Chapter 4: Breaking the Script

I wanted to prove the comments wrong, to show everyone I wasn’t some cartoon villain. Derek was mine. He wasn’t going anywhere.

But then fate slammed the door in my face. The empathy was real. Maybe Derek really would fall for Aubrey, just like the comments predicted. Maybe I’d get forced to transfer, bomb my SATs, and end up another cautionary tale.

Panic clawed up my throat.

Derek, usually so stoic, was now sobbing—red-eyed, clutching my arm, his voice ragged. “Melissa, what are you saying? You’re breaking up with me? Did I screw up that bad?”

“It was my first time—I don’t know what I’m doing. If I messed up, I’ll fix it. Just tell me how. I’ll learn.”

I wanted to make up some lame excuse, but when I opened my mouth, honesty tumbled out instead.

"Aubrey’s right. You two have empathy. Just now? You weren’t sick. Aubrey got her period, and you felt it."

Derek’s face fell. But he believed me. “Even if this empathy thing is real, the only one I want is you. Always you, Melissa.”

I pulled my arm free, swallowing hard. "Derek, when she hurts, you hurt. When she feels good, you feel good. When her heart races, so does yours. You two are literally in sync. How can you promise your heart won’t follow?"

Derek’s shoulders slumped. Tears slid down his cheeks. “Maybe there’s a way to break this. Please, Melissa, don’t give up on me yet…” He reached for my wrist, his grip trembling, voice cracking with desperation.

I pulled away. "The SATs are coming up. Stanford is my North Star. I’d worked too damn hard to let some freaky love triangle or fate mess it up. But saying it out loud felt like ripping my own heart out."

"Between my future and you, I choose my future."

I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting tears. “And besides, having empathy with another girl? It’s just… gross.”

Derek’s head dropped, tears splattering on his sneakers.

As I walked away, Derek’s voice broke behind me—raw, desperate. I didn’t turn back. If I did, I knew I’d never leave.