“I hope you don’t regret this,” my mother whispered. Her words weren’t loud, but they felt like thunder cracking over my skull. I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. I just stared at her, at the worry bleeding into every crease on her face, and the slight shake in her hands as she clutched her purse like it was the only thing keeping her grounded. Maybe I should’ve felt guiltier. Maybe I should’ve backed down, taken a step behind her and pretended I didn’t know Ethan the way I did. Pretended I didn’t crave his presence the way I did. That I didn’t fall asleep every night with the scent of him still clinging to my skin and wake up hoping he was still beside me. But I didn’t do any of that. Instead, I turned my head slowly toward Ethan, standing just a few steps behind me, hands shoved into his jacket pockets, eyes unreadable. “I won’t regret it,” I finally said. My mom’s lips parted like she wanted to argue—like she had more words in her arsenal to try and drag me back to the vers
My mother’s arms wrapped around me so tightly I could hardly breathe. Her floral perfume—faint and familiar—made my eyes sting as I buried my face into her shoulder. She cupped the back of my head like I was still a child who’d scraped her knee. “Oh my baby… oh thank God, you’re okay,” she whispered, pressing a firm kiss into my hair. “I was so scared.” I swallowed a lump in my throat. “I missed you.” She leaned back, holding my face between her palms like she was trying to memorize it. Her eyes were wet. “You’ve lost weight. You look tired.” “I’m fine, I promise—” But she wasn’t looking at me anymore. Her gaze had shifted just behind me. Her whole body tensed as her arms dropped from my face and she stepped forward, throwing an arm out in front of me like a human shield. “Don’t get any closer!” she snapped, her voice firm and sharp. I blinked, stepping to the side to see what the hell she was talking about. Ethan. He’d been standing a few paces back, hands loose a
The road stretched out in front of us, endless and winding through thick patches of trees that seemed to go on forever. The deeper we drove, the more the sunlight shifted—soft beams slicing through the canopy, dappling the dashboard in flickering gold. It had been a couple of hours since we left the cabin. My heart was still buzzing with anxiety, but the road had a strange way of dulling the sharp edges. The hum of the engine beneath us and the soft sounds of the forest felt… grounding. For now. I shifted in my seat, pulling my legs up and tucking them under me. Ethan glanced at me with a sideways smile, one hand on the wheel, the other resting lazily on my thigh. I liked that hand there more than I cared to admit. "You look like you're about to curl up and take a nap," he teased. I grinned. "Tempting. But no. Someone needs to stay awake to keep you entertained." His smile widened. "I think I can handle myself." "Mmhm. Famous last words," I said, fishing around in the sm
Morning came slow. The kind of slow that slips between the blinds in ribbons of gold, not ready to announce itself yet. The quiet had a weight to it—like the whole world was pausing, holding its breath. I rolled over, the blanket slipping down my shoulder. One arm flopped out, hand grazing the cool edge of the bed. My eyes barely opened, squinting at the sunlight crawling its way across the ceiling. “Fuck,” I cursed under my breath. My body still ached in places—dull echoes now, not the sharpness from last night. Like ghosts of bruises that hadn’t faded yet. There was a creak from downstairs. Wood on wood. Familiar. I sniffed. Toast? Coffee? Yeah, definitely coffee. I sat up slowly, groaning just a little as I swung my legs over the side. Cold floor. Of course. I spotted one of Ethan’s hoodies on the edge of the bed and tugged it over my head. Then, I padded down the hall, the sleeves falling past my hands. The scent of breakfast got stronger as I neared the kitchen
The darkness inside the cabin felt different that night. Heavier somehow. More still. Even though I was safe now—back in the familiar warmth of wooden walls and the quiet hum of night creatures beyond them—my body refused to relax. I lay beside Ethan, curled on my side, facing the wall, his steady breathing brushing the nape of my neck like waves tapping a rocky shore. But no matter how still I tried to be, no matter how many times I shifted my legs or adjusted the blanket, sleep stayed far away. My mind wouldn’t stop spinning. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw it again—Liam's smirk, the way his hands had pinned me, the helpless rage boiling in my chest. The look in Ethan’s eyes when he’d come in. That searing fury. The blood. The screaming. The way his hands trembled as he reached for my face. I reached out in the dark and let my fingers graze the warm skin of Ethan’s arm. His hand found mine immediately, lacing our fingers together without a word. That helped. A litt
I nodded. “Yeah.” He leaned in, kissing my forehead. “Get some rest. I’ll clean up the rest of your wounds tomorrow.” The door clicked softly behind him, and then… silence. I just lay there. The sheets around me were warm from where Ethan had been minutes ago, and his scent lingered but it wasn’t comforting this time. I hugged my knees to my chest, staring up at the ceiling in the dim light. My phone was still on the nightstand, dark and silent. What if something had happened? My mom’s voice on the call still echoed in my ears. The panic, the confusion. The breathlessness in the way she said my name, like she had just finished running—like something had chased her. Had it? Had something gone wrong during the honeymoon? Was she just reacting to my absence, or was there more? She didn’t sound like she was with Greg. There was a different edge in her tone. Alone. I didn’t like it. I turned onto my side, then onto my back, then again. The sheets tangled around my legs.