Chapter Twenty – The Cruelest Cut By Monday, the bullying wasn’t just whispers anymore — it was open, deliberate, and constant. Someone had scrawled CHEER FAIL across her locker in thick black marker. When she opened it, a pile of crumpled paper cups and empty chip bags spilled out. Laughter erupted from down the hall. “Careful,” a boy called out mockingly, “she might throw a punch!” Yn kept her head down, clutching her books tighter. She told herself not to react, not to give them what they wanted. But every laugh, every snide comment chipped away at what little she had left. At lunch, it got worse. She was walking past the basketball team’s table when one of Lila’s friends stuck out a foot, sending her tray crashing to the floor. The cafeteria roared with laughter. And then she saw him. Malachi. He was sitting right there, next to Lila, watching it all happen. For a split second, their eyes met — and instead of stepping in, instead of saying anything, he smirked. Then he laughed along with the rest of them. The sound hit her harder than any insult. Lila leaned in, whispering something to him, and he chuckled again, shaking his head like Yn was nothing more than a joke. Yn’s throat burned, but she refused to cry in front of them. She bent down, picked up her tray, and walked out of the cafeteria without a word. In the bathroom, she locked herself in a stall and sat on the closed toilet, staring at the floor. Her hands were shaking, but not from anger — from the hollow, aching realization that Malachi wasn’t just gone from her life. He was part of the reason she was breaking. And in that moment, Yn understood something she wished she didn’t: sometimes the people you thought would protect you are the ones who stand by and watch you fall.
