{"id":257169,"date":"2026-07-13T15:21:05","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T12:21:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1kitap1.com\/en\/cruel-truths-eve-campbell\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T15:21:05","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T12:21:05","slug":"cruel-truths-eve-campbell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1kitap1.com\/en\/cruel-truths-eve-campbell\/","title":{"rendered":"Cruel Truths – Eve Campbell"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u201cIt meant more to you than it did to him.\u201d \u201cI knew that going in,\u201d I say. \u201cI know who he is.\u201d We slow down near the courtyard, sunlight spilling across the concrete, voices drifting from outside. Lola\u2019s coming toward us, unmistakable even from a distance, full of her energy, opinions, and zero subtlety. \u201cI hate him,\u201d I mutter, the words bitter.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t.\u201d \u201cI want to.\u201d \u201cWanting and doing are two very different things,\u201d Aubrey says, squeezing my arm. I swallow, watching Lola get closer, knowing Aubrey\u2019s right and hating her a little for it. Wanting him is easy. It\u2019s the walking away that is the part I don\u2019t know how to do anymore.<\/p>\n

Lola barrels toward us, ponytail swinging, phone already in her hand as if she\u2019s mid-broadcast. \u201cYou will not guess what happened to me this morning,\u201d she announces, eyes bright, grin feral. \u201cMy coffee betrayed me, my bus driver hates joy, and my skirt blew up. I\u2019m ninety percent sure I flashed Mr Carver as he got out of his car.\u201d She stops. Her grin flickers as she surveys us. Me with my jaw clenched. Aubrey too silent. The atmosphere all off.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh,\u201d Lola says, lowering her phone. \u201cNever mind. Read the room, Lola. What\u2019s wrong?\u201d I sense it then. The weight of it. The moment when, if I open my mouth, everything spills out and I fall apart in front of everyone. \u201cSam.\u201d Her tone softens completely. \u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d I swallow and shake my head. \u201cNothing. I just need to go to the bathroom before first period.\u201d I don\u2019t wait around for an argument.<\/p>\n

I turn and walk, quickening my pace, eyes fixed ahead. I push through the crowd, past the laughter and the usual hum of a morning that doesn\u2019t pay attention to me. I don\u2019t stop until I\u2019m in the last stall, door locked behind me. My chest heaves. My palms sting from where my nails dug in too hard. I sit on the lid and fold over, forehead pressed into my knees like I can make myself smaller, quieter, invisible.<\/p>\n

I am so fucking stupid. I let him in. Past every wall, past every lock. I handed him pieces of myself I swore I\u2019d keep guarded.<\/p>\n

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E very time I walk the halls of Eastern High, I remind myself this place is just a stepping stone. I turned eighteen at the start of the school year. I keep my grades high, my dreams higher, and my mouth shut when the whispers follow me down the corridor. \u201cVirgin tease.\u201d I hear it every time. Nicole doesn\u2019t bother whispering it anymore. I shift my books higher in my arms and keep walking, my boots clicking against the tiles.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re scuffed and beaten-up, nothing like her designer knock-offs. She\u2019s got another sucker on her arm today. Some junior with hopeful eyes and a hard-on. She leans in with fake sweetness, her eyes fixed on him as if he\u2019s the only one that matters. But she\u2019s already scanning the hallway for someone better, someone bigger, someone who will give her the attention she truly desires.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s Nicole\u2019s game. When she\u2019s not turning it on for the boys, she turns it on me. The second their attention drifts or someone prettier walks past, she sharpens her voice Chapter 1 Sam and points it at my throat. Petty digs in the hallway. Backhanded compliments that sound sweet until you actually listen.<\/p>\n

Snide laughs shared with whichever girl is standing closest, always just loud enough to be heard. She doesn\u2019t need a spotlight to feel powerful\u2014she only needs someone to burn. And for as long as I can remember, I\u2019ve been her favorite. Red hair means fire crotch. Not having a boyfriend means something must be wrong with me. Talk to a guy and I\u2019m a tease. Don\u2019t sleep with him and I\u2019m a prude. It doesn\u2019t matter what I do. They\u2019ve already made up their minds. And there\u2019s no version of me that ever comes out clean.<\/p>\n

I turn the corner, and my stomach twists\u2014just like it always does when he\u2019s around. Reece Wilson is pressed against some girl at his locker. Her back is arched, lips parted, and his hand sits low enough on her waist to make it clear he\u2019ll get whatever he wants. His grin is lazy and dangerous, the kind that makes a girl forget her own name.<\/p>\n

He doesn\u2019t care who\u2019s watching. He never does.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.<\/em><\/p>\n

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