Chapter 2

I carried him to my house. He looked weak. He was weak. I laid him on my couch and brought him a blanket, as he was shivering so much. My mind was lost in mist, not knowing what to do. I quickly went to the kitchen, grabbed some water in a small bowl, and fetched a towel from the bathroom. I soaked the towel in the water and began to wipe the parts of his body that were bloodied.

I felt his breath. I felt his body resisting, but I kept going. His eyes were slightly open. He looked at me. I looked away.

"Stop. Let me die," he whispered.

I stayed quiet, though his words tore me up inside.

"Do you still like me or what?" he asked.

I didn’t know. What was I supposed to do when I saw someone covered in blood, on the brink of death? Was I supposed to walk away and ignore it? No. Of course, I had to help.

I couldn’t say anything. I just continued wiping his body—his body that was once strong, now fragile.

He kept whispering, "Stop it, stop it," until he finally fell asleep.

I was done. I sat beside the couch he was sleeping on, my head lowered, wondering why I had to bump into him. I kept thinking and thinking, until I realized his friend Jim might know why Lio was in this condition.

I searched my phone for Jim's contact, and when I finally found it, I called him.

"Hello?"

"Jim, it’s me—Lissy," I said quickly.

"Oh, Lissy! What’s up?" he greeted.

"Jim, listen to me. Today I bumped into Lio—"

Before I could finish, he interrupted.

"Oh, so you wanna ask if he’s still single or not? Man, I don’t even know. It’s been ages since we last talked," he said, sounding disappointed.

I was shocked.

"Jim, this isn’t a joke. Lio is literally in my house. I found him drenched in blood and bruises!" I shouted through the phone.

I could only hear Jim gasp.

"Please, you’ve got to do something," I begged.

"Are you serious?" he shouted, so loudly I thought I’d go deaf.

"Yes. I’m being honest. He’s sleeping right now."

"Oh God... bro must’ve gotten into something bad again. Oh f—" he cursed.

I stayed quiet. I wanted to ask about that “something bad,” but it wasn’t my business. I kept silent as he continued.

"Whatever it is, I’ll come see him myself. I’ll call you tomorrow."

The call ended. I was left with Lio lying on my couch, covered in bruises. I didn’t know how to feel.

I moved forward to check his fever. I placed my hand on his forehead—and felt him lean into my touch. I quickly pulled my hand away and walked off.

I closed my bedroom door and slowly slid down against it, sitting on the floor.

"Why can’t he leave me?" I whispered, full of pain.

My alarm rang. I checked the time—it was 7 in the morning. I was still tired. I hadn’t slept well last night. I’d been awake until 3 a.m., thinking about what could’ve happened to Lio.

What would’ve happened to him if I hadn’t bumped into him on the road? Did he even know I was here? Was he still the same bad boy he always used to be?

“Oh god, I’m late!” I jumped out of bed and ran into the bathroom—until I remembered we had a one-week holiday.

I was such a dumb girl. I walked back to bed and laid down again, then remembered Lio might be awake. I got up to check on him—only to find he was gone.

Honestly, I wasn’t even surprised. The room was a mess. The blanket was on the floor, and the balcony door was wide open. I knew he had jumped off from there. No surprises.

He was always like that—and probably always would be. That was something I’d always known about him. He was stubborn, but with a soft heart.

I stepped out onto the balcony to see if there was any trace of him, but all I found was my flowerpot shattered.

It didn’t even break my heart. I expected that too. He was always like that. I had to accept it—I have accepted it.

I walked back into the room and sat on the couch where Lio had been lying. I looked around at the mess. I smiled like a fool. I was a fool for helping him.

But I didn’t have time to waste, so I started cleaning up the mess he left behind. It wasn’t even that big, but for some reason, it felt like it would take forever to clean.

As I picked up the bowl and the towel, I found a small note.

> “Please give this number to Jim: 17xxxxxx09.”

I looked at it and smiled like a fool. His handwriting hadn’t changed—but it was crooked, like he hadn’t written anything in a long time. Maybe since dropping out.

Why did he drop out? That’s all I thought about the day it happened.

I still remember the time I argued with Jim. It was months after Lio dropped out. My teenage heart couldn’t forget him. I was in love with him, and I thought I’d never be able to move on.

To delete him from my heart, I tried dating other boys. I had no reason to wait for him—I knew he’d never come back.

Even in his absence, Jim kept teasing me about Lio. I told him to stop. I told him things were over, that I didn’t love Lio anymore—even though that was a lie.

I had to lie, to move on. On the outside, I acted like I didn’t care. But inside, it was always Lio.

Then one day, I met a boy who showed me a whole new world. A world where Lio didn’t exist. He healed the pain Lio left behind, caressed the scars Lio had caused—not that I blamed Lio for everything.

Lio was sweet. Just... stubborn. But I never understood why he was like that, or why he had to drop out of school.

Even though I was enjoying my time with this new boy, Lio still had a special place in my heart. One that no one could ever replace.

One day, while I was sitting in class with the boy who changed me, Jim came over and started talking about Lio again—right in front of him.

> “Using someone to forget your Lio?” he laughed.

It wasn’t funny. Not when I was trying so hard to move on.

“Jim, stop it,” I snapped, feeling the boy’s gaze on me.

“Lissy, I never thought you’d be like this. Aren’t you supposed to be loyal?” he said, disappointed.

“What the hell are you saying? It’s over—and it’s not funny anymore!” I yelled.

“This is not a joke!” he shouted back.

Everyone was staring. The classmates who once knew about Lio now knew everything else.

I walked out of the class, and Jim followed.

“Liss,” he called me—the name Lio always used.

I stopped and turned around, angry. “Stop it.”

Jim stood still. I hoped he saw the pain in my eyes.

“Will you ever stop?” I asked bitterly. “Aren’t you the one who told me Lio had someone new? That he was going to marry her?”

“Yes. I told you that,” he admitted.

“So why?” I asked, my voice breaking.

“Why? You ask me why? Did you ever ask him why he dropped out? No, right? Look how much you’ve changed after meeting that so-called perfect guy. As Lio’s friend, it hurts me. All my efforts were in vain,” he yelled.

It felt like a scolding I never expected. What could I even say? We hadn’t been talking at the time. How could I have asked Lio anything?

Why was it all suddenly my fault?

I stood there in silence, staring at Jim blankly.

“I’m so done,” he said, throwing his hands in the air and walking off.

I turned to go back to class—and saw the boy standing at the door. I couldn’t even look at him.

I walked past him and back into the classroom. I felt his eyes following me.

I hated that moment. It destroyed me.

From that day on, I ignored him. We never spoke again. Jim stopped teasing me. And I—

I never dated another boy after that.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***