LOGINMaya POV.
What on earth? I couldn't believe my eyes. John, my very own boyfriend, stood between Sonia's thighs, with her legs wrapped around his waist and his trousers pulled down to his knees. I could hear his deep grunts as he shoved into her, hitting her back against the wall as he fucked her. Their mouth was locked in a passionate kiss, and they didn't notice I'd walked in. "John!" I cried, my eyes watering with tears. My birthday was only tomorrow, but he couldn't wait till then? They jerked their heads towards me, surprised to see someone here. "You forgot to lock the door?" Sonia glared at him, incredulous. He quickly pulled out of her, letting her drop from his waist, and tucked his dick back in his pants. "Babe," he said as he zipped up, and came towards me, "It's not what you think." I shook my head slowly, tears stinging my eyes, but I refused to cry. Unable to say a word due to shock, I turned on my heels and ran out of the locker room. I heard him call my name, but I kept running, refusing to stop. Just how long had he been sneaking around my back and cheating on me? The weight of his betrayal crushed me, my heart twisting with hurt. I'd been willing to give myself to him. but now, he'd broken my trust. ******** It was 4 p.m. when I finally got to Monalisa's house. After my painful experience of catching my boyfriend cheating on me, I was so heartbroken. The thought made my chest ache, a hollow, gnawing pain that echoed through every part of me. As I drew close to the house, I noticed two police cars were in the parking lot, alongside Monalisa's dad's Mercedes S450. On the front patio, I saw Mr. Jonah and two police officers standing in a small gathering of three and talking. What was going on? I approached cautiously, and when I got close, their conversation became audible. "Can you tell me where you were last night, Mr. Jonah Hopkins," one of the police officers asked. "I was home throughout yesterday, I didn't step out of the house," Mr. Jonah answered. "I don't have any active cases at the moment, so I decided to rest at home instead of going to the office." "You live here with your daughter, correct?" The officer questioning him asked again. "Yes, I do," He answered casually, "But right now, my daughter's friend is spending a week with us," he looked over at me. "Here she is, Maya say hi to the officers." "Good afternoon Mr. Jonah," I greeted, "Hi officers," I said awkwardly. The officers nodded at me. "Hi Maya, how was school today?" He asked. "School was good. Monalisa is spending the rest of the day with her mom," I informed him. "Oh yes, she called me," he remarked. I felt the officer's eyes on me, watching me keenly, so I hurried into the house and shut the door behind me. Why were the officers here? I racked my brain trying to remember if I broke the law in any way. Concluding I had done nothing wrong, I went over to the window, overlooking the front patio, and peeped through the blinds, eavesdropping on their conversation. Just then I heard Mr. Jonah exclaim, "What do you mean she is dead?!" "She was found dead in her apartment this morning around 10 a.m." the officer told him. Huh? Someone died? "So I ask you again, what time did Ms. Larisa leave your house last night?" The officer questioned. I gasped and quickly put my hands over my mouth. Ms. Larisa was dead? Our nice, hard-working housekeeper who liked to make us nice Latina dishes was dead? "My goodness, what happened to her?" Mr. Jonah demanded. "Answer my question," the officer insisted. "I already told you that she left last night around 9 o'clock after making us dinner. Now, tell me what happened to her!" Mr. Jonah yelled at the officers. My nostrils flared and I felt my heart stop in my chest. God, how did she die? "We found her lying flat on her face with a knife to her stomach. There were also signs of a struggle," the other officer explained. I saw Mr. Jonah's face ashen. "Who would do such a wicked thing to her?" "That's why we are here investigating," the first officer said. "We are going to all the places she visited last. We were told she works for you, resumes work by 7 a.m., and closes around 8-9p.m." Oh, that was why she didn't come in this morning to make breakfast. Innocently, I thought she was stressed out by all the sex she got and didn't wake up early. "Do whatever you can to find the culprit. As her employer, I will give you my full support," Mr. Jonah said firmly. The officers nodded, "Thank you for your time, Mr. Hopkins." They entered their vehicles and drove off. Looking flustered and visibly upset, Mr.Jonah raked his hand through his sandy brown hair. He climbed the steps towards the door and I quickly left the window, hurrying over to sit on a couch. The door swung open and he walked in. "Bloody hell," he cursed and walked over to the wine bar to pour himself a drink. He held the full glass of scotch whiskey in his hand and downed it in one gulp. He quickly filled it up again. "Is something wrong?" I asked, watching him. No, he shook his head and stared hard into his glass. "You rarely drink during the day," I pointed out, coming to join him on the barstool at the counter. "I heard some bad news that's why I'm in a bad mood," he said, sipping the second drink instead of gulping it down like the first. "Can I get a glass of whiskey?" I asked needing a drink to feel better. Usually, he never let Mona or me drink. But today, he poured me a glass without hesitation. We sat in silence, I was nursing my broken heart, and he was upset about the news of Ms. Larisa. I couldn't say how long we sat there, but by the time I got up to head into the room. I was barely managing to walk straight. I got into the room and flopped on Mona's bed, feeling so weak and dizzy from the alcohol. I'd just drawn the bed covers over me when someone called out my name in the room. "Maya..." I froze, goosebumps covering my skin.Bailey POVWe ran through the rain to the entrance and up the stairs to my apartment. I fumbled with my keys, hands shaking from the cold, and pushed the door open.The warmth inside hit us both instantly.I dropped my bag by the door and kicked off my wet shoes. Mark did the same, stepping inside carefully, looking around without saying anything."Kitchen's that way," I said, pointing. "Give me a minute."I walked to the kitchen and started the coffee maker, moving on autopilot. Mugs. Filter. Water. Simple tasks to keep my hands busy and my brain quiet.But my body was shivering. My clothes were stuck to my skin, cold and heavy. My jacket clung to my arms. My top pressed flat against my chest.I glanced down.My breath caught.The wet fabric had gone almost see-through, hugging tight against my chest. And my nipples, hard from the cold, pressed clearly through the thin material.Visible.Obviously visible.I looked up.Mark was leaning against the kitchen doorway.His eyes were not o
