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
I catch Vince’s reflection in the glass before he reaches me. He’s strutting in, that smug grin plastered on his face, the kind of grin that says he thinks he’s already won. I don’t move, keeping my eyes fixed on my drink as he saunters over, hands tucked casually into his jacket pockets like he owns the place. The chatter in the pub quiets down to a hush, the way it does when a storm’s rolling in.Vince stops just in front of my table, and I finally look up, meeting his gaze with a cool stare. I don’t bother hiding the distaste in my eyes."Liam," he greets, voice dripping with fake warmth. "Been a while, hasn’t it?"I don’t respond, letting him fill the silence as he always does. Vince enjoys hearing his own voice too much to stop.“Shame you’re so alone here,” he says, looking around. “But maybe I could offer a little conversation. Actually… I wanted to ask you something.&rd
The smell of frying eggs and bacon drifts into my room, pulling me from sleep. I rub my eyes and sit up, squinting as the early morning light filters through my curtains. This isn’t just any breakfast smell, though; it’s an entire feast. I slip out of bed, hesitant, and pad down the hall toward the kitchen, my stomach twisting.When I reach the doorway, I see her—Mom, standing over the stove, humming softly to herself as she flips pancakes. The kitchen counters are covered with dishes, bowls of fruit, eggs scrambled just the way I like them, toast piled high on a plate, and even freshly squeezed orange juice. It’s like a picture out of a family magazine, the kind where everyone is glowing, content, and happy.And yet, every part of me is tense.“Morning, sweetheart!” She looks up, her eyes bright, her smile even brighter. There’s an ease in her movements, a lightness in her face I haven’t seen in ages. Normally, I&
The gym is packed with students, all crammed together on the bleachers. The Principal stands at the front, adjusting his glasses and tapping the mic to get our attention. I’m half-listening, feeling the buzz of anticipation ripple through the room. Exams start in two days, and after that, an eight-week summer break.Nathan nudges me gently with his shoulder. “You ready?” he whispers, his voice low so no one else hears.I glance at him, giving a small shrug. “Ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.” But it’s more than exams that are weighing on my mind. Liam. Vince. My mom’s odd behavior this morning. It’s like I’m balancing a thousand things in my head, each one demanding attention.The Principal clears his throat again, and I focus on his voice as he lays out the usual exam rules. Phones are off and away during tests, and there is no talking or wandering around. Cheating means automatic failure, and apparently, they've got extra proctors this year to “ensure academic i
Monday starts like the echo of a bell—sharp and startling, pulling me into the week with relentless force. I’m sitting in the exam hall, watching the minute hand tick forward, each second dragging me deeper into some kind of surreal fog. There’s nothing but the paper in front of me, my pen scratching as I fight to pull memories from lectures, textbooks, and endless pages of notes that now blur in my mind. When the bell finally rings, it’s like surfacing from underwater, gasping as I walk out, numb, dazed.
Nathan shouts it loud enough for half the school to hear: “Let’s go get drunk!” His grin is unstoppable, a mischievous glint lighting up his eyes. It’s so out of character that I laugh in spite of myself, covering my mouth. People pause mid-step, looking our way, curiosity practically buzzing through the air. I try to wave it off, whispering, “No, absolutely not.” But I’m smiling too, and he knows it."We have to celebrate!" he insists, as if this is non-negotiable. I shake my head, laughing, but I’m already opening the passenger door to his car. His excitement is contagious, and after the week we’ve had, I could use a bit of impulsive fun, even if it’s just coffee.We drive toward our usual spot, a cozy café with big windows overlooking the park and coffee that’s borderline magical. It feels like the perfect escape. I watch the sun glint off the storefronts as we pull up, feeling lighter than I h
Tamrin crosses the café with an unreadable expression, her eyes darting between me and Nathan. She stops just short of our table, and I can’t tell if she’s nervous or just annoyed."Mind if I join you?" she asks, and her voice is softer than I expected.Nathan leans back, his lips curling into a smirk. “Back to yell at me some more?” His tone is light, but the words feel heavy, hinting at something I didn’t know had happened between them. I glance at him, then at Tamrin, searching for some kind of explanation.She rolls her eyes, but there’s a slight pinkness in her cheeks. “I didn’t scream at you, Nathan,” she says, though her voice is defensive, and it makes me wonder just what I missed.I can’t help it—I look at Tamrin, silently asking her for an explanation, but she just shakes her head, clearly unwilling to dig up whatever tension had passed between them. Before I can press her,
