SageHe blinked at me, and for a moment, I thought I’d imagined the whole thing, that I hadn’t just blurted out an impulsive invitation like an idiot. My stomach sank as the silence stretched. I opened my mouth to backtrack, to wave it off as a joke, but before I could, he said,“You don’t strike me as the type to drink alone,” a faint smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.I swallowed hard, my face heating. “I’m not,” I said quickly. “I just thought... you might want to…”He cut me off with a raised hand. “Relax, Sage. I’d like that. Okay.”I froze. “Okay?”He nodded, his expression unreadable. “Yeah, lead the way.”I swallowed hard, trying to process the fact that he’d actually agreed. My heart was pounding in my chest as I walked to the door, glancing over my shoulder to make sure he was following. My mind raced with a thousand questions. What does this mean? Did he really want to come in, or is he just being polite?God! Between the professor and his mixed signals, I would h
SageThe next day at school started like any other day. There was no Kaiden to bother me and even at that, I didn’t have the professor’s class today, so I threw myself into my other lectures with a sense of relief. It gave me time to think without the distraction of his piercing eyes or the lingering tension from last night. It was all I could think about in my head. My morning passed smoothly, and I actually felt lighter, as though nothing could touch me except my inner monologue.That was, of course, until the seniors cornered me again.I was leaving my last class, heading to grab a quick bite, when they appeared out of nowhere. The same group that Kaiden had chased off the other day. Their smug grins and predatory eyes told me everything I needed to know, they weren’t happy about their last encounter, and this time, Kaiden wasn’t here to save me.I was fucking doomed. I knew I shouldn’t have come to school today without Kaiden, who would protect me from these hoodlums now. They a
SageKaiden finally got a day off from his endless shoots, and the first place he decided to come to was my apartment. I didn’t have any lectures that day, so when I opened the door to find him standing there with his trademark grin and a bag of takeout, I was genuinely happy to see him.Food solves everything if you must know.“Miss me?” he asked, stepping inside and placing the bag on my counter without waiting for an answer.“Of course,” I said, shutting the door behind him. “It’s been two weeks? Thought you’d forgotten all about me.”He rolled his eyes and gave me a playful shove. “Don’t be dramatic. You know I’ve been busy. But hey, I’ve got the night free. Let’s do something fun.”I raised an eyebrow. “Define ‘fun.’”His face lit up. “The club. My friends are already meeting us there. Come on, Sage, it’ll be good for you to get out and let loose for a bit.”I hesitated. Clubs weren’t really my scene, and Kaiden knew that. But the look on his face, the excitement and eagerness to
SageThe next day, I didn’t waste time stewing in my thoughts. I had decided that confronting Professor Rivers was the only way I’d get the clarity I desperately needed. Did I do something wrong? Well, I was about to find out. After his final lecture, I waited outside his office, my pulse quickening with each passing second. As the last student trickled out of the hallway, I stepped inside.He looked up immediately, a small, polite smile spreading across his face. “Sage? What brings you here? I thought Novatech didn’t need you today.”“I know,” I said, closing the door behind me. “I came because I need to ask you something.”His smile softened, and he gestured toward the chair opposite his desk. “Ask away.”I sat down, clasping my hands together tightly in my lap. “I saw you last night. Downtown, near the club. I waved at you, but…” I trailed off, unsure how to phrase the rest without sounding pathetic.His expression didn’t falter. He leaned back in his chair, fingers laced togethe
KaidenI shook my head as I slipped into my car, gripping the steering wheel so hard my knuckles turned white. Not today, I told myself.Not today. Sage was clearly trying to pick a fight with me, pushing me away like it was some kind of sport. But I wouldn’t let him. I knew him too well to fall for that nonsense.I know I neglected him for a while but it was because of work. I hardly texted and I got that he was lonely for a while but that was no reason to act the way he did.Still, his words echoed in my head, prickling like needles under my skin. He had hit the nail on the head. Yeah, it might have looked like I was having fun with my friends but we were working.I was going to ask him what that performance back there was? Embarrassing himself in front of the professor? Was he that thirsty for the guy’s attention?I didn’t want to make it a big issue because I was already hanging on by a short thread because of the girl that was hitting on him.The thought made my jaw tighten as
SageI couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t think, I couldn’t breathe. My mind continuously worked, stealing any chance I had for rest. Every attempt to close my eyes only brought more loud thoughts into my head. I was confused and it felt like everything was slipping out of my control.The one release I wanted was the fight with Kaiden but even he gave up on me. I knew I was being a brat but fighting with him would have given me the satisfaction I wanted. I wanted to beat myself up, I was so frustrated by what the professor said to me that I was going to say hurtful things to my best friend.It made me a bad person because in that instant, I didn’t care about him or his feelings. I care about feeling better. I was selfish.I hated what the professor said to me, it was hurtful and harsh. It made my chest so tight and it was difficult to breathe. All the times that we have spent together meant so little to him? I meant so little to him? I thought he was doing all of that because he liked me bu
KaidenHeartbreak. All through my life, I haven’t experienced what this was. Not even with the people around me. My model friends too have way too much time on their hands than to be tied down to one person, their words not mine.While I valued myself to be the type of person who can’t feel anything, I know what I was feeling right now was heartbreak.I also know it isn’t supposed to feel like this. It isn’t supposed to be so wrenching so much that I thought my heart would snap into two. I was so riddled with guilt that I sought out the one person I needed to talk to. I didn’t want to spend my free days fighting with him when his company was the only one I could tolerate.The moment I left the bar, I had one goal in mind, to make peace with him. The fight earlier had been stupid. I’d let my insecurities and jealousy push me into lashing out, and I couldn’t stand the thought of leaving things unresolved. He mattered too much to me.When I arrived at his house, the lights were off.
