48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7wSfj5Qn1g
They weren’t friends.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqj5sgGdGCf
They weren’t enemies.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsdTAuTaD8x
They were something worse—two girls who understood each other too well.
The school trip was supposed to be uneventful.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPYyEJjFFOc
A three-day leadership retreat in Tagaytay.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLN4Mvv8muZ
Team-building games. Campfire circles. Trust falls.
Ruthie didn’t trust anyone enough to fall.
And Marian?
She liked watching people drop.
By the second night, everyone was exhausted.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZrdKCMqMPY
The sky threatened rain.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpstOZHKQmA
But the facilitators still insisted on outdoor reflections by the bonfire.
Ruthie sat on the edge of the group, hoodie pulled tight, headphones in.
She wasn’t listening to music.
She was listening for trouble.
And trouble always finds Marian.
It started when Marian wandered off after lights out.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6zAhyjPVMW
No one noticed.
Except Ruthie.
She saw the flicker of a flashlight.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGe8QkBxGIr
Saw Marian follow one of the male upperclassmen behind the mess hall.
And Ruthie’s gut screamed.
Something’s off.
She stood. Followed. Quiet as breath.
Turned the corner—and froze.
Marian’s back was against the wall.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIKLcAu91Ip
The boy—Kiko, varsity swimmer, all charm and arrogance—had one hand beside her head. The other creeping up her thigh.
“Akala ko ba game ka, Marian?”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpVR7fm0vT9
“I just said—stop muna.”48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgfzGIRWx0q
“Eh kanina, landi-landi mo.”
“Kiko,” she said, voice cracking. “I said no.”
He didn’t move.
Ruthie did.
“Bitawan mo siya.”
Kiko turned, startled. “Ano ka ba—”
He didn’t get to finish.
Ruthie grabbed a fallen broomstick and swung. Hard.
It cracked against his side. He doubled over, cursing.
Marian gasped.
“Umalis ka na,” Ruthie said.
And Kiko, stunned and humiliated, did.
For a moment, it was just them.
Two girls. One shaking. One still burning.
“You okay?” Ruthie asked, chest rising and falling.
Marian didn’t answer. Just looked at her with something unreadable.
Gratitude? Shame? Fury?
“You’re welcome,” Ruthie muttered, turning to go.
She thought it would end there.
But the fox always has another trick.
The next day, rumors spread fast.
“Narinig mo ba? Marian almost got attacked last night daw.”
“Who saved her?”
“Si Jay! Sabi nila, siya raw ‘yung dumating in time.”
Ruthie’s spoon froze mid-air.
Jay?
That’s not what happened.
She confronted Marian by the wash area.
“Really? Siya raw ang sumagip sa’yo?”
Marian turned slowly, lip gloss flawless, eyes smug.
“Bakit? Gusto mong ipagsigawan na ikaw ‘yung hero ko?”
“Hindi ako naghahanap ng credit. Gusto ko lang ng totoo.”
Marian leaned in, voice like poison in silk.
“Sometimes, truth ruins the story.”
Ruthie clenched her fists.
“You’re unbelievable.”
“You should’ve let him touch me,” Marian said softly. “Then maybe I’d owe you.”
Ruthie stared at her. “You do.”
“No. You chose to get involved. That’s on you.”
“He could’ve—”
“But he didn’t.”
Silence stretched between them like a blade.
Then Marian smiled sweetly.
“Besides, you said nothing. No one knows. That makes you just like me.”
And that was it.
Ruthie walked away.
Marian walked taller.
Back in her bunk, Ruthie wrote in her journal:
“I didn’t save her to be thanked.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwhFpihbG0p
I saved her because no one else would.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQOH2VGMo7A
But I won’t forget this.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvoU7niXbcY
The fox only looks cute until it draws blood.”
That night, Jay found her watching the stars alone.
“You okay?”
“Do I look okay?”
“You look like you want to burn the place down.”
Ruthie didn’t answer.
Jay sat beside her.
“They said I saved Marian last night.”
“You didn’t.”
“I know.”
“But you didn’t correct them.”
Jay looked away. Guilty.
“Didn’t want to make it worse for her.”
Ruthie let out a bitter laugh.
“You really believe she’s the victim?”
“I believe you care more than you admit.”
She didn’t deny it.
But caring doesn’t mean forgiving.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiyNNT28R28
And silence isn’t the same as peace.
Later, when everyone else slept, Ruthie stared at Marian’s tent.
Inside it slept a girl with nine lives and no conscience.
And Ruthie?
She wasn’t done yet.
ns216.73.216.139da2“You owe me, fox.48Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFwhDUZ7RqV
You just don’t know it’s already collecting interest.
and then Add to home screen.