Chapter 1: The Seat That Wasn’t Empty
(Ava’s POV )So... guess who’s back at school pretending she hasn’t been spiralling all winter break?
Yeah. Hi. Me.
I seriously thought I’d be fine. I told myself, “Ava, it’s been weeks. You’ve cried enough. Just go to school, act normal, breathe.”
But then I walked into that classroom and—bam—there it was. His chair.
Second row from the window. Third from the left.
Still there.
Still empty.
Still ruining my whole vibe.
I wasn’t planning to look at it. I swear. But my eyes? They have a mind of their own. I blinked and boom—there it was, like a punch to the heart.
Everyone around me was acting like it was a totally normal Monday. Like no one remembered that Jack Hayes used to sit there. That he used to draw tiny suns in the corner of his math notes. That he used to look back at me when he was bored just to smirk for no reason.
And now? Nothing. No smirk. No suns. Just silence.
I sat down behind his old seat—like always. Took out my notebook. Stared at the page. Wrote nothing.
Because how do you write anything when you feel like a part of you is still waiting for someone who isn’t coming back?
Jack left.
Just... left.
No warning. No explanation. Just disappeared like he was never real to begin with.
People said he transferred.
They said he moved.
They said "it happens."
Yeah, well, it shouldn’t have happened to me.
The teacher started rambling about assignments and group work and blah blah blah. I wasn’t really listening. I was just... looking. At that stupid chair. Like maybe if I stared hard enough, it would fill itself.
Then the teacher said something that made my stomach twist:
“We’ll be having a new student join us next week.”
...
Excuse me, WHAT?
New student?
Why did that suddenly feel like a threat??
Why did my brain whisper don’t let it be him and what if it is? at the exact same time?
I looked at the empty chair one more time.
And for the first time all morning, I didn’t feel sad.
I felt... scared.
