Andrea Paisley hated the silence that came after Luna disappeared from her life.
For weeks she kept asking the same questions.
Why is it 18+ now?
How?
Since when?
Every time she heard the same answer.
"New rules."
"Too many problems."
"Too many drunk kids."
Simple explanations that didn't feel simple to her.
Because Luna wasn't just a place with loud music and flashing lights.
For Andrea, Luna was therapy.
It was the only place where the noise inside her head finally went quiet.
Now it was gone.
So she went to the only other place that ever gave her a similar feeling.
Šachta.
The lake was quiet in a way the city never was.
Wind brushed over the water, and the surface moved slowly, reflecting the gray sky like a mirror.
Andrea stood near the edge of the lake with her hands in the pockets of her jacket.
Her sister once told her something about this place.
"Your grandpa died here."
Andrea never met him.
Not even once.
She sometimes wondered what it would have been like if she had.
Would he have been kind?
Would he have looked at her and seen something good instead of something broken?
Andrea sat down in the grass and stared at the water.
Her thoughts drifted somewhere else.
Back to Luna.
Back to the German boy.
He had told her something she couldn't forget.
"You have a really good heart."
No one had said that to her before.
But he also told her something else.
"I have a girlfriend."
Andrea knew that should have been a warning.
A red flag.
But even knowing that, she couldn't stop thinking about him.
Because for one night, someone stayed.
Someone chose her.
She came to Šachta hoping the quiet would help.
Hoping maybe she could cry everything out and leave it here by the water.
She sat there for a long time.
Waiting.
But the tears never came.
The pain stayed trapped somewhere deep inside her chest.
Like it refused to leave.
A few weeks later, another party appeared in the city.
Unico.
It didn't happen every weekend like Luna.
It was occasional.
Bigger.
Louder.
Andrea hesitated at first.
But eventually she told herself the same thing she always did.
Just try.
The night of the party, Unico was packed.
Hundreds of people filled the building. The music vibrated through the walls, and colored lights flashed over the crowd like lightning.
Andrea was already drinking when she arrived.
The alcohol made everything blur together—the music, the voices, the heat of the room.
She pushed through the crowd slowly.
And then she saw someone she didn't want to see.
Samuel Daňko.
He stood with a group of friends near the bar, already drunk, laughing loudly about something.
Andrea immediately turned her head and walked in the opposite direction.
Ignore him.
That was the plan.
But plans rarely worked when Samuel was involved.
She felt a hand suddenly grab her wrist.
Andrea turned around.
Samuel.
His eyes were unfocused but sharp enough to recognize her.
"Well, well," he said with a crooked smile. "Paisley."
Andrea pulled her hand away.
"What do you want?"
Samuel looked her up and down.
"You look… different tonight."
"Drunk?" Andrea snapped.
Samuel laughed.
"Yeah. That too."
His friends snickered behind him.
Andrea rolled her eyes and tried to walk away again.
But Samuel stepped in front of her.
"Why are you even here?" he asked.
"Same reason as everyone else."
Samuel tilted his head.
"Really? Because you don't look like someone who belongs at a place like this."
Andrea's jaw tightened.
"Move."
Instead of moving, Samuel leaned slightly closer.
"You know," he said slowly, "you're actually kind of interesting when you're not acting like a psycho in the group chat."
Andrea stared at him.
"Did you follow me out here just to insult me?"
Samuel smirked.
"Maybe."
His tone changed slightly.
Still cruel.
But now there was something else mixed in.
Something almost… playful.
"You're pretty when you're mad," he added.
Andrea blinked.
"What?"
Samuel shrugged lazily.
"Just saying."
Before Andrea could respond, another voice suddenly cut through the tension.
"Samuel."
Samuel turned his head.
Andrea froze.
Standing a few meters away was Matthew Neyman.
And next to him—
Vanessa Příhodová.
Matthew's eyes were locked on Andrea.
Not angry.
Not amused.
Concerned.
Andrea felt her chest tighten immediately.
Matthew walked closer.
"Leave her alone," he said calmly.
Samuel rolled his eyes.
"Relax. We're just talking."
"It doesn't look like talking."
Samuel looked between them.
Then he laughed quietly.
"Oh."
His eyes flicked between Andrea and Matthew.
"Now I get it."
Andrea felt heat rush to her face.
"Get what?" she snapped.
Samuel grinned.
"This is way more entertaining than I thought."
Matthew stepped closer.
"That's enough."
The tension between them was thick.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Andrea looked at Matthew.
Really looked at him.
She hadn't been this close to him in years.
Her heart suddenly started beating faster.
Way too fast.
Memories she thought she buried came rushing back all at once.
Matthew noticing her struggle in class.
Matthew helping her pick up books.
Matthew being the one person she never fully understood.
Andrea's breathing became shaky.
She hated it.
Hated how easily he could still affect her.
Matthew looked at her gently.
"Are you okay?"
That question broke something.
Andrea shook her head quickly.
"I'm fine."
But her voice cracked.
Matthew stepped forward slightly.
"Andrea—"
She couldn't handle it.
Not his voice.
Not his eyes.
Not Vanessa standing behind him.
Andrea turned and ran.
The cold night air hit her face as she pushed through the exit door.
And then finally—
The tears came.
For the first time in a long time, Andrea Paisley cried.
Not quietly.
Not carefully.
She cried like every scar inside her chest suddenly reopened at once.
Behind her, the music from Unico kept playing.
But Andrea didn't hear it.
All she could hear was the sound of her own heart breaking again.