05.

I LEANED AGAINST my locker with my eyes trained on the brown-haired boy limping down the hallways.

It had been a week since Jace arrived at West Mormet, and he was quickly becoming popular. It wasn't every day we had a new student here, especially in the middle of the semester, and everyone was curious.

To make it worse, Jace was elusive in all of his answers, never really answering people's questions, which of course only made him more interesting.

He had quickly become the talk of the town, everyone theorising over how he got his limp, why he left his previous home, why he came here out of all places – and in the middle of the semester too.

I tried not to listen to the gossip. I knew what it was like to walk around school as if there was a big red target on your back, with people whispering about you everywhere you went, turning their heads to watch you.

If I were to discover anything about Jace, I'd rather he told me himself. Besides, most of the theories were idiotic – from him leaving because he was being chased by police, to him coming here because he was related to a founder of the town and had a huge inheritance waiting for him.

None of it was very believable.

I frowned, watching as students threw their arms around him and smacked him on the back in greeting. His brow wrinkled in a barely-there wince, his leg giving way.

He'd stopped wearing crutches to school a few days ago, but it was clear that his leg still hurt him with every move. He leaned onto his left leg, favouring it over his right one. With every step, the corner of his eye narrowed into a wince, his lips twitching into a slight grimace.

And despite his forced smile, by the clench of his jaw, I knew it was pissing him off.

I sighed, pushing off my locker and hiking my backpack higher onto my shoulder. Piper stood beside me, scrolling lazily through Instagram on her phone.

"Come on, Piper," I said. "Lunch is almost over. Let's get to class."

She blinked, her eyes drifting to the top of her screen to glance at the time before she shoved the phone into her pocket. My ankle was still tender, so we made it a habit to leave for class before the bell to make it easier for me.

"Ugh I really don't feel like doing algebra," Piper complained as we began walking down the hall. She placed an arm around my waist, pretending to just be friendly when I knew she was trying to help me with my limp. I smiled, tossing an arm around her shoulder. "Mr Lawson's voice puts me to sleep, especially after lunch."

"At least you don't have physics with Mr Mallory," I shot back, raising a brow. Mr Mallory was a seventy-something year old teacher, notorious for his tendency to give out detentions for the slightest slip ups. "Remind me why I took that class again."

"Because you're an overachiever who wants to go to med school for some crazy reason," Piper teased.

"Ah, right."

"Well, I'll see you after school?" Piper asked.

The bell had just gone off and the hallways were beginning to fill. We'd reached the end of the hall, where my physics lab was up the stairs and Piper's algebra class was down.

I nodded. "Meet you at my locker."

"'Kay," she grinned, turning and stepping down the stairs towards her class. I watched her retreating back until she'd disappeared to the next floor before releasing a breath, dropping my smile and running a hand over my face.

My shoulders slumped and suddenly my bag felt incredibly heavy against my back. Dragging my feet, I reached for the railing and began making my way up the staircase before too many people began flooding the halls, rushing to class.

That was the thing about Piper, my mother – most people in this town. They all knew my history. They all gossiped, even if they thought it was for my own good. And suddenly every sigh, every frown, every offhand joke was something to worry about.

I dragged myself up the stairs, releasing a yawn as I reached the top, when I hit into someone. Jace wobbled in front of me, my head colliding with his shoulder. I blinked, my hands reaching out to steady him as Jace's brown eyes flashed in worry.

His bad leg crumpled, and he staggered, falling into a limp against the railing. I grabbed his shoulders, tightening my grip as I sucked in a sharp breath.

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry," I said quickly, my eyes widening in panic. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," he said through clenched teeth. His eyes squeezed shut in a grimace and he shook his head, grabbing the wall and pulling himself completely upright.

"Are you sure?" I tested, guilt beginning to bite at me.

"It's fine," he said again, only slightly more convincing than before. He glanced down at where my hands clenched at his shoulders tightly.

I warmed, quickly releasing him and pulling back.

"Sorry," I repeated. "I should've paid more attention."

"No, it's on me," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I wasn't really looking."

"Both of our faults then," I joked, letting out an awkward chuckle. He matched my forced smile and shifted his weight, wincing slightly as he put pressure on his right leg.

"You need to be careful with your leg," I said. His eyes met mine and I swallowed, realising my advice was very much unwarranted. I cleared my throat, quickly adding, "I mean, so that it doesn't get worse. You know. As your – erm – physio... coach..."

His brow wrinkled and he straightened his back uncomfortably. "My leg is fine. I'm off the crutches now."

"I know," I said. "But if it still hurts, you should take it slow. You don't want to damage it any further. It could be irreversible."

