Don’t Touch Me

The silence after the call didn’t feel real.

It felt… loaded.

Like the room itself was waiting to see what they’d do next.

Jason was still holding the phone.

His grip was tight.

Too tight.

Rose watched him carefully.

“Say something,” she said.

Nothing.

Her patience snapped faster than she expected.

“Jason.”

That got a reaction.

He turned to her, his expression darker than she’d ever seen it.

Not fear.

Not panic.

Something sharper.

Controlled anger.

“We’re leaving,” he said.

Rose blinked. “What?”

“Now.”

He grabbed her wrist before she could respond, already pulling her toward the door.

“Wait—” she tried to resist slightly. “We can’t just—”

“Yes, we can,” he cut in, not slowing down.

The door wouldn’t open.

Jason stopped.

Tried again.

Harder.

Locked.

Of course.

Rose let out a breath, half frustration, half nerves. “Okay. Great. That’s not good.”

Jason stepped back slightly, already thinking, already calculating.

“Move.”

“What are you—”

“Move, Rose.”

Something in his tone made her listen.

She stepped aside just as he drove his shoulder into the door.

It didn’t budge.

Pain flashed across his face—but he ignored it.

“Jason, stop—”

“I said move.”

He hit it again.

Harder this time.

The door shook.

Still locked.

Rose grabbed his arm this time, pulling him back.

“Enough!”

He froze.

Their eyes locked.

For a second, everything else disappeared.

The alarms.

The darkness.

The danger.

“You’re not thinking clearly,” she said, her voice low but firm.

Jason’s jaw clenched.

“I’m thinking exactly how I should be.”

“No,” she shot back. “You’re reacting.”

That hit.

His grip on her tightened slightly.

Not enough to hurt.

But enough to feel.

“Someone just threatened you,” he said.

Rose’s heart skipped.

“And you think I’m going to stand here and stay calm?”

The way he said it—

Not just angry.

Personal.

Rose softened… just slightly.

“I didn’t say stay calm,” she said quietly.

She stepped closer.

“I said think.”

The space between them shrank again.

Too close.

Too charged.

Jason stared at her.

Really stared.

“You don’t get to tell me how to handle this,” he said.

Rose’s chin lifted.

“And you don’t get to drag me around like I’m part of your problem.”

A beat.

Jason let out a short breath—almost a laugh, but without humor.

“You are part of the problem,” he said.

That stung.

Rose’s eyes hardened. “Excuse me?”

“You think this is random?” he continued. “You think he picked you by accident?”

Something in her chest tightened.

“Say what you mean, Jason.”

He stepped closer.

Now there was no space at all.

“I mean,” he said, voice low, “he’s using you to get to me.”

Silence.

That landed deeper than anything else.

Rose pulled her arm out of his grip.

“Don’t.”

His brow furrowed. “Don’t what?”

“Don’t make me the weak point,” she said.

Jason’s voice sharpened. “That’s not what I’m doing.”

“It is,” she fired back. “You’re acting like I’m something he can use.”

Jason stepped forward again.

“You are something he can use,” he said bluntly.

That did it.

Rose shoved him back.

Hard.

“Don’t touch me.”

The words cut through the room.

Jason stilled.

Not angry this time.

Just… still.

Rose’s chest rose and fell quickly.

“You don’t get to decide that I’m vulnerable,” she continued. “You don’t get to turn me into leverage just because you don’t like losing control.”

That hit somewhere deeper.

Jason’s eyes darkened.

“You think this is about control?” he asked quietly.

Rose held his gaze.

“I know it is.”

A long pause.

Then—

Jason stepped closer again.

Slower this time.

More deliberate.

“And what if it’s not?” he said.

Rose didn’t move.

Didn’t step back.

Even though her heart was racing now.

“What if,” he continued, his voice dropping, “I’m trying to keep you from getting hurt?”

The air shifted.

That wasn’t arrogance.

That wasn’t control.

That was something else.

Rose’s voice softened—but only slightly.

“Then you’re doing a terrible job of it.”

Jason’s gaze dropped—just for a second—to her lips.

Then back to her eyes.

“Yeah,” he said quietly.

The moment stretched.

Too long.

Too intense.

And then—

A loud bang echoed through the hallway.

Both of them snapped back instantly.

Reality hit.

Rose turned toward the door. “That didn’t sound far.”

Jason grabbed her hand this time—firm, intentional.

“Stay behind me.”

Rose didn’t argue.

But she didn’t let go either.

Another sound.

Closer.

Footsteps.

Not running.

Walking.

Slow.

Deliberate.

Right outside the door.

Both of them went still.

The handle moved.

Once.

Twice.

Then stopped.

Silence.

Rose’s grip tightened around Jason’s hand.

Jason didn’t look at her.

But he didn’t let go either.

Then—

A voice.

Right outside.

Clear.

Undistorted.

Familiar.

“Open the door.”

Rose’s heart dropped.

She looked up at Jason.

Because she recognized that voice.

And from the look on his face—

So did he.

“…Daniel.”

The handle turned again.

Slowly.

This time—

It clicked.