The next day, the walls of my room feel like they’re closing in on me. I decide I need a change of scenery and grab my books, heading to the nearby park. The fresh air and open space might help clear my mind and give me a fresh perspective on my studies.
The park is a welcome escape from the confines of my room. I find a quiet spot under a large tree, its branches providing just enough shade. The sound of birds chirping and the gentle rustle of leaves in the breeze create a soothing backdrop. I spread out my books and notebooks, ready to tackle my history reading.I take my headphones out and plaster them on my ears to drown out the sund of the world. I take a deep breath in and start on my work. I’m halfway through a particularly dense chapter when I see footsteps approaching. I looking up, and frown at the face looking at back at me. I’ts Liam walking toward me. He’s wearing his usual confident smile, but there&rI stare at Liam after he dropped that bomb. He has the nerve to close his eyes and settle into a comfortable position on the blanket, I’m left with the weight of his words. The sun filters through the leaves of the tree above us, casting patterns on the ground. I try to refocus on my history textbook, but the words blur together as I replay Liam’s confession in my mind.Did he really just say that he likes me and wants to be with me? The mere thought of it sends my heart racing again.
"This is not the way home," I say, looking at Liam, who is driving away from our neighborhood."I know," he says simply and keeps on driving."You said we were going home," I state, and he nods. "Then why are we pulling into a coffee shop parking lot?" I ask when the car comes to a stop."Because we're going to get some food first," he says, opening the door. He gets out, walks to my side of the car, and then opens the door."I don't want to have coffee with you," I say, taking my book bag and getting out of the car. He swiftly takes the bag from me and then starts walking away.I stand there for a moment, watching him stride towards the entrance of the coffee shop with my bag slung over his shoulder. There's a stubborn set to his jaw, a look I’ve come to recognize over the years. Sighing, I follow him, my feet dragging as I go.Inside, the air is cool, and the rich aroma of coffee beans fills the space. It's cozy, with warm lighting and plush chairs that invite you to stay a while. L
"What?" he says, bringing the question back to me. I raise my brows at him in question, and he smiles this devastatingly beautiful smile at me. I place my coffee down because my heart skips so hard I can feel my hand start to shake."Why are you staring at me like that?" I ask, and his face gets serious."I'm taking in your beauty," he says, and I immediately roll my eyes at him."Don't roll your eyes at me" He says looking me in my eyes"Seriously, Liam?" I scoff, trying to mask the fluttering sensation in my chest. "You're ridiculous.""I'm serious," he insists, leaning forward, his eyes locking onto mine. "You're breathtaking." hE says his voice low. I shift uncomfortably in my seat, unsure of how to respond. His words, as sweet as they are, make me feel exposed like he's seeing straight through the walls I've built around myself. Why is he saying these things? I'm not ugly but I'm not breathtaking. "Stop it," I mutter, taking a sip of my drink to avoid his gaze."Stop what?" he
I step into the dimly lit warehouse, the familiar scent of dust and gasoline hitting my nose. The place is quiet, save for the faint hum of the fluorescent lights overhead. Jar is already there, his broad frame leaning against a stack of crates, arms crossed and eyes sharp. He’s always early, always ready.“Liam,” Jar greets with a nod. His voice is low, steady. Reliable, just like him.“Jar,” I reply, walking over to him. I set down the duffel bag I’m carrying and unzip it, revealing neatly packaged bundles. “Everything set for tonight?”He nods again. “Runners are ready. Just waiting on the product.”I pull out a few bundles, handing them to Jar. He inspects them briefly before tucking them away in his own bag. “You sure they can handle this load?” I ask, looking him in the eye.“They’re solid,” Jar reassures me. “We’ve vetted them thoroughly. No weak links.”I nod, trusting his judgment. Jar’s been with me long enough to know what’s at stake. “Good. Let’s get this moving.”One by o
I burst through the front door, my breath coming in quick gasps. The house is dark as usual and I head straight upstairs. I slam my bedroom door behind me. The familiar surroundings of my room provide a small comfort, but my mind is still reeling from today's events.I collapse onto my bed, staring up at the ceiling. "What just happened?" I whisper to myself. My heart is still pounding, and I can feel the flush embarrassment on my cheeks.Liam had took me out—well, it wasn’t really a date, was it? We just went to a coffee shop. But the way he looked at me, the things he said... it felt like a date. My thoughts are mixed in confusion, and I struggle to make sense of it all. Liam is with Presley, right? He shouldn't be saying those things to me.I sit up and hug my knees to my chest. I try to shake off the memory of his intense gaze, the way his voice dropped when he called me breathtaking. No one has ever looked at me like that before, let alone someone like Liam.I reach for my phone
