The First Heartbreak
It was a rainy afternoon.
Carmen hurried down the street, her footsteps splashing through the puddles beneath her shoes. She didn't have an umbrella, and by now, her hair was completely soaked. Cold raindrops ran down her face, but she barely noticed them.
All she wanted was to get home.
Then she looked up.
And everything seemed to stop.
There he was.
Timmy.
Her crush since fifth grade.
Carmen hadn't seen him properly in weeks, but she would have recognized him anywhere. His messy brown hair was damp from the rain, and his eyes—those unfairly beautiful eyes she had spent far too much time thinking about—were impossible to forget. He was taller than she remembered, and somehow, his effortless style was still something nobody else could recreate.
For a moment, Carmen forgot about the rain.
Forgot about the cold.
Forgot about everything.
Then she saw her.
Standing next to Timmy was Andreea.
She was beautiful. Her long, silky blonde hair fell perfectly over her shoulders, even in the rain. She had a pretty face and a smile that made Carmen suddenly feel invisible.
And the worst part?
They were standing under the same umbrella.
Timmy held it above both of them while Andreea stood close to his side.
Too close.
Carmen felt something inside her sink.
Her heart dropped so suddenly that she almost stopped walking.
Of course, she thought bitterly. Of course he's with her.
She quickly looked away before either of them could notice her staring. But it was too late. Tears had already started filling her eyes.
She turned around and began walking faster.
The rain mixed with her tears, making it impossible to tell which was which.
By the time Carmen finally reached home, she was soaked, exhausted, and emotionally destroyed.
She threw her bag onto the floor and immediately grabbed her phone.
There was only one person she wanted to talk to.
Rebecca.
The phone rang twice before her best friend answered.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Rebecca,” Carmen said quietly.
There was a short pause.
“Okay... what happened?” Rebecca immediately asked. “You sound sad.”
Carmen sat down on the edge of her bed.
“I just saw Timmy.”
“And?”
“He was with Andreea.”
Silence.
Carmen felt her eyes filling with tears again.
“They were standing together under his umbrella,” she continued, her voice breaking. “She was so close to him, Rebecca. And they looked like—like they belonged together.”
“Oh, Carmen...” Rebecca sighed softly. “Easy, girl. Maybe they were just talking. Don't take it too seriously.”
“But—”
“You know Timmy,” Rebecca interrupted gently. “He always says he doesn't want a relationship.”
“I know,” Carmen whispered.
“Then maybe there isn't anything between them.”
Carmen wiped her eyes.
“They were just so close and...” She looked down at her hands. “You know how jealous I can be.”
Rebecca was quiet for a moment.
“Yes,” she finally said. “I know.”
“Thanks for the support,” Carmen muttered.
“You know I love you,” Rebecca laughed. “But sometimes your imagination creates entire movies from one scene.”
Carmen couldn't help but smile a little.
“Maybe.”
“Definitely.”
They stayed on the phone for another hour, talking about random things until Carmen finally felt calmer.
But after the call ended, she lay back on her bed and stared at the ceiling.
Rebecca could be right.
Maybe Timmy and Andreea were just talking.
Maybe there was nothing between them.
But Carmen couldn't get the image out of her mind.
Timmy.
Andreea.
The umbrella.
The way they stood so close together.
She closed her eyes.
Why do I even care this much?
The answer was obvious.
Because she had never really stopped liking him.
---
The next morning, Carmen woke up with a strange feeling in her stomach.
She had barely slept.
Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Timmy standing in the rain with Andreea.
By the time she arrived at school, Rebecca was already waiting for her near the entrance.
“Well,” Rebecca said dramatically, “you survived.”
“Barely.”
Rebecca linked her arm through Carmen's.
“You're going to be fine.”
Carmen sighed. “You don't know that.”
“I do.”
They started walking down the hallway together.
Then Rebecca suddenly stopped.
Carmen looked at her.
“What?”
Rebecca's eyes widened.
“Oh no.”
“What?!” Carmen asked, immediately panicking.
Rebecca slowly pointed ahead.
Carmen followed her gaze.
And there he was.
Timmy.
Standing only a few meters away.
And this time...
He was looking directly at her.
Carmen froze.Carmen froze.
For a brief moment, their eyes met.
Then Timmy quickly looked away.
It was almost as if he hadn't been looking at her at all.
Carmen felt something tighten in her chest.
Rebecca glanced at her.
“See?” she whispered. “I told you.”
“Told me what?”
“That he was looking at you.”
Carmen shook her head. “No, he wasn't. He just looked in this direction.”
Rebecca smiled, but there was something strange about it.
Something Carmen didn't notice.
“Maybe you're right,” Rebecca said.
They continued walking through the hallway, and Carmen tried not to look back at Timmy.
But she did.
Of course she did.
Timmy was now talking to one of his friends, laughing about something Carmen couldn't hear. He didn't look in her direction again.
