JacobI froze at the sound from the door, my heart thudding like a drum in my chest. The door squeaked behind us, sending a tremor through my body. I knew not to turn around. I should’ve found a place in the big suite to hide, but my legs remained glued to the floor.And Daniel didn’t care much about what the noise could be about. He just went back to sit on the bed, leaving me standing there and waiting for the whole word to fall apart. Like it always did, whenever we were together. My thought suddenly drifted to the night at the hotel he’d invited me to years ago.The one where he and Mr Richard had violated me… my innocence. My body, like it was this insignificant frail thing that would be destroyed anyway. What If that was, what was about to happen again? But maybe this time it wouldn’t be with Mr Richard, maybe it would be with someone worse. My thoughts were spiraling, but then I glanced at him just sitting on the bed, without a care in the world, and I wanted to believe h
JacobI had no clue where I was heading. The city stretched before me, a maze of glowy lights and shadow, each step carrying me further into the unknown. My feet moved without thought as if guided by something deeper than conscious will…something primal, something desperate. Every step felt like a betrayal, moving me further from something unknown, something I didn’t wish to face. But the truth was sharp, as loud as my pulse, as undeniable as the night air I gulped. I was running. Not just from a place, but from myself. From the memories that clung to my skin like a cold sweat, from the revenant ghost of a man who refused to let me go. I’d convinced myself over and over that I’d had enough of Daniel. That I’d had enough of his deceits, his obsession, his twisted mind games. I’d moved on. I had Nathan. I had a life not centered on him. Nathan, who was sweet and steady, who didn’t play games, who looked at me like I was something precious instead of something to be possess
JacobThe silence was overwhelming, wrapping around me like a suffocating shroud. It pulsed through the apartment with its heartbeat, thick and oppressive, pressing against my eardrums until I could hear the rush of my blood. I sat curled on the balcony, knees drawn to my chest like a child hiding from monsters. Outside, the city lights blurred through the rain-streaked glass. The rhythmic tapping of water against the pane matched the nervous drumming of my fingers against my thigh… a rhythmic beat of anxiety that wouldn't quiet.Nathan remained oblivious to the chaos unfolding in my brain. From the corner of my eyes, I watched him bent over his laptop at the dining table, the blue glow of the screen painting his features in an otherworldly light. His forehead wrinkled in concentration, he occasionally tapped a pen against his bottom lip in that absent-minded way I'd always found endearing. His attention remained unwaveringly on his work, granting me a moment to reason, a break fr
Jacob I should've tossed the damn key. The sensible choice, the respectable one. The action of a man with self-respect and a stable relationship.But I kept it. In my back pocket, burning like a guilty secret. A physical weight that pressed against me with every step, a reminder of my weakness. I didn’t breathe a word to Nathan. I wore a smile like a mask, practiced and deceiving, while inside, my mind was a battlefield. I let him hold me when he sensed my distance, his arms warm and safe, his touch everything Daniel’s wasn’t. And I despised myself for it. All day, my heart only betrayed me, yearning for a touch I had craved for years. I told myself I wouldn’t go. That I was stronger than this. That Nathan deserved better than a man who still trembled at the thought of his past abuser. But the key remained in my pocket, a silent accomplice to my brewing betrayal. I didn’t decide. No grand moment of surrender. Instead, I drifted through the hours in silent agony, my body
JacobI feigned indifference, but the encounter at the campus haunted me. His gaze bore into me as if reclaiming his rightful property. Daniel's eyes held the same dark allure that had once shackled me. But, he had no right to me now, not after the chaos he'd wrought. The memory of his presence lingered like a ghost, refusing to fade. Every step I took, every breath I drew, felt tainted by the weight of his reappearance. I had spent years rebuilding myself, stitching together the fragments of my life after he had shattered them into tiny little chunks. And now, with just one look, he threatened to unravel it all. With one look, the memory had come rushing back.That night, I clung to Nathan tighter than ever before. His warmth felt like a lifeline, a reminder of the stability I had fought so hard to secure.The silent jazz serenading us seemed almost too pitiful, the melancholy notes weaving through the air like whispered regrets. Each buzz from my phone sent tremors through my
JacobTen years. It felt like an eternity.Never thought I'd lay eyes on him again. I had convinced myself it was a good thing, that those years had brought peace. A fresh start in a new town, a job that paid the bills, and Nathan… steady, kind Nathan… who made me feel safe in a way I hadn’t known was possible. I had built a life that didn’t involve looking over my shoulder every minute of every fucking day, waiting for the past to catch up. The nightmares, once deafening, had faded to mere whispers. But then, on a typical day, class and then hanging around before work.The sun shone so brightly, as I leaned against the wall outside the hall, lost in my phone, scrolling through texts and replying to Nathan’s messages. Nathan had texted that he’d meet me in school, so he could take me to the pub, and I was waiting for him. “Need to quickly grab something at the store”, he’d texted. I’d smiled, typing a text to send to him, lost in my music, oblivious to the world outside my lit