LOGINThe night settled softly, like it wasn’t ready to make demands.Lola sat cross legged on the bed, laptop open but untouched, the glow of the screen reflecting thoughts she wasn’t ready to face. Outside, laughter drifted up from the quad college life in motion, unaware of the quiet gravity in her roo
Morning didn’t rush them.Sunlight slipped in gently, catching dust in the air and painting the room in soft gold. Lola woke with a strange, unfamiliar feeling peace. The kind that didn’t disappear the moment she opened her eyes.She was still in the middle.Jake lay on his back to her left, arm ben
The lights were off, but no one was asleep.Lola lay on her side, facing the wall, listening to the soft rhythm of breathing behind her. The room felt different in the dark smaller, warmer, more honest. There was no tension pressing down anymore, no threat humming under the surface.Just awareness.
Night arrived quietly.Not like before no alarms in Lola’s chest, no edge in the air. Just the soft hum of the dorm settling down, doors closing, laughter fading into low conversations and music drifting through walls.Lola stood at the window, arms folded loosely, watching the lights outside blink
The afternoon stretched out in a way that felt unfamiliar.Not tense.Not hurried.Just… open.Lola walked across campus with Jake and Damon flanking her not guarding, not hovering, simply there. The whispers still existed, but they were background noise now, like traffic she no longer needed to loo
Morning light slipped through the blinds in thin, pale lines.Lola woke slowly, awareness returning in layers. Warmth first. Then weight. Then the quiet certainty that she wasn’t alone.Jake was half-reclined against the headboard, one arm relaxed behind her shoulders, his breathing slow and even. D
The man outside tapped once more, lazy and mocking. “We’ll be seeing you soon.” And then silence. No footsteps. No retreating shadow beneath the door. Just… nothing. Lola’s chest heaved as she tried to process what had just happened. The air felt thick, heavy with unspoken truths. Finally, Damie
“Yes, I do!” The panic in her chest flared into something hotter, sharper. “You keep pulling me deeper, Damien. You’ve kissed me, touched me, made me feel things I shouldn’t but you never tell me anything real. If there are people who want to hurt me because of you, then I deserve the truth!” For a
The dorm room felt too small, the air too thin, as Lola watched Damien stalk toward the door like a predator circling prey. His shoulders were squared, his hand hovering just inches from the handle, but he didn’t open it. “Who is it?” Lola whispered, her voice barely a thread of sound. Damien didn
Damien’s gaze swept over her face, like he was weighing the strength of her resolve. Then, slowly, he pulled back just enough to give her space. “Fine,” he said at last, his tone sharp as glass. “You want the truth? Here it is. I’m not just another guy paying his way through school. I was never sup







