Some people think silence is peaceful. But when you've spent every day trying to be invisible, silence just feels like confirmation that no one sees you. No one cares.I stopped believing anyone did a long time ago anyways.
The stairs groaned beneath my feet as I climbed higher, past the "No Entry" sign, up to the roof where no one ever went. The door was always supposed to be locked—but I guess even the school stopped caring like the rest of them.
The air was colder up here. Sharper, like it knew why I came. My fingers clutched the edge of the railing, and for a moment, I just stood there, staring out at the fading sky. Everything looked so small. So quiet. So easy to leave behind.
I didn't want to feel anymore. Not the ache in my chest. Not the shame, or the exhaustion, or the echo of voices that clung to me like bruises.
Especially not his voice.
"Freak."
"Try smiling, it won't crack your face."
"Do you ever shut up, Johnson?"
I squeezed my eyes shut. The memories always sounded like him—Cole Green. The school's golden boy with a devil's grin. My personal tormentor since freshman year. He had friends. Followers. A permanent smirk that could slice skin.
And me? I was just the joke he never got tired of telling.
Until today.
I stepped closer to the ledge, toes barely inches from the edge. My heart was pounding, but for once, it wasn't from fear. It was from finally feeling like I was taking control.
Then I heard it.
Footsteps.
A door slamming open.
And that voice—the one I hated most in the world—cutting through the wind like a knife to my spine.
"What the hell are you doing?"
My breath caught in my throat. I turned, slow, already knowing who I'd see.
Cole.
Of all people… why him?
He was standing there, wide-eyed and breathless, like he'd run the whole way up. His hair was a mess. His voice—shaky. Uncertain. That wasn't like him.
"What do you care?" I asked, the bitterness slipping out before I could stop it.
He took a step forward. "Because… I saw you."
I let out a laugh, hollow and sharp. "No. You saw someone to mess with. You never saw me."
His face twisted like the words hurt him. Good. Maybe now he'd feel just a fraction of what he put me through.
"I was an idiot," he said. "I didn't know how else to talk to you."
I blinked, stunned. "What? You bullied me because you liked me? Are you kidding me right now?"
"I'm not trying to excuse it," he said quickly. "I'm just—Keilani, please. Don't do this. You don't have to be alone."
Something in his voice cracked. And for the first time… he sounded real. Not like the cocky jerk from school. Not like the boy who threw paper at me in class and made jokes when I cried.
He sounded scared.
I turned back toward the edge, heart thudding harder. "You don't get to show up now and act like you care."
"I'm not acting," he said. "I care. I've been an asshole, but that doesn't mean you deserve to feel like this. No one does."
I didn't move. I didn't trust my voice anymore.
"Let me try to fix it," he said, softer. "Even if you never forgive me. Just… let me show you that you're not invisible."
I stood there, caught between the weight of everything I'd carried and the unexpected softness in his voice.
Maybe he was broken too.
And maybe… I didn't want to disappear just yet…no fuck this.
"KEILANI"