Bailey POVThe sky had been threatening all afternoon.Dark clouds rolled in during the last hour of practice, heavy and low, turning the air thick and humid. I kept one eye on the weather and the other on my athletes, pushing them through their final sets before the rain hit."That's it!" I shouted, blowing my whistle. "Cool down and head out. Now."The group scattered fast. Nobody wanted to get caught in what was coming.I gathered my things quickly, shoving my clipboard and stopwatch into my bag as the first fat drops of rain hit the track. By the time I reached the parking lot, it was pouring.Not drizzling.Pouring.The kind of rain that soaked you through in seconds.I ran to my SUV, yanked the door open, threw my bag across the passenger seat, and jammed the key into the ignition.Click.Nothing.I turned it again.Click. Click.Dead."No," I muttered. "No, no, no. Not today."I tried again. Same thing. The engine didn't even try to turn over. Just that flat, empty clicking so
Bailey POVThe drive to the academy the next morning felt longer than usual.My hands sat at ten and two on the steering wheel, grip tighter than it needed to be. Last night kept replaying in my head. Lola's voice. The wine. The tears. Phillip's words. And underneath all of it, like a current I couldn't switch off, the memory of Mark's thumb brushing the corner of my mouth.I swallowed hard and turned up the radio.It didn't help.Today was general practice. The full squad. Thirty athletes on the track. Drills, sprints, cool downs. A regular session like any other.Mark would be there.Obviously.He trained with the squad just like everyone else. Our private sessions didn't change that. At the academy, he was just another athlete. Another runner. Another face in the group.That's all.I'd ignore him. Focus on the other students. Keep my distance. Keep things professional.Simple.I pulled into the academy parking lot and grabbed my bag from the passenger seat.Simple, I told myself a
Bailey POVHer face had gone red with anger, jaw tight, eyes blazing."Lola, sit down.""I'm going to kill him, Bailey.""Sit down."She stood there for a few more seconds, fists clenched at her sides, breathing hard through her nose.Then she sat.Slowly."That man," she said, her voice low and shaking, "is the worst thing that ever happened to you. And I promise you, every single word he said was a lie. Every one."My eyes burned."I know," I whispered."Do you? Because the fact that you kept this in for three weeks tells me those words are still sitting in your head."I didn't answer.She leaned forward."You are beautiful, Bailey. Strong, yes. Built different, yes. But that's what makes you incredible. Any man who can't see that is blind and stupid. And Phillip was both."A tear slipped down my cheek before I could catch it.I wiped it fast."Okay," I said, clearing my throat. "That's not the only thing I need to tell you."Lola's eyebrows rose."There's more?""Remember the gig?
Bailey POVI didn't go straight home after the burger place.I drove halfway home and stopped.I sat in my car for ten minutes, parked at the side of the road, engine running, fingers tapping the steering wheel while my brain went in circles.The feeling of Mark's thumb on my lip wouldn't go away.His eyes watching me while he sucked the ketchup off his finger wouldn't go away.The way he said "good" when I told him Phillip was gone wouldn't go away.Nothing was going away.And I had nobody to talk to about any of it.I couldn't bring myself to tell Steven. My brother would ask too many questions. My other colleagues at the academy barely knew me well enough for small talk, let alone something like this.That left one person.I picked up my phone and called Lola.She answered on the second ring."If you're calling to cancel on something, I swear to God, Bailey.""Can I come over?"Silence.She knew that tone. The one I only used when things were bad."Door's open," she said.Twenty mi
Bailey POVMonday's session ran late.I didn't plan it that way. But Mark's start out of the blocks was sloppy, and I refused to let him leave until he cleaned it up.So we stayed.Long after the sun dipped below the trees and the park lights flickered on, casting everything in a soft golden glow."Again," I called out.He lined up. Ran forward. Drove hard through the first thirty meters.Better.Much better."Time?" he asked, jogging back."Four point two. That's where you need to be every time."He nodded, hands on his hips, breathing steady despite the hour of work behind him."We're done," I said, clicking off the stopwatch. "Good session."He wiped his face with the bottom of his shirt. I kept my eyes on my clipboard.Lesson learned from Saturday."You hungry?" he asked.I looked up."What?""Food, Coach. The thing humans need to survive."I gave him a flat look."I know what food is.""Then you know you need some," he said, grabbing his bag. "Burger spot two blocks from here. My
Fabian POV.I don’t know how things got so out of hand.One moment, I was sitting on my bed, scrolling through my phone, trying to unwind from the day's work, and the next moment, Max was next to me, leaning in like he was trying to read something on my screen.He wasn’t.“Hey, you okay?" he'd aske
Steven POV.Fabian jerked upright, eyes widening when he saw me.“Steven—” he began.I didn’t know what expression I was wearing, but from the flicker of guilt in his eyes, it wasn’t a good one.Max, still sitting on him, dragged his thumb across his own swollen lower lip, “I guess your timing,” he
Steven POV.Fabian was right. As I stood here lying against his back, basking in the enjoyment of my release, feeling our hearts beat as one. His words from many nights ago came back floating into my mind;"Steven, you can't hate what you don't know."It was true, because I had no idea that pleasu
Steven POV.4 days down. 3 more to go till the lockdown was over.I thought wistfully to myself as I gazed up at the ceiling the next morning.I'd barely slept last night. Not because of any noise, Max slept like a cat curled behind a pair of noise-canceling earbuds—but because the entire room fe







