Chapter Forty-three: Mia Had No Idea

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• Chasing Midnight Promises    Chapter 69: You've Just Been Served!

  Class started, but Raven sat stiff beside me, barely blinking. Her books were open, but her eyes weren’t reading. I could tell she was fighting it—trying to push Noah and the video and Ellen out of her mind. But she couldn’t. Neither could I.We thought the worst was behind us.That the filth we saw earlier was something we could bury. Something only we knew.But something was brewing. A storm that hadn’t even begun yet.And by the time it hit, nothing in this school would stay the same.Not reputations.Not friendships.Not even the truth.A while later, it was lunchtime.We made our way to the cafeteria—a wide, echoing hall with long metal tables stretching across its tiled floor. The walls were painted a soft beige, though time had faded most of the corners. The aroma of mash potatoes, fries, and overly sweet bread floated in the air, mixing with the hum of hundreds of voices. It was always loud. Always buzzing. But today, the noise felt distant.Raven sat across from me, her tray

• Chasing Midnight Promises    Chapter 68: The Clip

  Silence swept through our classroom as Raven and I sat rooted to our seats—the kind of silence that roared in your ears. My fingers trembled slightly over my notebook, but I didn’t move. Neither did she.Then, a tear slipped down her cheek.My gaze snapped to her, stunned.She didn’t even try to wipe it. It fell, then another, until they began to stream freely, soaking into the sleeves of her uniform. I shifted closer, my heartbeat thudding in my ears. What we had seen was enough to shake anyone—but Raven crying like this? That was something else. Something deeper.“Raven?” I whispered, careful not to startle her. “What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”She turned to me slowly, her lips trembling so badly it took her a second to form a word.“I... I told him not to do it. I told him not to carry on with the bet.”She crumbled.The sob that tore out of her wasn’t soft. It was guttural. Painful. The kind of cry that tore something loose inside the chest. I wrapped my arms around her and pul

• Chasing Midnight Promises    Chapter 67: Just the Beginning

  I had grown up watching my parents hold hands after dinner, kiss each other goodbye every morning, laugh at private jokes. I wanted that kind of love. Quiet. Gentle. Real. And Noah didn’t fit into that picture.But still... his name came up more often than I wanted. His presence was hard to ignore.Until one day, something happened at school. Something that spread like wildfire. A rumor. A truth. We didn’t know which. But whatever it was, it nearly pushed one girl to the edge.And from that day on... I couldn’t look at him the same. The mystery was gone. Replaced by something darker. Something real.Noah was no longer just Raven’s brother.He became the reason my chest tightened whenever someone said his name.And yet, that Wednesday morning felt like any other.Raven and I had agreed the night before to arrive at school early so we could cross-check our assignments before submission. By 6:45 a.m., we were already seated in our classroom, books open, pens scratching lightly against pa

• Chasing Midnight Promises    Chapter 66: Before the Storm

  Mia burst into the building, heart pounding, her vision already swimming with tears. She didn’t know where she was running to—only that she had to keep moving. Her shoes slapped against the tiled floor, echoing through the empty corridors. Everything blurred: the walls, the doors, the signs. None of it registered. Her chest rose and fell with frantic breaths, her fingers clutching her laptop and bag tightly.She turned a corner and found herself in an unfamiliar section of the school. The hallway stretched long and narrow, with pale yellow walls and fluorescent lights that buzzed quietly overhead. Rows of closed doors lined both sides, and framed posters about school clubs hung crookedly on the walls. The air smelled faintly of cleaning products and old paper. Her footsteps echoed loudly now, bouncing off the walls.Still, she ran.But the farther she went, the longer the hallway seemed to grow. It felt endless, like something from a dream. Her legs began to slow. Her breath caught in

• Chasing Midnight Promises    Chapter 65: What Was Never Said

  A man stepped out, fury written in every stride.Christian stepped out too.Their eyes met.It was Noah Bradford.Gray shirt hugging his frame. Sleeves rolled up. Dark jeans. White sneakers. A black designer watch flashing as he pointed toward the Jeep.“Are you out of your damn mind?” Noah barked. “Trying to run me off the road?”Christian stared him down, unmoved.Noah narrowed his eyes. “You again? From the light. ‘Time will tell.’ Are you stalking me now?”Christian said nothing.Noah stepped closer. “Answer me, jackass!”Christian’s voice dropped like frost. “You’re loud for someone who can’t drive.”“Oh, I’m the problem?”Christian removed his glasses. “Take a course. Learn your lanes.”“You better watch your—”“Or what?”Inside the Jeep, Mia scrolled her phone.But Raven...She was gone again—lost in fantasy. In a world where Christian was hers. Where Mia didn’t exist. Where his hand brushed hers on purpose. Where he smiled at her the way he never did at anyone else. A world wh

• Chasing Midnight Promises    Chapter 64: The Collision Point

  The shrill beeping of the alarm tore Christian from a restless sleep. His eyes fluttered open, dry and heavy, the ceiling blurring into shapes he didn’t care to recognize. The sound drilled into his ears, but he didn’t move, his body stiff, limbs sore from staying in the same position all night.Still on his back, arms folded over his chest like a haunted man, he turned his head toward the noise. The alarm clock blinked red across the room, far from reach. Of course it was.A low groan crawled out of his throat as he finally sat up, bones aching like sleep had never truly touched him. His thoughts felt heavy, like mud settling in his chest. He dragged himself toward the clock, shut it off with a thud, and stared at the numbers.6:10 a.m.He stood still, silent, then ran a rough hand down his face like he was trying to scrub away a memory. His shirt clung to him like regret. He peeled it off slowly, followed by his pants, the fabric cold from the air conditioning. Naked, exhausted—phys