The next morning, Zain dragged himself out of bed, his head still buzzing with everything that happened the day before. The guilt from lying to Ella and his mom sat heavy in his chest, but it wasn’t just that. There was something else, something about how it felt like everything was building up to a breaking point, and he had no idea how much longer he could hold it together.
He barely even looked at his phone when it buzzed. He already knew it was Ella, probably asking why he hadn’t replied. He wasn’t in the mood to deal with her, but the idea of disappointing her made him feel like crap. He quickly silenced his phone and shoved it in his bag before heading to school.
When he walked into the classroom, the first person he saw was Theo. Theo was sitting in the back, as usual, with his feet propped up on the desk, scribbling something in his notebook. His eyes flicked up when Zain entered, and he gave him a quick nod.
"Hey, you alive?" Theo said, raising an eyebrow.
Zain dropped his bag beside him and plopped into the seat. "Barely. Mom’s still pissed. Ella’s, like, a whole other problem."
Theo chuckled, but it wasn’t the usual teasing. It was like he knew things were getting worse for Zain. "You still playing this whole game with her, huh?"
Zain sighed, glancing around the room. "What choice do I have? My parents are acting like it’s the only thing that matters." He ran his fingers through his hair. "And Ella’s... I don’t know. She’s all in, and I can’t just pull the plug on this without making everything explode."
Theo’s eyes narrowed, his usual relaxed demeanor slipping for a second. "But you’re not in it, right? Like, you don’t even want to be with her. Why keep going through with it?"
"I don’t know, man." Zain slouched in his chair, staring at the front of the classroom. "I feel like if I stop, it’ll be worse. It’s like I’m stuck in this whole thing, and every time I think about getting out, it feels like there’s no way out."
Theo didn’t say anything for a while, just tapping his pen against the desk like he was thinking about something. Zain didn’t look at him, too caught up in his own thoughts.
But Theo’s voice cut through the silence. "Look, dude, I get that you don’t want to hurt her. But you can’t just keep pretending. It’s not fair to you, and it’s definitely not fair to her."
Zain met his eyes. "You think I don’t know that?" He ran his hand over his face. "But it’s not just her. It’s my parents too. They want this. They expect it. They’ve been pushing it for months now, and if I screw it up, they’ll lose their minds."
Theo stared at him for a long time, like he was weighing something in his head. "You don’t owe them your whole life, Zain. You’re not their puppet. And if you keep lying about this... you’re just going to make everything worse for yourself."
Zain didn’t respond. He just stared at the desk, trying to ignore the guilt gnawing at him. He didn’t want to be stuck in this mess anymore, but every time he thought about the consequences, he froze.
The bell rang, signaling the start of class, but Zain couldn’t focus. His mind kept going back to Ella and the mess he’d made. He knew she was probably waiting for him to reach out, to fix things, but he just couldn’t do it. Not today.
Lunch came way too quickly, and by the time Zain stepped into the cafeteria, he was already exhausted from pretending. Theo was sitting at their usual spot by the window, half a sandwich already gone. Zain walked over and sat down across from him, throwing his bag down beside him.
Theo didn’t waste any time. "How’s it going with her? You guys talk yet?"
Zain looked at the phone buzzing in his pocket and sighed. "I don’t know how much longer I can keep doing this." He pulled out his phone, glancing at a text from Ella that was now sitting there, waiting for him to answer.
Ella: "Hey, are you okay? You’ve been distant lately."
Zain closed his eyes for a second, trying to ignore the feeling of guilt crushing his chest. He didn’t want to lie anymore, but he didn’t know how to tell her the truth either.
He looked up at Theo. "She’s just... so into this, Theo. And I feel like if I don’t keep up, she’ll get hurt. My parents will hate me. Everyone will hate me." He paused, shaking his head. "I don’t know what to do anymore."
Theo gave him a long look like he could see right through Zain. "Dude, you gotta stop living for other people. If you don’t want to be with her, don’t do it just because your parents think it’s a good idea. You gotta be real with her."
Zain’s phone buzzed again, but he didn’t check it. "I know, but it’s not that easy. I’ve already gone too far. I can’t just pull out now."
Theo leaned forward, his expression serious. "If you keep doing this, you’ll just end up hating everyone. Ella, your parents... yourself. You’ve gotta make a choice. What’s it gonna be?"
Zain stared at his phone for a moment before turning it off and tossing it on the table. "I don’t know. I’ll figure it out."
Theo didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t push it further. Instead, he cracked open a soda and took a sip. "Just don’t wait too long, man. The longer you wait, the worse it’s gonna get."
Zain nodded, but deep down, he wasn’t sure what he was going to do. The more he thought about it, the more everything seemed to be spiraling out of control. And the worst part was, he had no idea how to stop it.19Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7gsPDGDepI