The silence is thick, but it’s not uncomfortable—at least not for everyone else, from what I can tell. Liam is sitting across from me, and I can feel the weight of his gaze, though he’s not looking at me. His eyes are trained on Celeste, a steady, unwavering stare that makes me feel like I’m witnessing something private, something I shouldn’t be part of.I glance at Nathan, who’s toying with his phone, but I don’t miss the way he keeps cutting looks in my direction. He’s been doing it ever since I walked up to them, like he’s suspicious of every word I might say or every move I might make. I get it, I guess. We haven’t exactly been on good terms since... well, since I yelled at him the other day. But I’d been angry, hurt. All I’d wanted was to make sense of why Celeste had shut me out.My gaze drifts back to Liam, who still hasn’t stopped looking at her, and I try to understand what I’m
I can feel my stomach twisting as I sit there, watching Liam and Celeste with this gnawing feeling that I’m not understanding something huge. There’s an undeniable tension between them, but it’s nothing like I thought it was. And the longer I sit here, the more frustrated I feel, like I’m the only one on the outside looking in on some inside joke.The words come out before I can stop them, sharper than I mean them to be. “Do you… do you miss my cousin? Presley?”I know I’m crossing a line, but I can’t help it. If what I’m seeing is true, if Celeste and Liam are actually… well, if there’s something between them, then she’s not just keeping secrets—she’s betraying Presley, her friends, everyone. I know my question sounds bitter, but right now, I don’t care.Liam’s expression doesn’t falter. He just looks at me with a half-smile, friendly but… colder
The night is thick with shadows, and I stay hidden in plain sight, leaning casually against a streetlamp with a cigarette in hand. I’ve been watching her for over a month now. Celeste. She’s Liam’s weakness, though I doubt she even realizes it. She’s always surrounded by people, especially that annoying shadow of his—Nathan. Liam’s brother never leaves her side, like some overprotective lapdog. It’s irritating, but not unexpected. Liam plays his cards close, and Nathan is just another pawn in his meticulous game.Still, every pawn has its limits.Celeste is standing at the curb now, laughing at something Nathan said. The sound is soft, light, so painfully out of place in a world like ours. She has no idea the storm she’s standing in the middle of. She’s oblivious, a delicate flower in the middle of a battlefield. And I’ll admit—there’s something almost amusing about it.But it’s not am
The office feels too small, like the walls are closing in on me. I can’t sit still. Every step I take feels like I’m walking a tightrope, my mind racing with possibilities, each one darker than the last. Travis sits on the worn leather couch in the corner, his expression unreadable. He’s calm, the way he always is, but I know him well enough to see the tension in his jaw.“Liam,” he says, his voice measured. “You need to breathe. This isn’t helping.”I ignore him, my boots thudding against the floor as I pace. “How does this happen, Travis? A clean pickup. No cops. No outside eyes. And yet my product is gone, my guy’s in the hospital, and there’s a message waiting for me like it’s a damn game.”Travis leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “You’re not going to figure it out by pacing holes into the floor. Sit down. Let’s think this through.”I st
The warehouse feels suffocating. The air is thick with tension, and every sound—footsteps, whispers, the scrape of crates being moved—grates on my nerves like nails on a chalkboard. My fists are clenched so tightly my knuckles ache. Every cell in my body is screaming for release, for violence, for something to break.I sit at the edge of the makeshift desk, staring at nothing, replaying Eric’s words over and over in my head. They’re coming for more. They’re going to take everything from you. My empire is being chipped away, and all I can think about is how much I want to make whoever did this pay.A shuffle of hesitant footsteps behind me pulls me from my thoughts. I don’t turn around. “What?” I snap, my voice low but sharp enough to cut through the room.The kid—barely old enough to shave, one of the newer runners—steps forward. He’s holding a clipboard, shifting awkwardly from foot to foot. &ldq
The warehouse is buzzing when I arrive, but it’s not the usual controlled chaos. It’s tense, electric. I can feel it in the air before I even step out of the car. Men are pacing, muttering, looking over their shoulders like shadows might suddenly turn into threats. The second I walk in, the room quiets, their eyes darting toward me like they’re waiting for an explosion.I don’t blame them. I’m furious.I move through the crowd, heading straight for the back office where I know Eric, one of my most reliable runners, is waiting. He shouldn’t even be here. From what I’ve been told, he barely made it out of the ambush alive. He should be in a hospital bed, getting stitches and painkillers. Instead, he’s slumped in a chair with his arm in a makeshift sling, his face pale and slick with sweat.“Eric,” I say, my voice sharper than I intended. “Tell me everything.”He winces as he shifts in the chair, his hand trembling as he runs it through his hair. “It—it was supposed to be a simple pick-u
