Shadows Between Us
I couldn’t forget what I’d seen at that party. Vanessa had kissed Caleb. It wasn’t just a quick, meaningless peck—it was deliberate, calculated, meant to be seen. Even though he pulled away, it hadn’t been fast enough to stop the image from burning into my mind. The smug look on her face afterward haunted me, playing on a loop whenever I closed my eyes. Caleb had brushed it off when I confronted him later.
“She kissed me, not the other way around,” he said, exasperation creeping into his voice. “I didn’t want to make a scene.”
“You didn’t want to make a scene, or you didn’t want to stop her?” I snapped, my frustration boiling over.
He sighed, running a hand through his messy hair, a gesture I used to find endearing. “Emma, come on. You know it’s not like that. She was drunk, and I didn’t want to deal with her drama.”
That excuse hadn’t sat right with me then, and it didn’t sit right now. Especially not as Vanessa ramped up her game, her moves becoming more pointed and impossible to ignore.
It began with her casual flirting, the kind that could be written off as harmless by anyone not paying attention. But I saw it for what it was: a performance designed to remind me that she could have Caleb if she wanted. Compliments on his clothes, playful touches on his arm, leaning too close when they talked—she made sure I was always in the audience.
“You have great taste,” she said one afternoon, resting her perfectly manicured hand on Caleb’s shoulder as she leaned against his locker. “Not just in jackets.”
Caleb smirked, his signature move, and replied, “Guess I got lucky.”
I froze a few feet away, the casualness of their exchange cutting into me like a blade. Vanessa glanced in my direction, her smile sharper than it needed to be. The look in her eyes was clear, her unspoken message ringing louder than the bustling hallway: Try me.
The knot in my stomach tightened as I turned and walked away.
Later, I confronted Caleb again. I couldn’t hold it in anymore; my frustration boiled over as we stood by his car after school.
“Why are you letting her do this?” I demanded, my voice trembling with anger. “You know what she’s trying to do.”
Caleb leaned lazily against the driver’s side door, his hands shoved in his pockets. “She’s messing with you, not me,” he said, his tone maddeningly calm. “You’re letting her get to you.”
“She’s flirting with you,” I snapped, my voice rising. “And you’re not stopping her.”
He sighed, straightening and pulling me closer, his hands resting on my waist like that would magically erase the tension. “Emma, come on. I’m not interested in Vanessa. You know that. Don’t let her win.”
But it wasn’t that simple. Vanessa wasn’t just flirting—she was planting seeds, sowing doubt wherever she went. Her actions twisted things, making me second-guess everything, leaving me perpetually insecure. And Caleb, whether he realized it or not, wasn’t doing much to stop her.
Logan saw it, too. I caught the flicker of frustration in his eyes every time Vanessa hovered around Caleb, her laugh too loud, her hand brushing his arm with a familiarity she had no right to claim. Logan didn’t hide his anger well, and Vanessa noticed.
“You’ve been quiet,” she said to Logan one day after class, her tone syrupy sweet, her voice designed to needle under his skin. “Something on your mind?”
Logan’s jaw tightened, and he muttered, “Not now,” brushing past her without so much as a glance.
But Vanessa wasn’t one to let things go. She turned on her heel, her eyes narrowing as she called after him, “You’re still hung up on her, aren’t you?” Her voice dripped with fake sympathy, laced with just enough venom to make the words sting. “It’s cute, really. Watching you try to save her from herself.”
Logan stopped dead in his tracks, his fists clenching at his sides. I could see the tension in his shoulders, the way he forced himself to stay calm even as her words dug deeper.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said through gritted teeth.
Vanessa’s smile widened, triumphant. “Oh, I think I do. You can’t stand seeing her with Caleb, can you? But here’s the thing, Logan—you’re not in the picture anymore. So why don’t you focus on what you’ve got?”
Her words were sharp enough to cut glass, and Logan’s reaction told me they’d struck true. His jaw tightened further, the muscles in his neck flexing as he turned and walked away without another word. I could see the effort it took to hold himself back, the storm of anger and frustration bubbling just beneath the surface.
Vanessa stood there, her smirk firmly in place as she watched him go. Her gaze flicked toward me, and the satisfaction in her eyes made my stomach churn. She wasn’t done. Not by a long shot.
Vanessa thrived on control, on weaving chaos and watching the fallout. If Logan wasn’t going to play by her rules, she’d find another way to get what she wanted. And as I stood there, feeling the weight of her schemes pressing down on me, I realized one thing: Vanessa always had a next move.
And I wasn’t sure I could stop her.
