Chapter Eight: The Line She Shouldn't Cross
Feifei thought she was ready to talk.
She'd been carrying the words for so long that they felt heavy in her chest, pressing against her ribs. And for once, she didn't want to swallow them back down.
So she chose someone she thought would understand.
It wasn't Kael.
It was someone familiar. Safe. Or so she believed.
They sat together during free period, legs dangling off the classroom steps. Feifei stared ahead, fingers twisting in her lap.
"I feel tired all the time," she said slowly. "Not just physically."
The person beside her hummed absently.
"I feel like… I'm always trying to be okay so I don't become a problem," Feifei continued. "And I don't even know when I stopped feeling like myself."
There was a pause.
Then a shrug.
"Everyone feels like that sometimes," they said. "You'll get over it."
The words landed harder than silence ever could.
"Oh," Feifei said quietly.
"You just overthink a lot," they added. "Try to be more positive."
Feifei nodded automatically.
She didn't say anything else after that.
She walked away with her head high and her expression calm, but something inside her closed off completely.
So this is why I don't talk.
At lunch, she sat under the tree as usual, staring at her food without touching it.
Kael arrived a few minutes later.
"You're quiet today," he said.
She forced a small smile. "Am I not always?"
He didn't buy it.
They sat in silence, but it felt different this time. Thicker. Heavier.
"Did something happen?" Kael asked gently.
Feifei shook her head. "I'm fine."
The lie tasted bitter.
Kael studied her for a moment, then nodded. "Okay."
He didn't push.
And somehow, that hurt less than being dismissed.
As the bell rang, Feifei stood and gathered her things. Before leaving, she hesitated.
"Kael?"
He looked at her.
"Thank you," she said softly.
"For what?"
"For not telling me it's nothing."
Something unreadable crossed his face.
"Your feelings aren't nothing," he said firmly.
Feifei walked away before he could see how much that meant to her.
But deep down, she knew something else now too.
Opening up was dangerous.
And she wasn't sure she could afford to cross that line again.