ZOE

"Lost in the shadows of doubt,

truth unveils the light of redemption,

 guiding ex-lovers back to the embrace of love."

Zoe

It was the third period of the day, and I found myself enduring yet another dull chemistry lesson. "This subject is so boring," Sheryl complained, voicing what I felt inside. "I know, right? God, wake me up when the bell rings," I muttered, feeling the weight of exhaustion pressing down on me.

As I laid my head on the table, the memories of me and Alex when we were dating came rushing back, flooding my mind with a mix of emotions. Suddenly, I jolted up in shock, feeling sick to my stomach. Without thinking, I dashed to the bathroom, desperately needing to escape the overwhelming memories.

Inside the bathroom, Ava's voice broke through my fog of distress. "Zoe? Are you in there?" she asked with concern. "Yeah, I am. Give me a minute, I'll be out there," I replied, trying to compose myself. After splashing my face with water and drying it off, I forced myself to rejoin my friends outside.

"Are you okay, Zoe?" Ava asked, her worry evident in her voice. "Yeah, I am. I just threw up. Must be the pasta I ate last night," I lied, not wanting to burden them with the truth. "Oh, okay. Do you want to go home?" Ava offered, her genuine concern. "No, I think I'm fine, really. Thank you," I replied, masking the turmoil swirling inside me.

As we headed back to class, I couldn't shake the feeling of unease. I hadn't told my friends about the sudden memory attacks I'd been experiencing—during the day and in my dreams. They didn't know about my past relationship with Alex until they found out themselves, and though they were initially disappointed, they eventually warmed up to the idea.

But these memories, they haunted me. They had been plaguing me for the past month, and I was desperate for them to stop. Back in class, I took a quick glance at Alex, who was looking at me. The sight sent a shiver down my spine. "Well, that's weird," I blurted out, unaware that I had spoken aloud.

"What's weird?" Sheryl asked, snapping me back to reality. "Oh, nothing. I'm going back to sleep," I said quickly, trying to cover up my slip. With a heavy sigh, I laid my head back down and drifted off, hoping for some respite from the relentless memories.