I subconsciously flexed my ankle, feeling the throb in the muscle there and the ache in my shin.

He quirked a brow, scanning me for a moment before saying, "I guess I should be listening to my physio coach, hey?"

"It's what I'm here for," I teased, shrugging. "Don't you want to get rid of me as soon as possible?"

He shrugged. "I don't know about that."

I warmed, glancing down at my shoes, my ears feeling hot. "Well, you'd better take care of your ankle or I'll target you during class on Saturday."

He laughed shifting his bag and stepping back. "What class do you have?"

I blinked. I'd half-expected him to mutter a goodbye and shove past me to make his way to his next class. But here we were, making awkward conversation. I scratched at my wrist, shooting him a small grin.

"Trig," I said, nodding past his shoulder. "You?"

"Algebra," he replied before sheepishly adding, "I went the wrong way."

"Oh, with Mr Lawson?" He nodded and I smiled, gesturing down the stairs. "Two floors down, to the left."

"Ah, thought so," he chuckled. "This school is too big."

"Big?" I sputtered in disbelief. "It's tiny."

He paused, realisation flashing in his widened eyes and his mouth tensed, pursing slightly. "Right. Of course, I just – you know –"

Before he could finish his sentence, a shoulder brushed mine and a person stepped past, pausing beside Jace. He raised an annoyed brow at me, looking extremely disgruntled.

It was Hugh, another kid in my grade who stood tall with blonde hair and brown eyes. We had been friends at one point. That felt like so long ago now.

"Really, Ali," he said bitterly. "I know Amber was the smart one of you two, but you could at least move out of the way."

My mouth turned dry, a lump immediately lodging in my throat.

Vaguely, I murmured a sorry and watched him leave, but a chill had washed over my body, like a bucket of ice had been dumped over my head, and I couldn't focus anymore. My ears seemed to buzz, and my vision blurred.

The air in my lungs vanished.

Amber.

"Who's Amber?" Jace's voice.

I opened my mouth.

Amber.

Jasmine!

I couldn't speak. Words refused to come out.

Are we going to die?

Am I going to die?

My head spun. Was I still breathing?

I saw blood. I felt the press of bent metal on my legs. Glass was caught in my eyelashes.

My chest burned.

My leg hurt – God, my leg hurt.

But it wasn't possible. Amber was gone. I was at school. I was fine.

I felt fingers grip my arm and forced my eyes up to meet brown ones – honey brown.

Not Amber.

Jace.

I was fine.

He watched me carefully, his eyes darting from my own, to my fists clenched by my thighs, to my ankle, weak and twisted beneath me. My body had crumpled against the wall, slumping onto the railing for support.

I straightened myself, my leg still aching and my chest still swelling painfully. I couldn't breathe. I could still see the blood – feel it, sticky on my skin. I rubbed desperately at my wrist.

"Are you alright?"

I looked at him. My mouth felt so dry I wasn't sure if I could speak, so I nodded instead.

His eyes narrowed into slits and I felt the horror swelling my throat, in my chest. I knew the questions would come. And then he'd be just another person in this town that looked at me when I passed, whispered about me, knew about me.

Amber.

Her face was still burned in my mind – blood running from her temple, her eyes watery and lips trembling. I blinked hard, shoving the thought away.

"I'm fine," I managed finally, my voice wavering.

He pursed his lips, those golden-brown eyes narrowing at me, like he could see right through me. I knew that expression. Worry. Just another person I was burdening with worry.

What was I doing? I was fine. Everything was fine. I was better.

But Amber wasn't here anymore.

Amber.

He stepped closer.

"You don't look fine, Jasmine. You're so pale –"

"I have to go," I said quickly.

He sent me a look and I side-stepped him, unable to even send him a reassuring smile. Because my stomach was stirring now, and if I didn't leave now, I'd vomit all over his shoes.

He turned, his hand reaching out for me, and I twisted away from his touch, my nerves too alight with the memory of my body crushed beneath the car.

"Jasmine," he said, yet all I could hear was Jasmine.

Jasmine.

Am I dying?

My knees trembled, my legs turning leaden.

I stepped back.

I don't want to die, Jasmine.

My hand drifted to the wall to steady myself.

You're going to be okay, Amber.

A lie.

A lie I could never take back.

My throat burned, my eyes burned, everything burned.

"Jasmine," he said again.

I swallowed and with one last look into honey eyes, I turned and limped down the hallway.

I had a class to get to.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE

I hope you all enjoyed this double update! Jasmine's façade is starting to fall apart a little... Next time: a little confrontation hehe

Let me know your thoughts! And thank you for reading, voting and commenting as always! Merry Christmas! 💕