Not once.
And somehow, that hurt even more.
---
The truth was simple.
Timmy didn't like Carmen.
Not in the way she wanted him to.
To him, Carmen was just someone from school. Someone he had known for years. Someone familiar.
Nothing more.
Carmen, however, didn't know that.
She still held on to the tiny moments.
A smile.
A glance.
A simple “hi” in the hallway.
Every little thing became something bigger in her mind.
And Rebecca knew that.
She knew exactly how much Carmen liked Timmy.
She knew how easily Carmen could overthink everything.
And Rebecca used that.
“Are you okay?” Rebecca asked as they reached their classroom.
“Yeah,” Carmen lied.
“You don't look okay.”
“I just feel stupid.”
Rebecca sat down beside her.
“You're not stupid.”
Carmen looked at her best friend.
“Sometimes I think I'm imagining everything. Like... maybe there was never anything between us. Maybe I just made it all up.”
For a second, Rebecca didn't say anything.
Then she smiled softly.
“You probably did.”
Carmen looked at her, surprised.
“What?”
“I mean...” Rebecca quickly corrected herself. “Not everything. But you know how you are. You tend to imagine things.”
Carmen looked down.
“Yeah. I guess.”
Rebecca watched her carefully.
For a moment, she almost looked guilty.
Almost.
But then the classroom door opened.
Andreea walked in.
Carmen immediately became quiet.
Andreea walked confidently toward her desk, followed by Timmy a few seconds later.
Carmen's heart sank again.
Rebecca noticed.
Of course she did.
“You really need to get over him,” she whispered.
Carmen frowned.
“Why are you saying that?”
“Because you're going to get hurt.”
“I know.”
Rebecca leaned closer.
“And honestly... Timmy doesn't seem interested in you.”
The words felt sharper than Carmen expected.
She looked at Rebecca.
Her best friend was supposed to comfort her.
Instead, she felt like Rebecca was making everything worse.
“I didn't ask you,” Carmen said quietly.
Rebecca looked surprised.
“Wow. Okay.”
“I'm sorry,” Carmen immediately said. “I just... I'm tired.”
“Whatever.”
Rebecca turned away.
Carmen stared at her.
Something felt different.
Rebecca had always been there.
Or at least, Carmen thought she had.
---
Later that afternoon, Carmen stayed at school longer than usual.
She had forgotten one of her notebooks in the classroom and went back to get it.
The hallway was almost empty.
The rain had started again outside, tapping softly against the windows.
As Carmen walked toward the classroom, she heard voices coming from around the corner.
She recognized one of them immediately.
Rebecca.
Carmen stopped.
She wasn't trying to listen.
But then she heard her own name.
“Carmen is so obsessed with Timmy,” Rebecca said.
Carmen froze.
Another girl laughed.
“Does she still think he likes her?”
Rebecca laughed quietly.
“No. That's the funny part. Timmy doesn't even like her.”
Carmen felt her stomach drop.
“She seriously thinks every time he looks in her direction, it means something.”
The other girl laughed again.
Carmen stood completely still.
Her fingers tightened around the strap of her bag.
“Why are you even friends with her?” the girl asked.
There was a short silence.
Then Rebecca answered.
“I don't know.”
Carmen closed her eyes.
“But honestly,” Rebecca continued, “sometimes it's entertaining.”
For a moment, Carmen couldn't breathe.
Her best friend.
The person she called when she cried.
The person who listened to her talk about Timmy for hours.
The person Carmen trusted more than anyone.
Rebecca wasn't really her friend.
Maybe she never had been.
Carmen slowly stepped backward, trying not to make a sound.
But her shoe hit something on the floor.
A loud sound echoed through the hallway.
The voices stopped.
“Who's there?” Rebecca called.
Carmen's heart started racing.
For one second, she considered running.
But then she realized something.
Why should she?
She had done nothing wrong.
Slowly, Carmen stepped around the corner.
Rebecca's face immediately changed.
“Carmen?”
Carmen looked directly at her.
Her eyes were full of disappointment.
“So,” she said quietly.
Rebecca didn't answer.
Carmen swallowed.
“That was entertaining, huh?”
The hallway became silent.
And for the first time, Rebecca looked genuinely nervous.
“Carmen, wait—”
“No.”
Rebecca took a step forward.
“Let me explain.”
Carmen laughed bitterly.
“Explain what? That you were pretending to be my friend?”
“It wasn't like that.”
“Then what was it like?”
Rebecca opened her mouth.
But no words came out.
And Carmen already had her answer.
She turned around and walked away.
This time, she didn't call Rebecca.
She didn't cry to her.
She didn't need her.
But Carmen didn't know that this was only the beginning.
Because soon, she would discover something even worse.
Something involving Rebecca.
Timmy.
And the rainy afternoon she had never been able to forget.
