"It's been three months, and I still can't get over him."
The words echo in July's head like a song she never asked to remember. Her room is dim, the curtains drawn tight against the afternoon sun that dares to shine too brightly. Crumpled tissues are scattered across the floor like reminders of every broken piece of her. Her favorite hoodie—his hoodie—hangs off her shoulder, soaked at the collar with silent tears.
She hasn't left her bed all day. Her phone has vibrated countless times, but she hasn't checked a single message. They're all the same anyway. You need to move on. You deserve better. He wasn't worth it.
But none of them were there that night. None of them heard the way he said her name like a promise he had no intention of keeping.
A soft knock raps at her door once, then again.
"July," her sister's voice filters through, calm but cautious. "Mom and Dad want you downstairs."
"Tell them I'm not hungry," July murmurs, voice thick from crying.
Vanessa opens the door anyway, stepping in without hesitation. Her expression is unreadable for a second,half pity, half frustration.
"They didn't ask if you were hungry. They said come down," she says, arms crossed. "They're serious this time."
July wipes at her face with the back of her hand and stares up at the ceiling, her heartbeat dragging like wet shoes on pavement. What now?
"Fine," she mutters, slowly peeling the blanket off herself like it's the last layer of protection she has left.
Vanessa sighs and walks over, sitting gently on the edge of the bed. July doesn't move. Her body is still, curled in on itself like she's trying to disappear.
"I've got you, July," Vanessa whispers, brushing a loose strand of hair from her sister's damp face. "You hear me? I've got you."
July blinks up at her, eyes rimmed red, lips trembling but silent.
"I know it hurts. I know it feels like everything's falling apart and you're the only one stuck in the rubble. But most times, heartbreak feels like the end until you realize it's the beginning of something better."
Vanessa pauses, her voice gentler now.
"You gave your heart, and he didn't know what to do with it. That's not your fault. You're still enough. You're still you. Even if it takes time, you're going to be okay. I'll be here until you believe that."
A tear slips down July's cheek, but this time, it's not from pain. It's from feeling seen. Loved. Held—finally, even if only in words.
"I don't feel okay," July whispers.
"I know," Vanessa says. "But you don't have to feel okay right now. You just have to keep going. Just... get out of bed. Face the next thing. That's all I'm asking."
She stands and offers her hand. July looks at it for a moment, then takes it, fragile, like a truce with herself.
"Mom and Dad might be mad, but it's only because they don't know how to help," Vanessa adds as they walk toward the door. "But I do. And I'm not going anywhere."
Vanessa doesn't let go of her hand as they walk toward the door.
Their fingers interlocked, not just as sisters, but as lifelines, one broken, the other holding tight.
No more words are needed.
July doesn't know what's waiting downstairs. Maybe another reminder of how shattered she feels. Maybe more pressure to be okay when she's not.
But with Vanessa beside her, holding on like she means it, the weight feels just a little lighter.
One step at a time.
They walk out of the room together, the soft thud of their footsteps the only sound as evening light filters through the hallway.
And for the first time in three months, July isn't facing the silence alone.
***
The atmosphere in the living room was calm, but something about the way her dad leaned forward and the way her mom kept glancing at her made July's chest tighten.
Vanessa quietly slipped onto the arm of the chair, staying close without saying a word.
"July," her dad began softly. "We've given you time. And we understand… truly. But the semester's resuming in a few weeks."
Her mom reached out gently, placing her hand over July's. "We don't want to pressure you. We just want you to try… even just a little."
July swallowed. Her lips were dry. Her chest still felt hollow.
"You'll need to make a list of everything you'll be needing for school," her dad added. "We'll handle the rest."
There was no judgment in his tone, only quiet care.
But even that felt heavy.
She looked at them, these people who had seen her at her best and worst, who still held space for her pain without rushing her out of it.
"I don't know where to start," July whispered.
"That's okay," her mom said quickly, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "We'll help you."
