When I get home I am hit with this heavy feeling of loss. I can tell my mother hasn't moved from her bed since I left for school this morning. That means she didn't go to work again. I don't even know if she still has a job. Her work bag is still on the kitchen counter. The breakfast I made is untouched and all of the curtains are still closed. I open them and warm the food I left for her in the microwave. Then head to my bedroom. I have to start on my game plan for getting my grades up. I would love to go check on my mother but I can't place my energy on her right now. Seeing her is going to drain me completely. And if you didn't notice I am holding on by a thread. I open my bedroom door and stare at the pile of clothes on the floor, the unmade bed, and the overall mess."Well, this is bad," I say to the empty and messy room. I throw my book bag on the bed and attack the laundry on the floor. I separate the clothes in matching colors and then I make my bed. A part of me wants to
I walk through Jimmy's front door with my earphones on and head straight to the line leading towards the counter. There are six people ahead of me. I should spend about 15 minutes here and then I'll have my food. I turn up the volume in my headphones so I won't hear any noise around me.There are about 20 tables in this place and just about every one of them is full of humans. Some are staring at their phones pretending to be together, while some are talking over each other trying to be louder so the other can hear. Socializing is weird, why do people even bother? I don't do it unless I'm absolutely forced to.It's too time and energy-consuming for my liking. I shuffle forward grateful that I am finally making progress. I let my mind drift to the five-page essay I have to finish. I'm halfway through and determined to finish it by morning. It's the first assignment I want to submit, and then I'll deal with the rest.I feel someone tap my shoulder lightly and I turn slowly. I look ba
I stand there for a moment, processing the interaction. Liam's sudden appearance and departure leave me feeling disoriented. I shake it off and step forward as the line moves, my mind bouncing between the essay and the encounter. I'm too stressed out to be dealing with all this.Liam's newfound interest in me is the main thing that gives me the most stress. Why won't he leave me alone?Finally, it's my turn. I order my usual—to medium pepperoni pizzas with extra cheese—and pay the cashier. They give me a number and tell me it'll be about ten minutes. I find a corner to stand in, away from the tables and the people.I can see Liam sitting with his friends or it could be his minions out of the corner of my eye. I turn my back to the right so I don't look at him by accident.I hate the fact that he intrigues me. He shouldn't, people like him are dangerous. He sells drugs for a living. He has people that steal and kill for him.
I force myself to sit at my desk and focus. The glowing screen of my laptop seems to taunt me with the blank document. The essay is due tomorrow, and it’s not going to write itself. With a deep breath, I start typing.My fingers fly over the keys, pouring out the arguments and points I’ve been mulling over for days. I’ve done the research; now it’s just a matter of getting it all down. Every so often, I glance at my math textbook, the assignment another weight on my shoulders.I take a short break after finishing the introduction and the first couple of paragraphs. The essay is taking shape, but I still have a long way to go. I stretch, drink some water, and take a moment to clear my head before diving back in.Hours pass. I’m lost in a haze of words and numbers. The clock on my desk ticks steadily towards midnight, but I barely notice. I’m too absorbed in my work, too determined to get everything done. The essay is nearly complete, and I feel a surge of satisfaction as I type the fin
I wake up to the soft glow of the morning sun seeping through my blinds. My body protests as I drag myself out of bed, every muscle sore from the all-nighter I pulled. I groan as I force myself to face the day. The events of the night before feel like a blur, but the sense of accomplishment remains sharp and vivid. I quickly take a shower, change into fresh clothes, grab my book bag, and head out the door forgetting about breakfast and my mother. I want to submit my assignments before the school day starts.The cool morning air wakes me up a bit more as I walks to school. The campus is quiet at this hour, with only a few early risers scattered around. I make my way to the English department first, my mind racing with thoughts of my dream about Liam. I shakes her head, focusing on the task at hand.Ms. Thompson, my English teacher, is already in her classroom, organizing papers and preparing for the day. She looks up in surprise at me as I walks in.“Celeste? What are you doing h
After lunch, I make my way to the library, seeking a quiet place to gather my thoughts and get a head start on my next set of assignments. The library is almost empty, the usual lunchtime crowd having already dispersed. I find a secluded corner near the back, away from prying eyes and curious whispers. I pull out my notebook and textbooks, determined to make the most of this quiet time.I stare at my physics assigment and sigh. I am going to be dead by the end of this week. High School Physics Assignment: Projectile MotionObjective: Understand the principles of projectile motion by solving problems involving the kinematic equations and analyzing the trajectory of a projectile.Instructions: Complete the following problems. Show all your work and include diagrams where necessary. Use g = 9.8 m/s² for the acceleration due to gravity.Problem 1: Horizontal LaunchA. ball is rolled off a table with a horizontal velocity of 5 m/s. The table is 1.2 meters high.B. Calculate the time it ta
It's finally Friday. I'm happy to report that I've submitted 40% of the assignments I am required to submit in order to get off academic probation. And I got the first two grades back. I got an A on my math assignment and a B+ on my English essay. I still think I deserved an A, but I'm not about to argue with a teacher."Okay, we're taking you out," Tamrin says, standing in front of me in the library. I'm in my little corner finishing off yet another assignment."No," I say in protest. I don't have time to be going out and having fun, especially fun planned by Tamrin."Yes. I spoke to Sadie and we're going," she says, already gathering my stuff.I open my mouth to protest again, but Tamrin's determined expression stops me. I know there's no use arguing when she's made up her mind. She bundles my things into my bag, and I reluctantly stand up, letting her drag me out of the library."We all need a break, Celeste. You've been working non-stop, and it
There's an awkward pause before Tamrin jumps in. "Well, enjoy your coffee. We’re just here to relax after a long week."Liam is staring at me and I wish he would look away. Sadie is staring at me curiously and I know she has questions."I was hoping we could join you." Liam says, glancing at me one last time before motioning to Presley to take a seat next to Sadie. I almost cry when he pulls a chair and sits next to me. I look at Sadie who is smiling at me like she's on crack.I wish I could ask her to stop because Liam is looking right at her."Are you okay?" Sadie asks, mischief in her eyes. I shake my head at her question to get her to stop but she just looks at me waiting for an answer.I nod, forcing a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine." I can feel Liam's eyes on me. I ignore him and take a sip of my coffee. I'm ready to go."Maybe we're making you feel u
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.