The rest of the morning passes in a haze. I move through my classes like a ghost, barely paying attention to anything but the echoes of my conversation with the principal. His concern was unexpected, and it left me feeling oddly vulnerable. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.
When the final bell rings, I hurry to my locker, eager to leave school behind. As I was gather my things, I spot Presley chatting animatedly with a group of girls down the hall. My stomach twists into knots. I just want to get home, finish my assignments, and maybe try to get some sleep.When I get out of the schoolyard the usual chaos is around me but it barely registers. "Hey, Celeste!" A voice calls out, pulling me from my thoughts. I turn to see Travis the mystery guy from the darkness approaching, a wide grin on his face. "Need a ride home?" he asks pointing to his car in the parking lot. Liam is leaning on it, hands in his pockets looking at me.&I fumble in my bag for my headphones, hands trembling as I finally pull them out. It’s not like I can avoid this situation, but I need something—anything—to help me escape from the awkwardness that’s suffocating the car. Slipping the earbuds in, I let the music flood my ears, a barrier between me and the world.The car hums along the road, the city lights flashing by in a blur of neon and streetlamps. I close my eyes, trying to lose myself in the lyrics, to push away the fact that I’m tr
"You're getting wet in this rain, come on" He says pulling me by the arm gently."I'm home," I repeat the sentence but it falls on deaf ears because he gently but firmly guides me into the yard. I feel my legs move. We take the same path I once took to his room at the back of the house a few weeks ago.I swear I'm trying to resist him but for the life of me it feel like he has more power than me."I know you need to get home but I just need a few minutes of your time." He says as he opens the door to the same room I saw him fuck Presley's brain out. I walk in and stare at the same bed he was naked in with her.He looks at me and then motions that I should go in. I take a few steps and walk in. I go all the way to the end of the room and sit on a chair."I really shouldn't be here, alone with you." I say when I finally find my voice."I won't hurt you." He says and I scoff at his statement. He does know who he is right? He forget that h
I stare at him in shock. Did he just ask me to be his girlfriend? He looks back at me as if waiting for me to say something but I don't know what to say to that."Liam, you and I can't..." I say and then I trail off when I feel his hands on my thighs. I look at them and then I look at him. "Why is it every time I say we can't do something you always do it. You don't listen to me. " I say as his hands slide all the way up to the waistband of my pants."I do listen to you." He says grabbing the waistband and sliding it down. He has so much strength that he lifts me up and pulls down my pants and underwear at the same time."No, you don't." I say feeling a light breeze on my skin. My brain is screaming at me to get up and leave before he does something to me I'll regret for the rest of my life but the rest of my body is not listening. I know I shouldn't but I can't move. "Then you'll stop this if you do listen to me." I say finally and h
A few hours ealierWe walk down this grimy alley, the kind that always smells like a mix of piss and regret, and I can’t shake thoughts of Celeste. I know, it's stupid to be thinking about a girl when you're about to handle business, but she's stuck in my head. our kiss is tsuck in my head. The feel of her lips on mine, I want more of that and then I want other things she'll never be willing to give me. But I want them anyway. It’s like she’s got a hold on me that I can’t break. But tonight, I’ve got to push all that aside."He's in there," Travis says, nodding toward this rundown warehouse at the end of the alley. The place looks like it ha bseen abandoned for years, windows boarded up, paint peeling off the walls. Perfect spot for scum like this dealer to hide out."You sure you wanna do this yourself?" Travis asks, his voice low. "I can take care of it."I shake my head. "No. This one's personal."T
The next day at lunchI'm lying on my back staring up at the long willow branches, trying to stop my brain from drifting to what happened between Liam and I yesterday.The flashbacks are too strong for me to ignore. He made me cum more than once. With each orgasm, it felt like I was losing my mind.If I let my mind wander long enough I can feel him kissing me."And your friend is so rude." Presley says her voice getting louder than it was a few seconds earlier. "Travis was nice enough to offer her a ride home yesterday and she acted so ungrateful." She says to Tamrin who is looking at me like I have three heads. I frown at her and she smiles mischievously.I'd hate to know what she's thinking right now.She loses her mind whenever my name is mentioned in the same sentence as a boy's name. The thought of me dating was too exciting for her. I wonder how mind-blown she would be if she knew what I did with Liam yest
The library is my sanctuary when I need to get serious about studying, especially when I have assignments that refuse to make ense. The air is still, filled only with the faint rustling of pages and the soft hum of the overhead lights. My usual spot near the back, away from the busier areas, is perfect for getting lost in my thoughts.I’m on my third attempt at solving a particularly stubborn Physics problem when a familiar presence slides into the chair across from me. I look up, slightly startled, to see Tamrin grinning at me like she’s just caught me doing something suspicious.“Hey,” she says, her voice breaking the silence. It’s a playful tone, the kind that always makes me feel like she knows something I don’t.“Hey,” I reply, leaning back in my chair and rubbing my eyes. I’m relieved to have a break from the numbers. “What are you doing here? Thought the library wasn’t your thing.&rdq
The evening air is cool, with just enough of a breeze to make it comfortable. Tamrin’s practically bouncing beside me, talking a mile a minute about anything and everything. I try to keep up, but my thoughts keep wandering back to what she said earlier. Presley is joining us.I could scream, I don't want to go through another conversation about her and Liam.The sky is deepening into shades of purple and blue. The screen is already set up, and a few people are scattered around, claiming
The night is cool and the breeze is just enough to keep things comfortable. But I'm not. My mind’s racing. Presley’s arm is around mine, her head leaning against my shoulder but I would rather it was someone else. She’s comfortable, almost too comfortable, and I’m trying to play along.I hate this and I know Celeste is never forgiving me for this, In my defence I didn't know she would be here.On the other hand Presley is happy, probably thinking this
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.
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