LOGINEmma's POV The drive back from the beach was the longest thirty minutes of my life. I sat in the back of Hannah’s Jeep, staring out the window at the passing trees, while the image of Luca and Chloe burned behind my eyelids.Hannah was up front, gripping the steering wheel and venting about Luca’s "public display of trashiness," while Mia sat in the passenger seat, scrolling through her phone and occasionally humming in agreement. To them, it was just another day of Luca being a jerk. To me, it felt like my world was being dismantled piece by piece."I’m seriously considering calling Mom," Hannah muttered as she pulled up to our apartment building. "He’s getting reckless. He doesn't even care who sees him anymore.""He’s always been reckless, Han," Mia said, hopping out of the car. "You just usually look the other way.""Whatever." Hannah looked back at me, her expression softening. "You okay, Em? You’ve been a ghost since we left the water.""Just a headache," I lied, the words feel
Luca’s POVThe party was finally a dying echo downstairs, but my room still felt like it was on fire.I was pacing the floor, my pulse refusing to settle. Since their first year on campus, I had successfully filed Emma Reed away as "background noise"—Hannah’s quiet, safe, invisible shadow. But after tonight, the background had become the only thing I could see. I could still feel the phantom weight of her hands, the way she had looked at me as if I’d just handed her the keys to a world she didn't know existed.A sharp, rhythmic banging on my door snapped the silence."Luca! Open up. I know you’re in there."I scrubbed a hand over my face, pulling the "jerk" mask back into place. I unlocked the door, and Hannah barged in, looking like she was on a mission to be a nuisance just because the party was over."What, Hannah? I'm trying to sleep.""Liar," she chirped, flopping into my armchair. "You were acting like a total prick earlier. I wanted to see if—"She stopped. Her eyes dropped to
Emma's POV I woke up the next morning before my alarm, my heart already racing as if it had been running a marathon while I slept.For a few seconds, I stared at the ceiling of my bedroom, trying to anchor myself. The pale morning light filtered through the curtains, illuminating the familiar mess of my desk and the chair where my black dress from last night sat in a crumpled heap. Then, the memories hit—the heat of Luca’s skin, the weight of his body, the way he had looked at me as if I were the only thing in the world that mattered.I reached for my phone, my fingers trembling. The text from Hannah about the silver earring was still there, sitting like a ticking time bomb at the top of my notifications.I found something in Luca’s room...I was about to spiral into a full-blown panic attack when a new message popped up.Luca: Check your trash.My brow furrowed. I looked at the small wastepaper basket by my bed. Sitting right on top was a tiny, shimmering silver hoop.My heart did a
Emma's POV The day I saw Kane fucking a girl on the kitchen cabinet was the first time I saw sex live.And since then.....****Back to my Bedroom Floor****The wood of the door was hard against my spine, but I didn't move. I couldn't.I sat there in the dark of my bedroom, my breath coming in shallow hitches that sounded too loud in the silence. My heart was a frantic bird hitting the walls of my chest. For nineteen years, I’d been the girl who didn't "feel" things. My friends joked I was made of ice. I’d even started to believe them.But I wasn't ice. I was a match that had finally been struck.I slept with Luca. I whispered it in my head, over and over, trying to make the words feel real. Luca Carter—the guy who was too handsome, too charming, and wanted by literally every girl on campus—had just dismantled my entire identity in under an hour. I looked at my hands. They were pale in the moonlight, still shaking. I felt... different. Heavier. Like the "Emma" who lived in this room
Emma’s POVFew months ago, I came over for a sleep over at Hannah’sThe house was dark and quiet. I heard the low murmur of a voice.Not Hannah’s.A woman’s laugh, soft and throaty, drifted up from the kitchen. I paused on the last step, my hand frozen on the cool banister. I just wanted water. That’s all. My throat was parched from the popcorn.Then I heard him. Luca.A low, rough sound. Not words. A groan.My breath hitched. I shouldn’t be here. I should turn around. But my feet, bare on the wooden floor, carried me forward, silent, until I could see into the dimly lit kitchen through the archway.The fridge light was on, casting a cold, blue-white glow over them.Luca, Hannah’s older brother, was pressed against the kitchen cabinet. And she was pressed against him. A woman with dark, wild curls, her back to me. Her dress was a slip of black silk, hiked up around her thighs. Luca’s hands were on her hips, his fingers digging into the fabric, into her skin. His head was bent, his mou
Emma’s POV“Hannah’s here.”The words hit me like ice water.Luca’s body went rigid against mine, every trace of heat draining from his face in an instant. For a split second, neither of us moved. The music downstairs thumped on, oblivious. My heart slammed so hard I thought it might give me away.“What?” I whispered, already scrambling.“She’s at the door,” he said quietly, eyes flicking to the handle like it might explode. “Hide. Now.”I didn’t ask where. I didn’t think. Panic took over.I grabbed my dress, hands shaking so badly it took me two tries to get it over my head. Luca opened the wardrobe and pushed me gently inside. It smelled like clean laundry and his cologne—too familiar, too intimate. He slid a finger to his lips.“Don’t make a sound,” he mouthed.The door closed.Darkness swallowed me whole.I pressed my hand over my mouth, trying to slow my breathing as the doorknob rattled.“Luca?” Hannah’s voice floated in, bright and tipsy. “Why is your door locked?”I heard him