The next morning, I stare at my reflection in the bathroom mirror, my eyes red from a sleepless night. I splash cold water on my face, hoping to wash away the confusion and guilt that had kept me awake. But the questions and emotions linger, just as intense as before.As I walk to school, I rehearse my lines. I can’t tell Tamrin the truth—I can’t tell anyone. The risk is too high, the potential fallout too severe. By the time I reach the front steps of the school, I have my story straight."Hey, Celeste!" Tamrin’s voice was bright and cheerful, a stark contrast to my somber mood. "How was your night? Did you get any studying done?"I force a smile. "Yeah, I managed to get some work done. All boring shit" I say and cringe at my words. That sounds like I 'm saying too much.Tamrin raises an eyebrow, clearly not convinced. "I can tellYou look like you’ve been up all night. ."I shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant. "Yeah I was, I guess. You know how it is with school and all." I say ly
The next day, the sun is shining brightly as we step onto the soft, warm sand of the beach. The sound of waves crashing against the shore and the laughter of others fill the air. For a moment, I let myself relax, hoping the sea breeze wash away my worries.Tamrin is already setting up our spot, laying down towels and unpacking a cooler filled with snacks and drinks. Sadie is busy applying sunscreen, her excitement palpable."Come on, Celeste! The water looks amazing!" Sadie calls out, her eyes cheery.I force a smile and follow them to the shoreline. The cool water hits at my feet, and I take a deep breath, trying to let go of the confusion inside me. For a few minutes, I manage to enjoy the feeling of the waves and the warmth of the sun on my skin.We spend the morning swimming, laughing, and trying to build the perfect sandcastle. It's a welcome distraction, and for a while, I almost forget about the tangled mess of emotions I've been carrying.As we take a break, lounging on our to
After our day I choose to walk home, it's quiet, the streets mostly empty as the day transitions into evening. The warmth of the sun still lingers in the air, and I find myself lost in thought.As I pass by the familiar houses and shops, I can't help but think about the past few days. Liam's face keeps flashing in my mind, and I wonder what he's doing right now. Is he thinking about me? Or is he commiting a crime? Mostly does he feel the same confusion and guilt?I shake my head, trying to clear my thoughts. The joy of our beach day was a temporary, but I know I need to address my feelings head-on. Ignoring them won't make them go away.When I finally reach home, I take a deep breath before opening the door. The house is quiet, with only the faint hum of the refrigerator filling the silence. I hope it's because my mom is out running errands, and not sleeping again. I smile when I realize I have the place to myself for a while.I head to my roo
The sound of gunfire explodes through the night, deafening and relentless. A machine gun—no, multiple—rips through the air outside, drowning everything else out. I hear men shouting, screaming, and then the screaming turns into something else. Agony. Terror.I clamp my hands over my ears, pressing myself further into the corner of the closet, trying to disappear. My body shakes violently, my breath coming in shallow gasps as I rock back and forth. I squeeze my eyes shut and whisper a prayer under my breath, over and over."Please, God. Please, God. Please, God."The walls tremble with the force of the fight happening outside. Glass shatters somewhere. Heavy footsteps storm through the house. More gunshots. More yelling. I don’t kn
I wake up with a start, my heart thundering in my chest. My breath comes in ragged gasps, and for a moment, I can’t place where I am. I sit up quickly, expecting to see someone in the room with me—someone coming to hurt me, to take me again—but when my eyes adjust to the dim light, the room is empty.Just the silence.I look around, the weight of everything pressing down on me. This place—the house where Trevor has kept me locked up for weeks—has become a prison. It’s always quiet, too quiet. The only sounds are the distant hum of the outside world that I can’t reach, the creaks of the house settling, and my own restless thoughts.The darkness beyond the window is thick and consuming, the kind of darkness that swallows up the last remnants of hope. But tonight, something is different. Something feels off.I strain my ears, listening closely. There’s a faint sound, like the whisper of something moving through
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.