"You don't have to have it all together right now," her dad added. "You just need to try."
A single tear slid down her cheek.
Vanessa reached for her again, resting her head lightly against July's shoulder. "I'll sit with you while you write it. We can even make it fun."
July gave a shaky nod.
She didn't feel ready.
But maybe…
Just maybe…
She could start again.
***
The door clicked softly behind them as July and Vanessa returned upstairs.
July's room was dim sunlight giving way to the early stretch of evening. The air smelled faintly of the vanilla-scented candle she'd left untouched for weeks.
Vanessa flopped on the bed like old times, arms spread wide, while July moved slowly to her desk and pulled out a notebook. It was still the same one she used last semester creased, with faint ink stains on the edges.
She sat.
Pen in hand.
Staring at the blank page.
Vanessa sat up and moved beside her, peeking over her shoulder. "Alright. Let's start with the basics," she said, all business with a teasing smile. "Notebooks, pens, maybe a new school bag? That old one looks like it fought a war."
July let out a small breath a ghost of a laugh.
"Okay," she murmured, finally writing 'Notebooks – 4'.
It felt weirdly heavy.
But she kept going.
Pens – blue, black.
Highlighters.
New shoes.
Hostel essentials.
She paused, pen hovering.
Then, almost instinctively, she reached to open her drawer for a sticky note but her hand froze.
There it was.
That bracelet.
His bracelet.
A simple leather band with a tiny silver tag that once held her name carved in tiny block letters. She had returned it before he left… but somehow there it was.
Vanessa noticed her stillness and looked up.
"Hey…" her voice softened.
July didn't say anything. She picked it up slowly, staring at it like it had betrayed her.
"I thought I threw this away," she said, voice barely audible.
Vanessa gently took the bracelet from her hand and placed it aside. "Some memories sneak back in. Doesn't mean they get to stay."
July looked at her sister, grateful.
She turned the page in her notebook. "Let's keep going."
"Atta girl," Vanessa whispered, nudging her shoulder.
July's pen hovered again, this time over a half-written line:
"Toiletries – toothbrush, paste, wipes..."
She blinked.
The words blurred.,
Her mind slipped, uninvited, backward.
***
FLASHBACK
They were standing under that stupid streetlamp outside her hostel gate, the yellow glow flickering like it knew what was about to happen.
He couldn't even look her in the eye.
"I just… I can't keep doing this," he had said.
Those words echoed like bullets.
July had frozen. "Doing what?"
He ran his fingers through his hair, sighing. "Us. You're too much, July. You want too much. And I'm tired."
Too much.
Want too much.
The words had crushed her ribs from the inside. She remembered the way her heart begged, not like this.
But he had turned and walked away.
Just like that.
***
PRESENT
Back in her room, the notebook dropped from her hand.
Tears burst past her lashes without warning, splashing against the lines she had just written.
Vanessa turned quickly, alarmed. "July?"
But July couldn't answer. Her shoulders trembled. She curled in on herself, arms wrapped tightly around her knees.
"He said I was too much," she cried, her voice cracking open like glass. "He made me feel like loving was a crime. Like I was the problem."
Vanessa didn't say a word at first.
She just moved beside her, wrapping both arms around her and rocking gently.
"I'm here," she whispered. "And I need you to listen to me, July."
She pulled back just enough to look into her sister's eyes.
"You were never too much. You were just more than he could handle. That's not on you."
July shook her head, but Vanessa cupped her face.
"One day, someone's gonna meet you and say, finally, there you are. Someone who sees that same heart you tried to give him… and knows how to hold it. But until then, I've got you. And you've got you."
More tears came.
But this time, they were softer. Quieter. Cleansing.
July leaned into Vanessa's arms, letting herself fall apart in the only place that still felt safe.
And outside the window, the city lights blinked quietly, like tiny reminders that the night didn't erase the promise of tomorrow.
To be continued...