005 - Pressure Builds

Scarlett's POV

Sunday afternoon. Maya's bedroom. The one place I'd always felt safe.

Not today.

She sat on the bed across from me, arms crossed, face serious. The kind of serious she got before delivering bad news.

"We need to talk."

"I know. About yesterday—"

"Not about yesterday." She cut me off. "About him."

Ronan. Of course.

"Maya—"

"Just hear me out." She leaned forward. "Please."

I nodded. What else could I do?

"I've been at Westwood longer than you. Three years before you came. I've seen things." She wrapped her arms around herself. "Things I don't talk about. Things I've tried to forget."

My stomach tightened. "What kind of things?"

"Ronan Whitmore kind of things."

The name hung between us.

"I know what people say about him."

"You don't know everything." She stood. Started pacing. "Freshman year, there was a girl. Elena. She got close to Ronan. Really close. Everyone thought they were going to be a thing."

I'd never heard this story.

"What happened?"

"Three months in, she disappeared. Not literally. She still came to school. But she was different. Quiet. Scared. She stopped talking to everyone." Maya paused. "Then she transferred. Middle of the year. Her family moved across the country overnight."

"Maybe it wasn't about him. Maybe—"

"Her last week here, I found her crying in the bathroom." Maya's voice dropped. "She wouldn't tell me everything. But she said one thing I've never forgotten."

I waited.

"She said, 'Stay away from Ronan Whitmore. He destroys everyone he touches.'"

The words landed like stones.

"That doesn't mean—"

"There's more." Maya stopped pacing. Faced me. "Sophomore year, a guy named Marcus. Ronan's best friend since kindergarten. They were inseparable. Then suddenly they weren't. Marcus switched schools. His parents filed a restraining order."

"For what?"

"No one knows. The records are sealed. But the rumors..." She shook her head. "People say Marcus knew something about Ronan's family. Something dangerous. Something that got him disappeared."

"Disappeared isn't the same as transferring schools."

"You know what I mean." She sat back down. Close now. Close enough to grab my hands. "Scarlett, I'm not making this up. Every person who gets close to him ends up hurt. Every single one."

I thought about the offer. Three months. Fake dating. Protection.

Protection from what? From who?

"Maybe he's not the monster everyone thinks."

"Maybe." Maya squeezed my hands. "But is that a risk you can take? With your scholarship on the line? With your mom sick? With everything you've worked for?"

I didn't answer.

"The photo. The rumors. All of it happened in one day." She searched my face. "One day, Scarlett. And you already look different. Tired. Stressed. Like you're carrying something you can't put down."

"I am tired. I'm always tired."

"This is different." Her eyes held mine. "This is him. I know it."

"Maya—"

"Please." Her voice cracked. "Please stay away from him. For me. For your mom. For yourself."

I wanted to tell her the truth. Wanted to explain about the deal, the cheating report, the anonymous threat.

But Ronan's voice echoed. Trust no one. If word gets out, the deal's off.

Even Maya. Even my best friend.

I couldn't tell her.

"I hear you." I squeezed her hands back. "I do. But you don't know everything."

"Then tell me." Desperation bled through her voice. "Tell me what I don't know. Help me understand why you'd risk this."

I opened my mouth. Closed it.

The silence said everything.

"You can't." She pulled her hands away. "You won't."

"Maya—"

"Don't." She stood. Walked to the window. Her back to me. "I've been your friend for three years. Three years of late-night calls, study sessions, crying about boys who didn't notice us, dreaming about escaping that school together."

"I know."

"Do you?" She turned. Tears in her eyes. "Because right now it feels like you've forgotten. Like some guy with a pretty face and a dangerous name has made you forget who actually shows up for you."

"That's not fair."

"None of this is fair." Her voice broke. "But I'm still here. Still begging you to listen. Still trying to save you from something you can't see."

I stood. Moved toward her. "I'm not in danger."

"You don't know that."

"I know him."

"You know nothing." She stepped back. "No one knows Ronan Whitmore. That's the point. That's how he operates. He shows you what he wants you to see, and by the time you realize it's a mask, it's too late."

The words hit too close.

Because wasn't that exactly what I was doing? Wearing a mask? Pretending to be something I wasn't?

"I have to do this." My voice came out quiet. "I don't expect you to understand. But I have to."

Maya stared at me. Long moment. Searching.

"Does this have something to do with the cheating report?"

I flinched. Barely. But she saw.

"Scarlett."

"Don't."

"Did he offer to fix it? Is that what this is?" Her eyes widened. "Oh God. He's blackmailing you, isn't he? He's—"

"No. It's not like that."

"Then what's it like?" She grabbed my arms. "Tell me. Let me help you."

I wanted to. God, I wanted to.

But if I told her, the deal broke. The scholarship stayed suspended. Mom's bills stayed unpaid.

And whoever filed that report stayed free to try again.

"I can't."

She released me like I'd burned her.

"Then I can't watch." She walked to her door. Opened it. "I love you, Scarlett. You're my best friend. But I can't stand here and pretend this is okay while you walk toward a cliff."

"Maya—"

"Go." Her voice broke. "Just go."

I walked past her. Into the hallway. Toward the front door.

"Scarlett."

I stopped. Didn't turn.

"If he hurts you—if any of this goes wrong—I'll be there. Okay? I'll always be there." A pause. "But I can't watch you choose him. Not yet."

I walked out.

The door closed behind me.

I stood on her porch, shaking, alone, the weight of everything pressing down.

My phone buzzed.

Ronan: Tomorrow. 7:30. Corner of your street. Ready?

I stared at the message.

No. I wasn't ready.

But I typed back anyway.

Me: Ready.

The walk home passed in a blur. Houses I'd seen a thousand times. Streets I knew by heart. Everything looked the same, but I felt like a different person.

Someone who'd just lost her best friend.

Someone walking toward something she couldn't name.

Someone whose life depended on a boy everyone warned her about.

I turned onto my street. Stopped.

A car sat at the curb. Black. Tinted windows. Familiar.

The door opened.

Ronan stepped out.

"What are you doing here?" I looked around. "People will see."

"People already see everything." He moved closer. "I needed to make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine."

"Liar."

The word hung there.

"Maya knows something's wrong." My voice cracked. "She begged me to stay away from you. Told me stories. About people you've hurt. About what happens to everyone who gets close."

He went very still.

"And you? What do you believe?"

"I don't know what to believe."

He nodded slowly. Like he'd expected this.

"She's not wrong."

I blinked. "What?"

"About some of it." His jaw tightened. "People have been hurt. People have disappeared. Not because of me directly, but because of who I am. What my family is."

"Then why—"

"Because with me, you're protected." He stepped closer. "The same things that hurt others keep them safe. My name. My money. My power. If you're mine, no one touches you."

"If I'm yours."

"If you're with me." He held my gaze. "There's a difference."

Was there?

"The person who filed that report. The one watching us. They won't stop." His voice dropped. "But they can't touch you if you're standing next to me. That's the truth. That's the only truth that matters."

I wanted to believe him.

I wanted to run.

"Tomorrow." He reached out. Slow. Giving me time to move. I didn't. His fingers brushed my cheek. "We do this together. Okay?"

I nodded. Couldn't speak.

He let his hand drop. Stepped back.

"Get some sleep. You'll need it."

He got in the car. Drove away.