The King Who Broke Me

I was the girl next door. Chloe Reed was the girl who fell from the sky.

They say the girl next door never stands a chance against the one who comes out of nowhere. Not long after she transferred, someone saw them in the empty stairwell after school.

They said that Jackson King—my Jax, the boy who bowed to no one—was standing there with his head down like a chastened puppy, listening to her lecture him.

Later, when Chloe and I had a falling out, all it took was a quiet word from him: “I don’t want to see Aubrey Hale at this school again.”

My parents, terrified of jeopardizing their business with the King family, had me transferred by the end of the week.

After that, I vanished from his world. I didn’t dare even show my face where he might see it.

But then, on his birthday, he showed up at my door, drenched by the rain, his face a wreck of misery and hurt. “Did you forget?” he asked, his voice cracking. “Did you forget it was my birthday?”

01

They say the girl who’s been there forever can’t compete with the girl who shows up out of the blue. I used to scoff at that.

But then I sat in the school auditorium, watching Jackson’s eyes follow Chloe Reed as she danced across the stage, and I saw it. The unfiltered adoration. The love he couldn’t hide.

In that moment, I believed it.

And I finally believed the rumors, the ones about the untouchable Jax King, the king of Crestwood High, letting this new girl put him in his place in a deserted stairwell.

The confession I’d held in my heart, the one I was always waiting for the right moment to share, would have to stay buried there forever.

When the music ended, I applauded with the rest of the crowd, my hands moving mechanically as the girl on stage took a glittering bow.

Jax stood up and headed for the wings, undoubtedly to find her. I stood up, too, and walked out of the auditorium.

Outside, the evening air was cool. I raised my hand, letting the little wooden star charm he gave me years ago dance in the breeze.

“Aubrey… for you.”

I looked at the crudely carved star in his palm. “What is it?”

Seven-year-old Jax had been watching some soap opera with his aunt and had learned a new phrase. “It’s a promise,” he’d said, his cheeks pink. “You have to wear it. It means you have to like me best, forever.”

“And I’ll always protect you, Aubrey.”

My eyes stung with the memory. I closed my fist around the charm. A kid’s promise. It’s not supposed to mean anything.

But I’d let it mean everything. Jax King, the boy who broke rules and hearts with equal impunity, was the secret joy and the central truth of my entire youth.

…

Chloe Reed had transferred in at the start of the semester. She was beautiful, a trained dancer, and her arrival was an event.

The girls in my class immediately cast her in their imaginary high school drama. She was the perfect transfer student protagonist—the quiet, talented girl who catches the eye of the school’s resident bad boy.

The bad boy who would, inevitably, tame himself for her.

A lot of guys tried to ask Chloe out. Someone even joked that the only one left was Jax.

Jax, lounging at his desk, had stretched languidly and shot the guy a look of pure disdain. “Her? Is that a joke?”

See? That’s how untouchable he’d seemed.

I never really believed the rumors about them, because I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. Because he’d never said the words to me, never told me he was with someone else.

But now I knew. It was time to pull back, to put a real, measurable distance between us.

For years, I’d always walked home with Jax. I can’t remember exactly when it started, but recently he always had some excuse for me to go on ahead.

He could have just told me the truth. I wouldn’t have made a scene. I wouldn’t have clung to him.

After all, we were never really together in the first place.

02

On Sunday evening, we had study hall, and homework was due.

Jax was the kind of student who, when asked for his assignment, would just give the TA a blank look and say, “Didn’t do it.”

He used to listen to me, though.

Everyone knew it. So whenever he’d pull that stunt, they’d come and complain to me. That’s what happened tonight, except no one could even find him.

He’d slipped out after the last bell, probably to find Chloe.

“Aubrey, Jax didn’t turn in his homework again, and he’s not in his seat. Can you…”

“Just hand in what you have,” I said, offering a small, tight smile. “From now on, you don’t need to tell me about his homework.”

My classmate just nodded, his expression confirmation that the rumors about Jax having a girlfriend must be true. My detached tone was all the proof he needed.

When class resumed, I bent over my test prep book.

Before Chloe, my plan was for Jax and me to go to Northwood University together.

Now, the plan was just for me to work my ass off and get into Northwood. For my own dream.

Jax didn't come back for the entire period. The teacher on duty frowned from her desk at the front of the room and asked where he was.

Every head in the classroom turned to look at me. I kept my eyes on my paper, refusing to acknowledge them.

He finally reappeared during the second period, sliding into his seat without a word. A moment later, a classmate leaned over and told him the principal wanted to see him in his office.

Jax seemed to snap out of a daze. As he walked past my desk, he paused for a fraction of a second.

I didn’t look up. I was wrestling with the final problem on a math worksheet, the kind where I could solve the first part but my brain would freeze on the second.

After I finally figured it out, my deskmate, Maya, leaned over.

“Hey, is everything okay with you and Jax?” she whispered.

“Everything’s fine.”

“Really? Because you used to get more worked up than anyone when he skipped class or blew off his homework.”

I flinched. She was right. “That was then,” I said, my voice flatter than I intended. “I’m not going to bother with his stuff anymore.”

“Oh,” she said, her eyes wide as she put the pieces together. “So it’s true… about him and Chloe Reed?”

I looked down, saying nothing.

The final bell rang, and a few minutes later, Jax ambled back into the room. A folded piece of paper landed on my desk. I opened it.

Go home without me.

I stared at the familiar scrawl, then calmly folded the note and tucked it away before returning to my work.

The classroom was a chaotic swirl of noise and motion as everyone packed up. I took my time, organizing my binder.

Suddenly, a hush fell over the room. Maya gasped, and I followed her gaze to the doorway.

Chloe Reed was standing there. She tilted her head, gave Jax a little come-hither crook of her finger, and then turned and walked away.

I couldn’t stop myself from looking at Jax. A helpless, almost tender smile spread across his face as he grabbed his backpack and followed her out.

The second he was gone, the classroom erupted.

“Holy crap, so it’s real.”

“Wow. I always thought he and Aubrey were endgame. You know, the bad boy and the good girl. But I guess the bad boy and the dancer… that kind of fits better, you know?”

“Don’t be an ass. Does anyone else feel kind of bad for Aubrey?”

“They’ve known each other their whole lives.”

“See? The girl next door never wins.”

…

Maya was looking at me, her expression full of pity she was trying to hide. I slung my backpack over my shoulder. My heart felt like it was being squeezed in a vise, but I forced a smile. I would not cry. Not here.

I couldn’t let them see how much it hurt. If I did, I’d be the butt of their jokes for the rest of the year.

“I’m fine,” I told Maya, meeting her worried eyes. “Jax and I have only ever been friends. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Okay… See you tomorrow. Get home safe.”

Once I was out of the noisy school building, I gripped the straps of my backpack, my knuckles white. I bit down on my lip, hard.

But the tears came anyway, hot and silent, blurring the streetlights. A heavy, aching pressure built in my chest.

How could he just… start liking someone else? Out of nowhere?

My vision swam. In my ears, I could hear a boy’s voice, clear and cocky, from a lifetime ago.

“Don’t worry, Aubrey. I can do anything. And I’ve got you. For life.”

03

“Aubrey, why didn’t you wait for me this morning?”

Jax had been late to school. He cornered me after first period, his tone laced with a playful grievance as he placed a carton of milk on my desk.

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