Nathan's standing in my doorway, looking tense. It's not like him. Usually, he’s calm, doesn’t let much get to him. But tonight? His whole vibe’s off. I shut the door behind him and lean against the wall, waiting for him to speak.
“What’s up?” I ask, though I can already sense it’s something serious. I just don’t know how deep it goes yet.
He rubs a hand over his face, exhaling slowly. “We need to talk about Celeste.”
My chest
I pull up outside Celeste’s house and kill the engine, my fingers drumming against the steering wheel as I wait. The street’s quiet, a couple of lights flickering in the houses around me. I’ve been here a hundred times before, but tonight everything feels different. There’s a tension in the air that wasn’t there before, like everything’s about to shift.I see her coming down the driveway, her bag slung over one shoulder, her steps slow and hesitant. She looks like she’s been through hell these past few days. I want to tell her she doesn’t have to look at me like I’m the problem. But I guess right now, to her, I am.She stops a few feet away from the car, crossing her arms over her chest like a shield. I step out, leaning against the door, trying to keep my tone calm. “Get in the car, Celeste.”Her eyes narrow, that familiar fire sparking behind them. “No, Liam. I’m not getting into the
I can’t breathe. My fingers fumble with the door handle as I push it open and step out of the car. The cold air hits me like a slap, and for a second, I just stand there, staring at the view. The concert lights below shimmer in the distance, but all I see is the mess my life has become. How did I get here? How did any of this become my reality?I hear Liam’s door slam behind me, and before I can take a full breath, he’s standing next to me, his presence overpowering. "Celeste," he starts, his voice hard but controlled, "I need to pick you up after school every day now. It's not safe."I whip around to face him, disbelief rushing through me like fire. "You think I’m going to be seen with you? At school? No way, Liam. Especially with Presley around."His jaw clenches at her name, and for a second, I see something flicker in his eyes—something like guilt. But it’s gone before I can figure it out. "This isn’t about Presley," he snaps, stepping closer. "It’s about ke
Liam moves closer, his footsteps crunching against the gravel, but I don’t budge. My body is rigid, like if I stand still enough, I can keep it all together. He’s reaching out for me, his arms extending, and I know what’s coming. He’s going to try to hold me, like it will fix everything.But I won’t let him."Liam, don’t," I say, my voice sharper than I intend, but I don’t care. I can’t care right now. I step back, my arms pulling tighter around myself like a shield. His hands hover in the air for a moment before he drops them to his sides, but he doesn’t stop moving closer."I just want to..." he murmurs, his eyes searching mine like he's looking for a crack in my defenses. "I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. "I shake my head, not trusting myself to speak just yet. My throat feels tight, like there’s a lump lodged there that I can’t swallow. The memory of last night, of everything we’ve been through, flares up inside me, and I feel the sting of it
It’s Monday morning, and I barely slept. My body is buzzing with so much feeling. Liam and I made love the whole weekend, I snuck into the house a few hours ago and I am exhausted but I have to get to school. I shouldn't have stayed with him for so many hours in he night. I get out of my room dragging myself out of the house, my backpack slung over one shoulder. The sun is barely up, casting long shadows on the ground, and the air is cool, a slight breeze brushing against my skin.As I make my way to the driveway, I f
When we pull into the school parking lot, I instantly feel a pit form in my stomach. Nathan drives in like it’s any other day, but I already know what’s coming. The moment he parks and steps out of the car, I can feel the eyes on us, like a spotlight I never asked for.Nathan walks around to my side of the car, casually opening the door for me. He’s so relaxed, so unconcerned, and for a split second, I wish I could be like him—completely unfazed. But the second I step out, the whispering starts. It’s subtle at first, a few curious glances, a few people looking and then turning to their friends. But soon, it’s obvious. The whispers turn into full-on staring. I catch the not-so-subtle looks, the way people nudge each other and nod in our direction.I can hear them. I can hear everything.“Isn’t that Celeste? With Nathan?”“What is she doing with him?”“Didn’t she use to hang out with Tamrin and Sadie?”“Look who’s trying to make a sta
