Conflicted Thoughts

ARWAN

I think there's something wrong with me.

I sigh, frustration and confusion swirling around me as I try to calm these new thoughts and emotions. I feel like I've lost my grip on reality, and everything I thought I knew about myself is now in question. How did I end up thinking about Emery, of all people? The girl I constantly clashed with, the one who always managed to get under my skin.

Hard to know precisely when it started. Was it that morning after Tyler's party when I woke up with her lingering presence still in the air? Or was it the pang of disappointment when I realised she was no longer by my side? Maybe it was seeing her with Tyler, their easy conversation and genuine smiles, as if the rest of the world didn't matter. Or maybe it was the silence between us on the way to college, the absence of even a single word exchanged.

Or perhaps it was all these moments combined, crushed into my consciousness with undeniable force.