Chapter 5: The Side Character’s Gamble

A few more days passed. Nathan was avoiding me.

He’d changed his routine—came home later, left earlier. I caught glimpses of him in the hallway, but he never looked my way.

He kept his distance. And honestly? It hurt. I almost wanted to cry, though I had no idea why.

I spent hours staring at the ceiling, replaying every conversation, every awkward silence. My chest ached with regret.

My fear of him was completely replaced by a bittersweet ache. I even found myself unconsciously following him—

I’d hang around the stairwell, hoping to catch a glimpse. Sometimes, I’d watch from my window—he’d be out there, feeding the stray cats.

Coming home, going upstairs, entering his apartment.

I felt like a creep, secretly watching his every move.

But I realized he wasn’t always so cold.

He’d feed the stray cats downstairs, or pick up trash left by inconsiderate people.

I saw him leave cans of tuna by the dumpsters, chase off a raccoon, even pick up a kid’s lost backpack and hang it on the fence.

Those little acts of kindness made my feelings for him even harder to pin down.

I started to wonder if I’d misjudged him all along. Maybe there was more to him than the rumors and the scars.

One night, I finally got a chance to talk to him.

The store was quiet, fluorescent lights buzzing overhead. I wandered in, pretending to browse, heart pounding in my chest.

"Three bucks."

I set a bottle of water on the counter. Nathan spoke up first.

His voice was flat, businesslike. I fumbled with my wallet, hands shaking.

I hesitated, then mustered my courage, pretending nothing had happened, and looked up at him.

"Has work been tough lately?"

I tried to sound casual, but my voice was too soft, too hopeful.

My palms were sweating, nerves taut, choosing every word carefully, afraid to break our fragile relationship.

My relationship with Nathan.

The words echoed in my mind, making my heart race. Was there even a relationship to speak of?

As that thought crossed my mind, I remembered my mom’s question: "Do you like Nathan Calloway?"

He didn’t answer. The silence stretched. The air felt heavy.

His silence left me more at a loss, my face heating up, head nearly on the counter. My nose stung—I wanted to cry.

I bit my lip, trying to hold it together. The urge to run was almost overwhelming.

"It’s okay."

Finally, just as I was about to break, his cool voice broke the silence.

His tone was gentle, almost reassuring. Relief washed over me.

Relief. I grinned, couldn’t help it.

"That’s good. Make sure you eat well, don’t work too late. We… we can still be friends, right?"

The words tumbled out in a rush. I held my breath, waiting for his answer.

I asked carefully, watching his face. I didn’t even know why I cared so much about his feelings.

He looked at me, expressionless.

But there was a glint in his eyes.

Just as he was about to speak, the bell chimed—a customer walked in.

Just like that, the moment was over. Gone.

"Nathan."

A soft female voice froze us both.

It was the kind of voice you recognized instantly—sweet, gentle, a little sad.

I saw the change in his face—from indifferent to visibly happy and excited. I’d never seen that before.

His eyes lit up, his whole posture changing. My heart twisted.

A sour ache welled up in me.

Jealousy, sharp and unexpected, clawed at my chest. I looked away, trying not to show it.

"You’re… Ms. Sanders’s daughter from downstairs, right?"

After all these years, Molly Bennett recognized me first.

She looked the same as ever—perfect hair, perfect smile. The kind of girl who belonged on magazine covers, not in my messy little world.

No wonder. Nathan and I were neighbors, sure, but Molly? We’d only met a handful of times. Yet ten years later, she still picked me out of a crowd. That’s a heroine for you.

I nodded awkwardly, grabbed my water, and hurried out. The heroine’s arrival and Nathan’s reaction made me feel my own insignificance as a side character.

I ducked my head and bolted, barely remembering to pay. Outside, the night air felt colder than before.

But when I got home and looked at the unopened water bottle, I snapped out of my daze.

What was I doing?

Wasn’t I trying to save Nathan?

I stared at my reflection in the window, searching for answers. Was I really so different from the other side characters?

Molly, as the heroine, always pushed Nathan further into darkness with every appearance, until he was lost for good.

It was like every time she showed up, the story took another dark turn. I couldn’t let that happen—not if I could help it.

In the book, every time Molly screwed up, Nathan cleaned up the mess. But his fixes? They were brutal.

He’d do anything for her, no matter the cost. Even if it meant crossing lines he could never uncross.

Step by step, he descended into darkness, while Molly kept her hands clean and later, with Sean, stood on the moral high ground, condemning him.

It was the ultimate betrayal. She got her happy ending; he got a prison cell.

Why?

I didn’t get it. At first, Nathan just wanted to be saved, but in the end, everyone abandoned him—even the girl he’d put on a pedestal.

He was always reaching out. No one ever reached back. God, it broke my heart.

Thinking about it made my heart ache. Clutching the water bottle, I made a decision.