The Ferris wheel's gentle hum fades behind us as we step off, and for a moment, everything feels calm, like the world’s giving us a break. Celeste’s laughter hangs in the air, Tamrin and Nathan’s chatter filling the space around us as we walk toward the food court. It’s a perfect night—just the four of us, blending into the crowd, no one looking twice at us, no one questioning who we are. For once, it feels like I can breathe.Then my phone buzzes, jolting me back to reality. I glance at the screen and feel my heart drop. The name flashing there is one I’ve dreaded seeing tonight. For a second, I think about ignoring it, letting it fade, but I know that’s not an option.“Be right back,” I say, stepping away from the table. I catch Nathan’s eyes as I move off to the side, and he gives me a slight nod. He knows better than to ask, but I can see the concern in his eyes.As I answer, the voice on the other
I stand at the cotton candy stand with Presley, the smell of spun sugar in the air, debating whether to get pink or blue. Presley leans into her choice, laughing, and I almost forget how tangled everything feels these days. I turn around to scan the crowd, hoping to spot a familiar face—anything to take my mind off everything with Tamrin and Celeste. Then I see them, a cluster of faces in the distance, laughing and close. My stomach drops.Tamrin is standing with Celeste, Nathan, and Liam. And they’re not just standing around, either—they look like they’re together, sharing that easy, familiar vibe you only have when you're close. My gasp is barely audible, but Presley catches it. She turns to look where I’m staring, her eyes narrowing as she sees the group for herself.“What the…? Tamrin?” Presley says, clearly stunned, her face hardening as she takes it all in. It’s like watching something surreal unfold. I can b
I catch sight of Tamrin the second Nathan calls her over, her face cautious, her eyes bouncing between Celeste and me. I force a polite smile as she approaches, but inside, I’m grinding my teeth. Her showing up means we’re back to pretending—like everything between Celeste and me is just casual, like she’s not the only person on my mind right now. I know Celeste feels it too; the forced smile she gives Tamrin is too practiced, too stiff. The whole scene feels like a well-rehearsed lie, and I hate it.Without saying a word, I start walking toward the Ferris wheel, letting my steps make my frustration known. It’s high up there, away from prying eyes and hushed whispers, a place where maybe, for a few moments, we don’t have to act. I dig into my pocket, pull out a few crumpled bills, and pay the attendant for a cab big enough for all of us. I glance back, calling them over.They gather around, and as we settle into the cabin, it’s
The carnival’s music and laughter fill the air, but my focus is entirely on the two figures in the distance—Celeste and Liam, standing by one of the game booths, his arm just brushing hers as they both laugh. My heart pounds as I watch them, each laugh of theirs twisting something in me. Sadie’s words flood back: Maybe we judged her too harshly… Maybe we’re wrong about all of this. It feels like a thorn in my side, nagging at me as I linger on the edge of the crowd.They’re close, too close. The way Liam’s looking at her, even from here, I can feel the intensity. I can’t stop the thought from creeping in—what if they really are together? I can’t shake it, and it’s eating me alive. Suddenly, I realize I need to talk to her, to find some kind of answer in her face, some way to know the truth without jumping to conclusions. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll apologize. I push my way through the crowd, my feet carrying
The sun’s just about to dip below the horizon, casting this deep orange light over everything as we step onto the carnival grounds. It’s cool, that kind of perfect evening breeze coming off the ocean. The sound of waves rolling up the shore blends with the laughter and music around us. I glance over at Celeste and see her smiling, her hair catching the last bit of daylight, and for a moment, I feel… content. Peaceful, even.Nathan is already pulling ahead, grinning like a kid on holiday, dragging us toward the game booths. There’s a lightness to the whole scene that feels rare these days. It’s almost surreal.“Come on, Liam,” Celeste teases, looking over her shoulder at me. “Let’s see if you’re any good at carnival games or if it’s all talk.”I laugh and pull her gently toward the shooting game booth, waving a couple of tickets to the guy behind the counter. “Think you’re up for a real challenge?” I ask, raising an eyebrow as I hand her a plastic rifle.C