Old Dreams No Return (Serena) novel Chapter 7

7

Mersi

With that, he helped a still-shaken Tiffany and turned to leave, abandoning me in the increasingly cold lake water, slowly losing all my strength.

The next time I opened my eyes, I was staring at the pristine white ceiling of a hospital room.

A few classmates were gathered around the bed, and when they saw me wake up, they all sighed in relief. “Serena, you’re awake! Thank god! You scared us half to death!”

Turns out, a classmate was walking by the lake, saw me unconscious and washed ashore, and quickly got help to pull me out and rush me to the hospital.

“We tried to call your parents, but couldn’t get through… so we just, uh, went ahead and called Liam.”

One of them mumbled awkwardly.

Another classmate chimed in, her voice full of indignation and disbelief: “We told him you were in the hospital, asked him to come see you.

But he actually said… said that you guys had broken up, and your business was none of his business!”

I listened quietly, my face devoid of any expression. Only when I heard that phrase, “none of his business,” did my lips curve just slightly, pulling into a faint, self-deprecating smile.

See? This was the boy I’d loved for so many years.

His heart had turned to ice, harder than the stones at the bottom of the lake.

My classmates looked at me, clearly uncomfortable and heartbroken, and rushed to console me.

I pushed myself up to a sitting position and gave my classmates a reassuring smile.

Liam’s right,” I said, my voice flat. “He and I? We’re completely over.

From now on… we probably won’t have any contact.”

Everyone exchanged stunned glances, still refusing to believe it. “No way! You guys were supposed to go to NYU together!”

I lowered my gaze, murmuring, “No, he and Tiffany are going to NYU.

I applied to…”

Before I could even finish my sentence, the hospital room door burst open with a bang! My parents rushed in, their faces etched with panic. “Rennie! What happened to you? How on earth did you fall into the lake out of nowhere? You scared your mom half to death!”

They swarmed around me, peppering me with worried questions about my condition. I did my best to calm them down.

In a daze, I thought I caught a glimpse of a tall, familiar figure flash past the doorway. He was wearing that black windbreaker I knew all too well.

But when I really focused, the doorway was totally empty, just a blur of doctors, nurses, and other patients.

Once they knew I was totally fine, my parents got me checked out.

I thanked my classmates and said my goodbyes.

For the next week and change, I just chilled at home, getting my strength back. Meanwhile, I connected with a senior from UCLA in the freshman group chat to get the full lowdown on campus, and went ahead and booked my flight.

My parents watched me for a while, their mouths opening and closing a few times like they wanted to say something but kept stopping themselves. Finally, they spoke up. “Rennie,” they started, “Liam’s family is throwing him a graduation gala. They invited our whole family.

So…”

My hands paused mid-pack for just a second. Then I calmly nodded. “Yeah, I’ll go.” The day of ‘the graduation gala, my parents and I showed up right on time, gifts in tow.

When we saw Liam, we just gave each other a brief nod. Not a single word was exchanged.

Both sets of parents took one look at the vibe and knew exactly what was up. Those two kids were definitely on the outs again.

22:12

Mrs. Carter took my hand, a warm smile on her face as she tried to smooth things over. “Rennie, you’re here! Come on in and grab a seat.

Liam, that boy, he’s just stubborn. You two are heading off to college together soon, so you really need to cut each other some slack. Don’t hold a

grudge.”

Mr. Carter gave Liam a pat on the shoulder. “You’re the man, Liam. Go easy on Rennie.”

Liam just stood off to the side, his face a stone mask, not saying a single word. He wouldn’t even meet my gaze.

I took a deep breath, ready to just blurt out that I’d broken up with him, when a sudden commotion erupted from the doorway.

Tiffany burst in. She was clutching a huge bouquet of bright sunflowers, totally dolled up and practically glowing. Then, acting all sweet and polite, she greeted Liam’s parents. “Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Carter! Liam, I’m here to congratulate you!”

The moment Liam saw Tiffany, his ice-cold expression completely thawed. His eyes went soft.

He didn’t even wait for his parents to respond. He just naturally turned to Tiffany. “Oh, you’re here? Come on in.”

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