The clock on my phone reads 12:23 AM, and I’m still wide awake, staring at the ceiling. The soft glow from my bedside lamp barely cuts through the darkness, but it feels too bright for how I’m feeling right now. Tamrin’s text replays over and over in my mind, each word weighing heavier than the last. I can’t shake the ache in my chest, the guilt twisting deeper with every passing minute.
I try closing my eyes again, willing sleep to come, but it’s useless. My mind won’t stop running. The hurt in Tamrin’s message, the sadness in her words—it’s all too much. I toss and turn, trying to find some kind of comfort, but the emptiness in the room swallows me whole.
My thoughts drift, and before I can stop myself, Liam’s face appears in my mind. His smile from earlier, the way he looked at me during the date, that sparkle in his eyes when I laughed—it was so easy, so carefree. It felt good. Too good.
But n
The cool night air brushes against my skin as Liam and I make our way through the quiet streets toward his house. The world around us is silent, the only sounds coming from the soft crunch of our shoes on the pavement and the occasional rustling of leaves. I keep my eyes forward, focusing on the moonlight casting shadows on the ground, trying to avoid the question I know is coming.We walk side by side, but I can feel Liam glancing at me, waiting. He’s not the type to let things go, and I can sense that he's thinking about what brought me out of my house tonight, why I texted him.“You haven’t said much,” he finally says, breaking the silence between us. His voice is gentle but curious, like he’s testing the waters.“I just needed some air,” I reply quickly, hoping that will be enough for him to drop it.He lets it hang for a moment, as if he’s deciding whether or not to push. “Yeah, but that’s n
“Liam!” I whisper-scream, half-laughing, half-panicking as I dangle upside down. “What are you doing?”He doesn’t answer, just laughs as he takes off running toward his house, his steps quick and deliberate. The world spins as he sprints, and I can’t help but giggle despite the confusion. It’s ridiculous, but the sound of his laughter mixed with mine fills the air, echoing around the quiet night.The wind rushes past us as Liam runs through the backyard gate, straight into his house. I’m bouncing with each step he takes, still dangling over his shoulder like some sort of trophy, and I can’t stop laughing now—it’s all so unexpected and lighthearted.“Liam, put me down!” I manage to gasp between giggles, pounding lightly on his back.He finally slows down as we reach his room, but instead of setting me down gently, he spins me around and drops me onto the bed with a playful grin.
I’m sitting at my usual corner table in the library, head down, barely noticing the buzz of students around me. I’ve been staring at the same sentence in my textbook for what feels like an hour, but I can’t focus. My mind is drifting—back to Liam, to last night.My pussy spasms at the memory of him being inside of me. The way it hurt but it felt so good when he took my innocence. The way his skin felt on mine.The way I callled out his name as I came.I bite the inside of my cheek, trying to shove the thoughts away, but they’re stubborn, replaying in my head like some terrible movie I can't turn off.Then as if right on cue my phone buzzes.I glance at it and see a text from Liam. My heart jumps for a split second, but then it sinks even faster when I read it:We need to talk about what happened last night.-LiamI freeze, staring at the words. What’s there
The moment I check my phone and see the gray checkmark next to my message, a cold pit forms in my stomach. At first, I think it’s just bad signal, maybe she hasn’t seen it yet. But as the minutes stretch on and that gray checkmark stays stubbornly in place, it hits me.Celeste blocked me.For a second, I’m frozen, just staring at my phone, trying to process. This never happens to me. I’m the one who calls the shots, who decides when things are over. Not like this. Never like this. And now, all I can feel
A little while after I've calmed down. Nathan takes me to the beach.It wasn’t planned. I don’t even remember saying yes, but here we are. Skipping school like it’s the easiest decision in the world. After that scene in the library—after crashing into Nathan and making a spectacle of myself in front of Tamrin, Sadie, and Presley—I needed to breathe. I needed to get away from everything.And Nathan… somehow, he just knew.We’ve been sitting here on the sand for a while now. Th
I’m sitting at lunch with Sadie and Presley, and I can feel the anger boiling up inside me again. I can't help it. Celeste—she’s driving me crazy. She didn’t even reply to my text, and now she’s disappearing with Nathan like nothing matters. After that little tumble at the library door, she just walked out with him, parading around like she's in some romantic drama.I know she’s doing this on purpose. Pretending to bump into him like it’s all so innocent. Please. Who does she think she’s fooling?I take a bite of my sandwich, but I can’t even taste it. The frustration is too much. “You know what? I’m sick of this,” I say, louder than I intended. I can feel people turning to look, but I don’t care. “Celeste is seriously acting like she’s replaced us. With Nathan of all people. And she’s doing it right in front of us. I mean, am I the only one seeing this?”Sadie
