Hayley Davies Pov 【Tested | 2027】

Weird. Not particular. Not sensitive. Just weird.

He said my name. Just my name. And I stand there in the quiet aisle, holding that stupid romance novel to my chest, wondering if my heart has always been this loud or if he just taught it how to beat. hayley davies pov

I freeze. My hand hovers over a worn copy of Jane Eyre . Just weird

Three hours later, I’m at the public library. It’s my sanctuary. Books don’t have hidden meanings. They don’t laugh at you behind your back. I’m shelving returns in the fiction section when I hear footsteps. And I stand there in the quiet aisle,

And that’s the part that hurts the most—not that he doesn’t want me. It’s that he doesn’t even see me.

Liam is in the kitchen. I don’t need to see him to know he’s leaning against the counter, running a hand through that messy dark hair, probably stealing bacon off a plate with his fingers. I’ve known Liam for eight years. He is my brother’s best friend, which means, in the unwritten rules of friendship, he is strictly off-limits.

But today, the shadows feel cold.