let me explain," I pleaded, my voice breaking.

"I'm sorry, Julian, but I can't even look at you right now. Knowing I was just a game to you for six months... it's crushing," she said, her voice full of hurt.

"Hadizah, please, just hear me out," I begged, my own tears starting to fall.

"I fell for you, Julian, but you didn't catch me," she whispered, and with those final words, she walked away.

I knew she was gone for good. And it was all my fault.

I sank to my knees, sobbing my heart out.

WRITER'S NOTE :

Looks the shit as actually gotten real, I knew Julian had loads of skeletons on his cupboard and now our innocent Hadizah is the one paying for it, if only I could put him in his place for making her cry, just maybe do you think she'll forgive for whatever he has done.

What do you think he did?

QOTD :

At the end of the day, remind yourself that you did the best you could do and that is good enough.