As soon as Nathan walks through the door, I’m on him. I’ve been waiting all day, pacing the house like a caged animal. I need answers, and Nathan is the only one who’s got them. I don’t even give him a chance to drop his bag before I grab his arm and pull him toward me.“What’s going on with Celeste?” I ask, my voice coming out more desperate than I’d like.Nathan looks at me, confused, and pulls his arm out of my grip. “What are you talking about?”“You know what I’m talking about. The two of you went to the beach and skipped class, Nate. Something happened, and I need to know what.” I say and I can telll he's annoyed that I had someone following them but he has to know that nothing happens around here without me knowingHe sighs, running a hand through his hair, and for a moment, I think he’s not going to answer. “Liam, just leave me out of it. Go ask her”
I’m reaching for a box of cereal when I feel it—his presence. It’s like a dark cloud suddenly hanging over me, and before I can even turn around, I know. Liam.My heart speeds up, anger bubbling beneath the surface. I’ve been dodging him for three days. Three days of avoiding texts, ignoring calls, pretending he doesn’t exist. I’m not ready to see him yet. But here he is, and there’s no way out.When I finally turn around, he’s walking straight toward me, and he looks pissed. His jaw is clenched, his eyes sharp with anger, but I don’t care. If he thinks I’m just going to let him walk up and act like he’s the one who should be mad, he’s got another thing coming.“Celeste,” he growls, his voice low and angry.I don’t even flinch. “What?”He doesn’t answer, not right away. Instead, he steps closer, way too close for comfort, and grabs me by the
I wake up with a feeling of something being… off.Then I see him.Trevor.Sitting at the edge of the bed, watching me.A wave of disgust rolls through me so fast I nearly gag. My entire body tenses, my muscles locking in place. I don't move. I don't speak. I just stare at him, waiting, daring him to say something. If he thinks I’m going to cower, he has another thing coming.His lips curl into a slow, unsettling smile. "You're very beautiful when you're asleep."I frown at him, and his smile widens. The kind of smile that says he’s enjoying this—enjoying getting under my skin.I don’t react. I refuse to give him that satisfaction.
I should not be here.As soon as Nathan pulls up to the house and I see
I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.Maybe it’s the look on Nathan’s face—tight jaw, unreadable eyes, the kind of expression that makes it clear he knows something the rest of us don’t. Maybe it’s the way Tamrin has been acting, the way she flinches at everything and refuses to answer when I ask about Celeste.Or maybe it’s just the fact that Celeste isn’t here, and no one seems to have a real answer for why.So yeah, I might be crazy for chasing down Nathan Miller in the middle of a crowded hallway, calling his name like I’ve lost my damn mind. But I don’t care.He looks back at me when I call him, but he doesn’t stop walking. He just slows down slightly, like he’s debating whether I’m worth his tim
Trevor thinks he’s won.He leans against the desk, arms crossed, his mouth curled into that smug smile that makes my skin crawl. He thinks he has me right where he wants me. Weak. Hopeless. Dependent on his mercy.But he doesn’t know me at all.I keep my breathing steady, my expression blank, as I listen to Liam’s voice crackle through the phone. He knows. He knows I’m missing. And if Nathan spoke to Tamrin, it means they’re looking for me.That thought should terrify me—Trevor will hurt them if they get too close—but instead, it gives me hope.I knew Liam would come for me.The question
The second I step onto my front lawn, I see it.Another damn box.
I know something is wrong with Tamrin.She hasn’t said a word all period, hasn’t even pretended to listen when Presley started complaining about her nails breaking during warm-ups. And when I asked her about Trevor—just casually, just to see her reaction—she practically bit my head off before storming off.That’s not normal.Tamrin was obsessed with Trevor. Just last week, she couldn’t shut up about him. And now she won’t even say his name.And then there’s Celeste.She’s not here.Celeste hasn't missed school in a long time and I didn't think she would. And if she was sick, our homeroom teacher would have announced in the morning.
I lean against the fence, hands in my pockets, watching as Tamrin walks into the schoolyard. She moves like a ghost, like she’s here, but not really. She’s trying to act normal—shoulders squared, head up—but I see the cracks in the performance.Her fingers grip the straps of her book bag so tight her knuckles turn white. Every time someone brushes past her, she flinches, catches herself, then forces that mask back on.Guilt. Fear.I recognize it. I’ve seen it in men who know they’ve done something they can’t undo.She knows.And that means I know.Trevor has her wrapped around his finger. Maybe he threatened her, maybe he promised her safety if she stayed quiet. Either way, she’s playing along.I clench my jaw and force myself to breathe through my nose. I want to grab her right now, demand answers, shake her until she tells me where Celeste is.But Trevor is counting on that.
I wake up gasping. My sheets are drenched in sweat, my body shaking so hard my teeth chatter. The room is dark, but I swear I can still see it—the blood, the bodies, Celeste’s terrified eyes disappearing into that box.I squeeze my eyes shut, but it doesn’t help. The images are burned into my mind, playing on repeat, a nightmare that won’t end just because I’ve woken up.Celeste is gone.And I helped make it happen.My stomach twists violently, and I barely make it to the bathroom before I’m throwing up. My whole body convulses as if trying to rid itself of the horror, but it’s useless. No amount of dry heaving will erase what I did.I kneel there on the cold tile, breathing heavily, gripping the s
I stare at Tamrin, my throat tightening, my stomach twisting into knots so painful I feel like I might be sick. She won&rs