Indhu's POV
The classroom smelled like old textbooks and the tired dust of a long day. Chairs were being pushed back, bags were being zipped up, and the noise of after-school chatter floated like a distant wave.
But the air around us wasn't leaving.
It was heavy with things that had never been said.
I sat still, tapping my pen softly against my notebook. My eyes drifted toward Swetha and Charlotte, who were packing their things. For a moment, my hand bruise flashed through the dim light—sudden and obvious.
Swetha saw it.
Her eyes widened.
She reached for my hand, gently holding it, her voice trembling as she asked, "Indhu… what happened?"
I felt my chest tighten.
I wanted to tell her. I wanted to scream the truth out loud.
But I didn't.
Instead, I smiled.
"Nothing," I said, and stood up quickly.
I walked away as if I had nothing to hide.
Inside, my heart was screaming.
I was tired of keeping everything inside—my secrets, my pain, the story only I knew.
But then I stopped.
And turned back.
Swetha and Charlotte were watching me, waiting.
I looked at them and spoke softly.
"I'll tell you both," I said suddenly. "Not now. But I will."
Swetha paused, fingers frozen on her pencil case. Charlotte's eyebrows lifted, surprised.
They exchanged a look, but said nothing.
I thought
That they will be happy because I'm finally trusting them again.
But what they don't know… is that this story isn't just about me.
It's about someone who thinks they know me.
Someone who's been watching me for a long time.
I smiled at them again, like everything was normal.
Then, from the corner of my eye, I saw it.
A shadow moving near the classroom door.
Not a student.
Not a teacher.
Someone I didn't expect to see again.
Leanor.
She wasn't in the class anymore.
She wasn't supposed to be here.
But she was.
And she was staring at me like she already knew the secret I was planning to share.
My breath caught.
I felt my smile freeze.
And for the first time in months, I realized something:
The past wasn't just behind me.
It was still standing right in front of me.