Old Dreams No Return (Serena) novel Chapter 5

5

My heart seized up. It was pure reflex; I lunged forward, snatching the acceptance letter right out of his hand.

“What are you doing?!”

My voice trembled, just a little, almost imperceptibly. But mostly, it was laced with icy caution.

His hand was still hanging in the air, my over-the-top reaction having completely stunned him.

Then, his eyes went cold. “The mailman said no one was home, and you listed me as your emergency contact. So he just found me to sign for it.”

Emergency contact… A tiny needle pricked my heart, a faint ache blooming in my chest.

I’d set that up ages ago, so long ago I’d almost forgotten. Back when he was my whole world, it was just natural to link all my most important stuff to

him.

I dropped my gaze, hiding the storm brewing in my eyes. “Emergency contact… I forgot to change it before. I’ll get around to it later.”

I didn’t even glance at him. Instead, I swiftly grabbed the pen from the nearby table. On the signature line, I carefully, clearly, wrote out my name:

Serena.

From now on, my life path would be entirely my own, completely separate from his.

Signature done, I turned on my heel to go back inside.

But then I heard his voice behind me, asking the mailman, “Is that the only one? None for me? We’re going to the same university; ours should’ve arrived together.”

The mailman confirmed, “Yep, just this one.”

His brows furrowed even tighter. He called out, stopping me after I’d already taken a few steps. “Serena, open it up and check. Did my acceptance letter accidentally get mixed in with yours?”

I paused. Didn’t turn around. My voice was sharp, decisive, without a hint of hesitation. “It’s not there.”

My absolute certainty caught him off guard, a flicker of inexplicable unease crossing his face. He pressed, “Why are you so sure?”

I took a deep breath. I was just about to tell him the decision I’d buried for so long. Then his phone suddenly rang.

It was Tiffany.

The moment he answered, Tiffany’s voice, thick with tears, came through the phone: “Liam… where are you? I’m so scared… I think someone’s been following me…”

His face instantly changed. All his attention was immediately fixated on the call, his tone, one I hadn’t heard in ages, was urgent and tense: “Don’t be scared! Stay right where you are, send me your location. I’m coming right now!”

He didn’t even spare me another glance, nor did he hear me mutter that quiet sentence that packed a punch: “I changed my mind about where I applied. We’re not even going to the same school.” He spun around and sprinted toward where his car was parked, the roar of his engine quickly fading into the distance.

I stood there, watching his car disappear, and with that, the last flicker of emotion in my heart finally flatlined.

In the days that followed, I quietly started packing for my big move.

The UCLA was a thousand miles away. Everything would have to be bought new.

His social media, though, was buzzing.

Every day, I’d see new posts from him, and in every photo and video, Tiffany was always there.

They went hiking to catch the sunrise, Tiffany leaning on his shoulder with a rolling sea of clouds behind them. They went camping, huddled around a bonfire, Tiffany laughing as she fed him a skewer. They checked out countless ‘gram-worthy spots, taking cozy selfies at every landmark…

In every single photo, his eyes were lit up with a relaxed smile.

Their friends commented below, hyping them up: “Liam, is this official now?”

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“Goals!”

“Tiff’s a boss! She really snagged our Liam!”

I scrolled through my feed, looking at those vibrant, blinding pictures. A dull ache settled in my chest, like a waterlogged sponge was weighing me down, heavy and damp. But strangely, that sharp, suffocating pain was gone.

So this is what it feels like for your heart to be truly, utterly numb.

It was a beautiful, sunny day when I went back to school for my records.

Menu

The second I stepped onto campus, I spotted Tiffany by the bulletin board. She was snuggled up to his arm, striking cute poses, beaming at her phone

camera.

He still had that cool, distant look, but a subtle smile played on his lips as he let her snap away.

I watched from afar, and suddenly, a wave of déjà vu hit me, bringing back memories of him and me.

Right here, on this very campus, we’d walked hand-in-hand down every tree-lined path. He’d cornered me against walls for stolen kisses. We’d

leaned over desks, planning our future, swearing we’d get into NYU together, going from school uniforms straight to wedding gowns.

Those moments, so beautiful they felt almost unreal, now seemed like a distant, hazy dream.

Ever since Tiffany showed up, everything had changed.

And as for him and me? We had no future left.