Stop it.

Do everything I can to stop it.

I squared my shoulders. If the story wanted to drag Nathan down, I’d pull him back up—no matter what.

I knew why Molly was looking for Nathan.

According to the script, she’d just returned to the States—now a rich heiress, but still heartbroken. Sean refused to see her and was already engaged.

That fiancée happened to be connected to Nathan.

Sean’s fiancée was Shannon Lewis, Nathan’s high school classmate.

Molly wanted to use Nathan to meet Shannon.

But in the book, the meeting failed. Shannon called Molly a homewrecker and even had her beaten up, which triggered Nathan.

It was a powder keg waiting to explode. I had to keep Nathan out of it, no matter what.

By then, Nathan was already a double murderer, and he took Shannon’s life without mercy.

The thought made me shudder. I couldn’t reconcile the cold-blooded killer from the novel with the quiet young man I saw now.

Luckily, Nathan’s hands were still clean.

I racked my brain for a way to change things.

I paced my room, scribbling ideas in a notebook. There had to be a way to derail the plot.

As luck would have it, Nathan and Shannon were classmates, and I was her best friend.

It felt like fate was giving me one last chance to intervene.

It was clear Molly was determined to see Shannon.

She wasn’t the type to take no for an answer. I had to move fast.

To keep Nathan out of it…

I secretly arranged to meet Shannon at the coffee shop where Molly often appeared.

I texted her, making up an excuse about homework. She agreed, rolling her eyes at my sudden urgency.

But things went worse than I imagined.

Shannon was a spoiled rich girl, but not mean—otherwise, we wouldn’t have been friends. But the second she saw Molly, she lost it. One slap, and suddenly we’re all at the police station.

The slap echoed through the café. Molly gasped, clutching her cheek. I tried to intervene, but the manager called the cops before I could even explain.

I was accused of fighting—totally unfair!

I hadn’t even laid a finger on anyone.

But looking at Molly, disheveled, and Shannon, smug, I could only stand there awkwardly as the officer lectured us and called our families.

The waiting room was stuffy, the chairs uncomfortable. I picked at a loose thread on my sleeve, wishing I could disappear.

Then Nathan showed up. Sean too.

The air changed instantly. Nathan’s eyes went dark when he saw Molly’s bruised face. Sean hovered protectively by Shannon, his jaw clenched.

Seeing the bruises on Molly’s face, Nathan’s eyes went dark.

He looked ready to tear the world apart. I shrank into my seat, heart pounding.

Shannon clung to Sean, glaring at Molly as if to declare her territory.

She tossed her hair, shooting daggers at anyone who looked her way.

Molly looked at Sean with the perfect heroine’s tragic expression.

Tears sparkled in her eyes, her lip trembling. She was a natural at playing the victim.

And Nathan’s gaze toward Shannon grew even colder…

His hands clenched into fists. I could almost see the storm brewing behind his eyes.

My heart lurched. I grabbed Shannon.

I squeezed her arm, trying to drag her away before things got any worse.

"Shannon, let’s go."

She pouted, wanting to snap back, but one look at Nathan’s murderous glare made her shiver. With her fiancé there, she held her tongue.

She grumbled under her breath, but didn’t argue. I shot Nathan an apologetic look as we hurried out.

"Emily, you shouldn’t hang out with people like that—bad luck."

On the way out, Shannon tried to warn me as a good friend.

Her words stung more than I expected. I bit my lip, fighting back tears.

Hearing that, I wanted to cry.

Ms. Sanders said it. Now Shannon too.

My relationship with Nathan was officially over.

It felt like the whole world was telling me to give up. I wondered if they were right.

He saw my embarrassment. Gave me a cold look. Walked past—to Molly. But as he passed, he muttered, voice like ice.

"Stay away from Molly."

It felt like someone punched me in the chest.

It hurt.

Now I was sure—I liked Nathan.

The realization hit me like a freight train. I’d fallen for him, even though I’d tried so hard not to.

But the second I admitted it, I knew—I’d already lost.

He was drifting further away, pulled by forces I couldn’t fight.

I went home and cried my eyes out.

For my short-lived romance.

My pillow was soaked by morning. I told myself I’d get over it, but I knew I was lying.

After that, things between me and Nathan were ice-cold—not because he avoided me, but because I started avoiding him.

I took the long way home, ducked into empty stairwells, did everything I could to avoid seeing him.

I couldn’t untangle my feelings.

Every time I saw him, my heart twisted. I wanted to reach out, but I was too afraid of getting hurt again.

At first, I was afraid of dying and wanted to stay far away. Then, I pitied him and wanted to change his fate.

But now, I was too scared.

His cold gaze made me back off, and I realized that no matter what I did, Molly would always be his idealized first love—irreplaceable.

He’d inevitably follow her into the abyss, sooner or later.