Chapter 5: The Box of Memories

I skipped the rest of my classes and went straight home.

I stormed into my room and tore it apart, pulling everything from my bookshelves, closet, and storage bins until the floor was a mess.

I dug out every single thing Cole had ever given me and threw it all into a big cardboard box.

Birthday cards. Pink hair clips. Old photos. The wolf-shaped wooden charm he’d carved for me. And the diary, filled from cover to cover.

A whole box full of memories.

Once I was sure I hadn’t missed anything, I hauled it downstairs and shoved it into the communal dumpster.

My parents still weren’t home. I called my mother.

“Sweetheart? What’s wrong?”

“Mom, when you get home, I need you to tell Mr. and Mrs. Mercer that I’m cutting off all contact with Cole.” I paused, my voice shaking slightly. “Starting today, he is not allowed in our apartment, and he is not to call me through the mindlink. Tell him to stay as far away from me as possible.”

When my mother got home and saw the red handprint blooming on my face, she was shocked, then furious.

After a wolf awakens, ordinary bruises usually fade within hours.

But Cole hadn’t held back. My cheek was still swollen, the five finger marks still starkly visible.

I told my mother everything that had happened over the past several months.

The moment I finished, she walked across the hall and knocked on the Mercers’ door.

Cole’s mother had no idea. My mother didn’t shout. She just laid out every detail, her voice dangerously calm. How Cole had hit me with the strength of his awakened wolf. How he had stood by while a transfer student humiliated me for months. And how he had stood in front of Amber and demanded that I be the only one to take responsibility.

The color drained from Mrs. Mercer’s face.

The friendship between our families, built over decades, cracked that day.

My mother didn’t blame me, and she didn’t ask me to endure it for the sake of keeping the peace.

She just put a hand on my shoulder. “Rory, no one has the right to hurt you. You do not owe Cole forgiveness. Whatever you decide, your father and I will support you.”

The knot of pain that had been tightening in my chest finally broke.

I threw my arms around her and cried for a very, very long time.