Sage For three days, I stayed holed up in my apartment. I couldn’t bear the thought of facing the professor after what I had done. I had embarrassed myself and made a fool of myself at the same time. I was nothing more than a fool who had bitten more than he could chew. It’s been days after that but I still couldn’t forget how desperate I was begging him to fuck me. I mean I could have just laid on his feet and plead because what in the hell was that? What the hell had I been thinking? Marching over to his place in the middle of the night, pouring my heart out, only to be met with that cold, infuriating response. I’d practically thrown myself at him like some lovesick fool and yet, nothing moved him. I groaned, pressing my hands against my face as I lay sprawled on the couch. My phone sat on the coffee table, lifeless, its screen dark. I’d called Kaiden more times than I could count, but he wasn’t answering. It was as though he had vanished off the face of the earth. So becau
KaidenI watched Sage’s chest rise and fall steadily, his breathing finally even and calm after a long, exhausting day. The faint hum of the heater filled the small apartment as the evening air drifted colder through the windows. He looked peaceful in sleep, peaceful in a way that didn’t match anything we’d been living through lately. It was a lie his body told, one I was grateful for, even if I knew it wouldn’t last. The last thing I needed was for him to keep worrying about the unknown.Today took a toll on him.I sat at the edge of the couch, elbows resting on my knees, hands folded, but my thoughts weren’t still. They kept drifting back to the question he asked earlier about whether we’d ever go back to how things were. And now I knew for certain: we couldn’t. Not with this storm closing in around us, not when every time I let my guard down, something tried to take Sage from me.I haven’t even figured out how to apologize to the professor, it took me a lot of thinking to realize
SageThe next morning, Kaiden and I walked to school in silence. The meal we shared was so brief and he stayed with me. The professor didn’t come home and when I called him, he said he was working late and we should enjoy ourselves.I knew it was because he didn’t want to spend time with Kaiden. After their argument, they have been tense with each other.I didn’t want to Interfere in their problems as it could escalate into something I wouldn’t be able to control.I looked at Kaiden, I know we have already talked about this but I was so curious.I wanted to ask him again about where he’d really been that day, but the tension in his jaw warned me off. Still, I couldn’t help myself. “So,” I started, kicking a loose pebble on the sidewalk, “you never really told me where you went. Like, actually went.” His steps didn’t falter, but his grip tightened around the strap of his backpack. “I told you. I needed to clear my head.” “Yeah, but that could mean anything,” I pressed. “You just
SageI stood just outside the hospital’s main entrance, staring at the parking lot like it was a war zone. The discharge papers were crumpled slightly in my grip. I could feel my fingers tremble, but I didn’t loosen them. The sun was bright, the day clear, but I felt like I was standing in the middle of a fog, one that hadn’t lifted since I was attacked.Kaiden mentioned he would come and pick me up, hence the hesitation. I felt like if he wasn’t here to do that, I wouldn’t go. “Ready?” His voice pulled me out of my head.I turned toward him. He had one hand in his pocket, the other adjusting the strap of my duffel bag slung over his shoulder. His hair was a little messy, like he hadn’t even bothered with a brush this morning, and his hoodie looked slept in. But his eyes, his eyes were alert. “I don’t know if ready’s the word I’d use,” I admitted. My voice sounded too thin to my own ears. “I feel like I’m being pushed out of safety and right back into the middle of whatever this me
KaidenI slept at my place after the detective dropped me off. He was looking at me like he had a lot to say about what happened but I didn’t.Yes, I overreacted but I couldn’t go back there. I felt suffocated and the only thing I needed was freedom. I needed to find my answers and not let it extend to my relationship.I decided to go see Detective Bryan. The man in charge of narcotics. The one who might know what the hell was really going on. I hadn’t told Sage or the professor anything. Not yet. I couldn’t, not until I had something real. Something more than just paranoia and late-night shadows tailing me.I sat hunched over my laptop in a dingy little café two blocks from my apartment, the place reeking of burnt espresso and desperation. I typed in “Detective Bryan, Narcotics Division, city PD” and hit search. A few articles came up. He was decorated, involved in several high-profile raids. One article had a photo, square jaw, stern face, early forties. Not someone you’d expect to