Nathan and I sit across from each other in the small café on the corner of campus, away from the prying eyes of everyone at school. It’s one of the few places where I feel like I can breathe. After everything that’s happened—especially this morning in the parking lot—I need some sort of escape, something to take my mind off the whispers and the stares.Nathan, for all his calm and easygoing nature, has become something of an anchor for me, even though I’ve never really understood why he’s so… different. Different from Liam, different from all of them. And today, I feel like I need answers. I’ve been dodging too much of my own fear and curiosity.He’s picking at his food, a half-smile playing on his lips like he's got all the time in the world. Meanwhile, my thoughts are racing a mile a minute, swirling around everything I know—and don’t know—about his world. Liam’s world. The other world that I’m somehow tangled up in now.I lean forward, propp
Nathan pulls up in front of my house, and I’m just about to thank him when I see Liam leaning against his car across the street. His hands are shoved deep into his pockets, head down, but as soon as we pull in, he looks up, eyes narrowing with a determination that makes my stomach flip. I’m still caught off guard by his presence, despite knowing it’s only a matter of time before he shows up again, demanding something I can’t give.“Looks like you have company,” Nathan mutters, eyeing his brother with a mixture of annoyance and caution. I give him a nod, hoping he doesn’t sense the dread tightening my chest.“Thanks, Nathan,” I say, giving him a small, grateful smile as I reach for the door handle. I don’t want him to see how rattled I am, so I do my best to seem calm as I step out of the car.Liam’s already crossing the street, his stride brisk, purposeful. He doesn’t even greet me, just looks from me to Nathan, and then back again.“Can I talk to you, Celeste?” His voice is low, but
The pub is dim and familiar, with the hum of quiet conversations and clinking glasses around me. It’s not my usual scene on a Monday, but right now, I need a place to disappear for a bit. The cold beer in my hand is barely enough to distract me from the painful thought that’s been eating at me since I pulled away from Celeste’s house. She didn’t just say no. She looked at me like I was something to avoid.I take another long sip, feeling the cold bitterness slide down my throat. I’d half expected her to turn me down, but I thought there’d still be something there, some sign she still cared. Instead, she looked like she wanted to be anywhere but near me, like I was a problem she’d rather not deal with.The bartender nods at me as he passes, and I give him a half-hearted nod back. Normally, I’d be in here with Travis or a couple of other guys from the crew, talking shop or running through the latest intel on Vince. But toni
The air is cold, but I barely feel it. My fingers flex at my sides, itching for the moment I get to wrap them around Trevor’s throat.A few meters away, the house stands in the darkness, barely lit by the moon. Celeste is in there. I can feel it, like some invisible tether between us. She’s so close I can almost smell her—vanilla and something soft, something warm.Nathan steps up beside me. I don’t have to look at him to know what he’s thinking. We’ve run through this plan a hundred times. We both breathe slowly, measured, in sync. If we let the rage take over now, we’ll lose. We need to do this right.Behind us, the rest of my men are waiting, silent shadows in the night. Five hundred of them. A small army, but that’s what it takes when yo
Nathan and I are staring at the screen, watching the dot move. Every second it inches closer to its destination, my pulse beats harder, my hands clench tighter. I should be in my car already, speeding toward her. I should be ending this.But I can’t rush this.One mistake, and Celeste might never make it out alive.I take a slow breath, forcing myself to think. Trevor’s still pissed about today—I saw it in his eyes, the way his mask slipped for just a second. He’s getting sloppy. That’s why Tamrin was able to slip one on him, why he hasn’t even realized she did. He thinks he still has control, but we’re the ones pulling the strings now."One more day," I say, more to myself than to Nathan.
