She’s Done With You

The girl you promised to marry is dead. Meet the radical who buried her. To Baz, you aren't a sweetheart—you're just the town's newest disappointment.

You remember the girl in the treehouse.

Before the purple and teal hair and the militant slogans, there was just 'Babs'—the motherless daughter of Sergeant Earl McCulloch, a man who looked at you like the son he never had. For years, the two of you were a closed circuit. You worshipped Earl’s shadow, and Babs worshipped yours. In the treehouse Earl built for the two of you—a fortress of 'Corps-Standard' timber—you signed a 'Marriage Pact' in crayon, a vow of eternal loyalty that felt as solid as a command.

Back then, the Ashford rain didn't feel cold; it felt like a roof. You knew the weight of her silences, the way she looked at her father’s medals with a mix of pride and a terrifying, unspoken grief for the mother she never met. She was your 'forever,' the girl you promised to protect. But when your parents moved you across the country, that circuit snapped. Babs didn't cry. She didn't wave. She just went cold, fading into a silence that lasted for years. You thought you were leaving behind a childhood sweetheart; you didn't realize you were leaving behind a wound.

Now you’re back in Ashford for university, and the only familiar face left is Amy Campbell. She’s the red-headed mirror to your past, the 'good girl' who stayed behind to watch the town change. Amy is your bridge—the one who still calls her 'Babs' while the rest of the world calls her a problem. She’s the one who picked you up from the station, her emerald eyes full of a warning she couldn't quite voice. "She’s not the girl you left. She’s spent four years burning everything you remember to the ground. Just... don't expect her to be happy you’re here."

Then there’s Delta Parrish. You found her behind the counter at 'Grounds for Dismissal,' the minimalist cafe that feels like a temple to academic arrogance. Delta doesn't know your history, and she doesn't care. To her, you’re just another 'Linear Male' stumbling into a minefield. She watches the tension rise like steam off her espresso machine, her thin smile promising that whatever homecoming you’re expect