A Bloom of Thorns

Melissa let out a defeated sigh, her eyes clouding with disappointment.

"I'm going to let this go. Whatever your reason, never pull a stunt like that again."

However, Cecilia just laughed scornfully and reached out to link arms with Melissa. "Like I said, Luke's not the type to cause trouble.

"It's a good thing Holly's just a foster kid who was taken in. We'll make sure Luke keeps his distance from now on."

Her gaze on Holly was sharp, filled with challenge and scorn.

Holly bit back her tears, but as she turned away, they betrayed her.

Luke watched her go, his heart in turmoil.

He dashed after her, pulling her aside where no one could see.

"Holly," Luke's movement seemed urgent, tinged with a desperate kind of coaxing, "don't get mad, okay? I'm really sorry.

"Cecilia's got her pride. If word got out about this, it would crush her.

"And honestly, there's nothing going on between us. Cecilia's just... naive. She was curious, that's all. She didn't mean anything by it."

Holly jerked her hand away from Luke, tears streaming down her face. "So, Cecilia is the perfect one, huh? Proud, pure, and untouchable. I'm just the lowlife, am I the wild girl who deserves to be stepped on?"

Luke watched Holly's tears, it felt like his heart was shattering into pieces.

He longed to hold her and tell her he was wrong.

Right then, Cecilia's voice called out for him from behind, and he froze, his hand hanging in the air.

Holly wiped away her tears and gave Luke a small, brave smile.

"It's fine, I'm over it," she said.

With those words, she turned and walked away, thinking to herself, 'No point in getting angry over a lost love.'

Hiking day came. Luke and Cecilia's friends were all there, and Holly felt like the odd one out.

She had regretted coming the moment they started. Her stomach was in knots with cramps, and she was breaking out in a sweat. Her period had decided to show up.

However, backing out then would send the wrong message to everyone.

Nobody knew she and Luke had a thing.

To everyone else, Luke and Cecilia were the dream team, the golden couple.

Some even whispered that Holly was the only thing standing in their way. It was her stubborn refusal to leave Luke's side that stopped the golden couple.

However, Holly was not worried.

Her period cycles were like clockwork, and Luke always remembered. He would find her an excuse to leave soon enough.

However, when Cecilia complained of thirst mid-hike, Luke had everyone stop so he could fetch her favorite lemonade.

Cecilia pouted at him, "Did you forget? I don't like cold drinks."

"Don't let it go to waste though," she added, and Luke nodded.

Without a second glance, he shoved the cup into Holly's hands.

Holly gazed down at the frosty lemon juice that had suddenly been given to her. Her brain short-circuited for a second. She could not believe Luke had spaced on the fact that she was on her period and could not handle the tart, icy drink.

Laughter and jeers broke out around them.

"Luke, that's just low. You know Miss Antique can't stand Cecilia. Yet, you pass off her rejected drink to her? Miss Antique will be heartbroken… Again."

Holly was older than the rest of them.

The ones who sneered at her, they all made sure to say "Miss Antique" extra loud.

However, Holly was not ticked off about the title they used. It was Luke's attitude that really got under her skin.

Luke shot her an impatient frown, "It's just a drink. You like lemon juice too, don't you? I wasn't thinking anything of it. Let's not cause a scene with the crowd, alright?"

Holly's grip on the lemon juice tightened, the chill from the cup seeping through her fingers and straight to her heart.

She managed a feeble, "Luke, did you forget? I'm on my-"

"If Holly doesn't like it, then let's not push her," came a voice.