LOGINThe next day the crushing weakness that was pinning me down was gone, replaced by a dull, manageable ache in my muscles and a quiet emptiness in my stomach that no longer felt like it was eating me alive. Someone — nurses, probably, while I slept — had hooked me up to another IV, and the steady drip of fluids had worked its magic. My throat also no longer burned like sandpaper and I could actually move my fingers without them trembling like they belonged to someone else. I turned my head slowly on the pillow and there he was. Gage. Still in the same chair, still holding my hand like he hadn’t moved an inch since I drifted off. His eyes were closed, dark circles heavy underneath them, but his thumb kept tracing those slow, soothing circles on the back of my hand even in his sleep. Then he stirred when I squeezed his hand, his eyes fluttering open. For a second he looked lost, but then his gaze found mine and the tension in his face melted into a familiar softness. “You’re awake
THEA°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:・ I woke up to the soft beep of machines and the faint smell of antiseptic. My eyelids felt heavy, like they’d been glued shut for days, but I forced them open anyway. Every part of my hurt, my wrists were bandaged, my throat raw, my body weak and heavy like it belonged to someone else. But none of that mattered the second my eyes found him.He was right there beside the bed, sitting in a chair pulled so close his knees touched the mattress. His head was bowed, dark hair falling forward, and my hand was clasped between both of his in a prayer-like way. His lips stayed pressed against my knuckles like he was trying to breathe life back into me through that single point of contact. He looked exhausted with shadows under his eyes, jaw tight, with the same charcoal sweater he’d been wearing when he left me with Caroline now wrinkled and stained with something dark I didn’t want to think about.I don’t remember what happened. I don’t remember when I passed out. The last
God, I hate him. He then straightened his shoulders, the mask sliding back into place like it had never cracked, and said in that same cold, measured tone that always made my blood boil, “Wear your clothes. You’re taking me to her.” “I said I don’t know where the fuck she is,” I snarled, stepping closer until I was right in his face, close enough to smell that fucking sandalwood cologne that still clung to Thea’s things like a brand. “You think I’m hiding her somewhere?” He didn’t move. Didn’t step back. Didn’t raise his voice again. He just looked at me, then exhaled, a long, controlled sigh through his nose—and said in that same infuriatingly calm tone, “Then call Caroline. I’ll have someone track the call. Thea is in trouble and I’d rather not have you make another mistake that you’re going to blame on me.” And with that he turned and walked out of the room, the door closing behind him with a click. I sank back onto the edge of the bed, head in my good hand, the pain in
A day earlier…NOAH-ˋˏ ༻❁༺ ˎˊ-I woke up to the worst fucking headache of my life, the kind that starts behind your eyes and spreads like poison through every cracked bone and bruised muscle in your body, and the first thing I registered was the low, familiar creak of the leather chair in the corner of my bedroom being sat in by someone who had no right to be there. My hand was already wrapped around my cock—half-hard from some half-remembered dream about Thea that I immediately hated myself for—stroking slow and lazy out of pure habit because my body still thought it could fuck its way out of the mess my life had become. I jerked my hand away like I’d been burned, eyes snapping open, and the sight of my father sitting there in the dim morning light, legs crossed, looking every inch the calm, collected bastard who owned the fucking world and everyone in it, made the rage surge up so fast I almost puked right there on the sheets.“What the fuck are you doing here?!” I snarled, yanki
“Noah?” I rasped. “What are you talking about?” He turned his head toward me, his gaze sweeping over me again and his face twisted with fresh anger. He then lunged toward Reyes again, swinging wildly. “You piece of shit!” He snarled, throwing himself at Reyes like he couldn’t stand the sight of me like this for another second. But Reyes was ready this time. He sidestepped and slammed Noah back down to the ground with brutal force, pinning him there with a knee on his chest. Noah gasped in pain, struggling underneath him, but he couldn’t get free. Reyes held him down easily, breathing hard, blood still trickling from the cut above his eyebrow. I watched it all through my tears, my body shaking uncontrollably from the cold and the overwhelming wave of despair crashing over me. Noah had been in on this? At least part of it? The thought made me feel sick to my core. “I’m sorry,” Noah gasped out, still pinned, his voice rough and strained with pain. “Thea… I’m sorry.” He repea
Before he could finish the sentence, Noah launched himself forward with a growl that echoed off the concrete walls. He slammed into Reyes even though his body was clearly still fucked up and the two of them crashed to the floor in a tangle of limbs, the bucket clattering away and spilling the last of the cold water across the concrete. Noah’s fist connected with Reyes’ jaw with a sickening crack, and I watched, tears still streaming down my face, as the fight exploded right in front of me.“You fucking piece of shit,” Noah snarled, voice loud with rage. “What the hell did you do to her?”Reyes tried to fight back, throwing a punch that grazed Noah’s cheek, splitting the skin there with a fresh line of blood. But Noah was fueled by something wild and desperate, something I hadn’t seen in him in a long time. He kept grappling with Reyes like his life depended on it, like my life depended on it, grunting with effort as they rolled across the wet concrete floor in a mess of limbs and cu
Mia drove me home after our second round of coffees turned into lunch at the campus diner. She didn’t ask if I wanted a ride; she just said, “Get in, I’m taking you,” and I was too drained to argue. Mia’s old Honda fishtailed once on the way out of the parking lot, but she handled it with a mutter
NOAH 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟The elevator opened at noon, and both of them stepped out at once, Lex carrying a brown paper bag that smelled like greasy burgers, Ellis trailing behind with two large coffees and that restless energy he always had when gossip was involved. They’d clearly run into each other
The ride to campus felt longer than usual, even though traffic was light. I spent most of it staring out the window, watching the snow-dusted streets slide by, my mind stuck in an endless loop and by the time the car pulled up outside the economics building, I was exhausted all over again. Finals
°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:・ The morning light crept through the curtains like it had no idea what had happened the night before. Soft, pale, almost gentle. I woke up to it slowly, head heavy, mouth dry, the kind of sleep that feels more like drowning than resting. My phone on the nightstand read 7:42 a.m. One week