My hands are trembling so hard I can barely hold the phone. My chest feels tight, like there isn’t enough air in the room, but I force myself to breathe. In and out. In and out. I can’t fall apart now. Not when I finally made a move.Sadie sits next to me, watching silently. She hasn’t asked a single question since I took her phone, but she doesn’t have to. I know she’s thinking them. I know she wants to yell at me, shake me, demand answers. But she doesn’t. Maybe she knows I don’t have the strength to explain right now.Nathan answers on the second ring. His voice is sharp, alert. “Who’s this?”“It’s Tamrin.” My voice barely comes out, but I swallow the lump in my throat and force myself to continue. “I hid my phone in Trevor’s car so you can track him. I’ll send you the details now.”Silence. Then a sharp breath on the other end. “You—” he starts, but I don’t give him a chance to question me. I end the call and immediately go to the tracking app on my phone, sending the location str
The drive back feels like it lasts forever, and every minute of it makes my stomach churn with dread. Trevor’s words hang in the air, thick and suffocating. He doesn’t stop talking, doesn’t stop reminding me of everything he’s capable of, and how easily he could ruin my life if I even think about crossing him. Every threat is sharp, like a blade cutting through my chest. He tells me he will kill me, kill my family, that no one would ever know what happened to Celeste or that I was involved.The fear grips me harder with each passing second. It feels like I’m suffocating in this car, trapped in this nightmare I can’t escape. I can’t say anything. I just nod, keep my eyes on the road, my breath shallow, praying he’ll just let me go. But it never comes. The torment doesn’t stop.Finally, when the car pulls up in front of my house, I feel my body go stiff. Trevor grabs my thigh, his fingers digging in deep, hard enough to bruise. The pain flares up immediately, sharp and relentless, and I
I’m sitting in Trevor’s car, my hands trembling so badly I can barely keep them on my lap. My head is pounding, each beat of my heart sending sharp pangs of pain through my chest. I don’t know what he’s going to do to me. I can barely look him in the eye, even though he’s sitting right next to me, his cold presence suffocating me in this small space.How did I end up here? I can’t even remember when it started to go so wrong. I thought he was different. I thought he was charming, charismatic, someone who could make me feel like I mattered. I let myself believe he cared. I even slept with him—let him do things to me that I’m ashamed of now. I wish I could take it all back. I wish I could somehow erase the last few months of my life.But I can’t. I’m trapped.I don’t know when I started to see the darkness in him, when it became clear that Trevor was a monster. I was too blind, too naïve to see
The car rolls to a stop in front of the abandoned building. The windows are boarded up, and the air around here smells stale, like no one’s been within a hundred miles for years. I park with precision, the crunch of gravel beneath the tires settling in my ears. Tamrin doesn’t say anything, but I can see her eyes darting around, her body stiffening with every passing second. She’s terrified, and it’s exactly what I want.I turn to look at her, my gaze dark and unrelenting. There’s a moment of silence, thick and suffocating, before I speak.“Tamrin,” I say, my voice low and commanding. “What happened when you came back?”She looks at me, trying to hide the fear behind her eyes, but I see through it. “What do you mean?” she says, trying to play dumb, but I can hear the tremor in her
I pull up to Tamrin’s place, the tires crunching softly as I stop in the driveway. My hands tighten on the steering wheel for a moment, the anger from my conversation with Liam still simmering beneath my skin. The asshole had the nerve to think he could intimidate me. It’s all a game to him, but he doesn't understand what I’m capable of.I pick up my phone, dialing Tamrin’s number. It rings a few times before she picks up.“Yeah?” Her voice is tentative, like she already knows something's wrong.“Come outside,” I tell her, making sure my voice is low and controlled.There’s a long pause on the other end, but I wait. I know she’ll come.
I’m burning. Not just with anger—but with something deeper, something uglier.I stalk to my car, muttering under my breath, fists clenched so tight my nails dig into my palms. I need to hit something, break something—tear Liam apart with my bare hands.I drop into the driver’s seat and slam the door shut, gripping the wheel so hard it creaks under my fingers. My breathing is heavy, uneven. I clench my jaw so tight my teeth ache.And then I snap.My fist flies into the steering wheel, over and over again, the impact rattling up my arm. But it’s not enough. The rage is still clawing at me, scratching under my skin, demanding an outlet.I start the car, chest heaving, mind racing. Liam thinks he can play games with me? Give me an ultimatum? Like he’s the one in control?I pull out of the driveway too fast, tires screeching against the pavement. And then I see it—a car pulling out just as I do.I
Trevor is standing on my lawn like he owns the place. Like he belongs here. His hands are stuffed in his pockets, his shoulders loose, like he isn’t the reason I haven’t slept in weeks. Like he isn’t the reason Celeste is gone.I keep walking, my pace easy, controlled. I won’t give him the satisfaction of seeing my rage.He hears me approaching and turns, his face twisting into a smirk."You like what you see?" I ask, my voice steady.He nods, his smirk widening. "Give this to me, and I’ll give you what you really want."I exhale through my nose, barely holding back a laugh. He really thinks I’m desperate enough to give up everything just because he says so.I w