SageI woke to silence. Not the peaceful kind, the kind that sets your skin crawling with dread, like the air itself is holding its breath. The clock on the wall read a little past 3am and I could see the shadows stretched along the floor, motionless. I looked around and noticed with a slight disappointment that Kaiden wasn’t here. I blinked twice and turned my head toward the small couch across the room. No professor either.My heart sank.They were gone. Both of them.I have never felt so alone. I thought they would both stay with me so I won’t be scared. But I was a big boy and could handle myself.I sat up slowly, the sheets slipping off my chest as I scanned the dim room. Maybe they went for a walk. Maybe Kaiden needed air and the professor tagged along. Maybe I was being paranoid.Or maybe something was very, very wrong.I was about to slide out of bed when the doorknob turned.I froze.The door creaked open, and the harsh fluorescent light from the hallway spilled into the r
KaidenI left the hospital with a gnawing unease in my gut. I hadn’t told Sage or the Professor the full truth, that I needed to test Raines myself, to see if he was really on our side or if he was playing us. If I had voiced my suspicions, the professor would have warned me against it, and Sage… well, Sage would have insisted on coming with me, injuries be damned. But this was something I had to do alone. I couldn’t pretend for the life of me. If the detective wasn’t on our side then I needed to know now, to save myself the trouble of finding out later.I know that the professor was just trying to be cautious but the detective was kind of my friend so I needed to give him the benefit of the doubt.I stared at my phone for a long moment before making the call, my thumb hovering over his contact. This was a gamble, if he was dirty, I might be tipping my hand. But if he was clean... I needed to know. Taking a steadying breath, I hit dial. He answered on the third ring. "Kaiden?"
KaidenThe note terrified me, I wouldn’t lie. I kept the smile on my face for the nurse’s benefits. I didn’t want them to be asking if I was okay and interrupting my peace.Those words, scrawled in jagged letters sent a chill down my spine that lingered long after I first read them. I had spent the night restless, checking the locks on the doors twice, then three times, before finally settling into a chair beside Sage’s hospital bed. He was still unconscious, his face bruised, his breathing steady but shallow. Whoever had done this to him had a message, and now it seemed that message was meant for me. I had no idea how to protect him or even protect myself. It felt like everything we did was a waste of time and we were heading nowhere.I didn’t bother sleeping again because I was so anxious. I was tempted to call the professor and explain to him but I knew he would drive down here the second I call him.By morning, Sage was stable, still asleep but no longer in danger. I made sure
Kaiden I stood next to the professor, watching the detective’s face shift between concern and indifference as he closed his notebook with a heavy sigh. “We’ll look into it,” the detective said. “But if you’re asking me for guarantees—” “I’m not,” I cut in, trying to keep my voice steady. “Just… do your job.” He gave me a nod that felt more like a dismissal. And then he walked off, disappearing into the murmuring noise of the precinct. When I called detective Raines, he said he had been assigned to a case and directed us to his partner in the precinct. We had to go there but it didn’t seem like it was working out for us. The professor hadn’t spoken since the detective left us. His arms were crossed tightly, jaw locked, his usual calm gone. He looked like a man barely holding himself together, and that scared me more than anything. He usually had answers. He always had a plan. But now? His phone rang. He glanced down, muttered something under his breath, and answered. “Hello?”
SageI should have listened to the way the wind shifted. They say when your instincts are telling you something then it’s the truth.It was barely past six when I stepped out of the lecture hall, my bag slung over my shoulder, the sky overhead bleeding into a deep shade of lavender. The university courtyard had mostly cleared, and the usual evening buzz was thinning out as students filtered off to their lives. I’d stayed back for office hours, lingering too long over an unfinished paper, too caught up in making it perfect to even consider that other things could be waiting for me.Maybe that’s why I didn’t notice them at first. Maybe my mind was too full of shadows.My phone buzzed in my pocket, but I didn’t reach for it. The wind carried a chill I couldn’t place, the kind that crawled along the back of your neck and whispered you’re not alone.I turned down the path toward the side parking lot, my sneakers crunching over the scattered leaves. It wasn’t until I passed the library’s da