Chapter Three

Yubi.

The next morning was calm, things felt like they could work out between us. 

I thought I could handle being around Trey during the day. I thought, maybe, I could pretend to be normal when the sun was up and everyone else was around. 

But reality had a way of shattering those illusions.

It started with the car ride. My mom had asked me to run a quick errand, just a grocery pickup and, of course, Trey had offered to drive. I didn’t exactly refuse. Being trapped in a car with him, in that tight space, was the kind of punishment that made my pulse race and my palms sweat.

We sat side by side, the silence heavy. The engine hummed beneath us, but it did nothing to drown out the tension that wrapped around us like a vice. 

I kept my hands folded in my lap, my eyes fixed on the passing scenery, hoping he wouldn’t notice how badly my body betrayed me with every glance in his direction.

But of course, he did notice.

At one point, his elbow brushed mine, just a casual, accidental touch, I told myself but the electricity that shot up my arm said otherwise. My chest tightened, and I swallowed, trying not to shiver.

“You are quiet,” he finally said, hisbeyes on the road but with that intense focus that made me feel like I was under a microscope. “Something on your mind?”

I shook my head. “No, just thinking.” My voice sounded smaller than I intended.

“You are lying,” he said softly, not accusatory, just aware.

I felt heat rush to my cheeks. “I’m not,” I whispered, but my voice wavered. I didn’t trust it. I couldn’t.

He glanced at me then, and I nearly panicked. There was something in his eyes, vulnerability mixed with desire and it made my stomach twist in ways I didn’t want to admit. “Yubi” he murmured, almost too softly.

I kept looking forward, pretending the passing trees were more interesting than the dark storm brewing between us. But then, his hand moved. Not on purpose, he said later, but it brushed my thigh. Just a fleeting touch.

And I nearly lost it.

I shifted slightly, my heart hammering. He didn’t pull away immediately, though his hand hovered, frozen as if waiting for permission I couldn’t give. I swallowed, trying to steady my trembling, trying to convince myself that this was nothing.

“It’s fine,” I muttered, but it was a lie. Every nerve in my body was screaming. “Just, just drive.”

He exhaled sharply, a mixture of frustration and desire in the sound. “You are shaking,” he murmured. “Is it me?”

I froze, heart stopping. “No,” I whispered, though my racing pulse and burning cheeks said otherwise.

“Yubi” His voice softened, almost pained. “Why do you look like you want me to touch you, even when you say you don’t?”

I swallowed hard. I didn’t answer. Couldn’t answer. Words would betray me, and God knew I already felt guilty enough for the thoughts running through my head.

The rest of the drive was a war of subtle glances, accidental touches, and the tension that hovered like a storm ready to break. 

My mind replayed the kiss over and over, his accidental touch, the memory hotter than the August sun outside. 

Every time his hand moved near mine, my body betrayed me, and every time I tried to act normal, my pulse gave me away.

By the time we arrived at the grocery store, I was trembling. I jumped out of the car, grabbing my bag like it was a shield. “Thanks,” I muttered, avoiding his eyes.

Trey didn’t move immediately. He stayed seated for a moment, gripping the steering wheel, his jaw tight. I saw the conflict in him even from a distance, the struggle between restraint and desire.

“See you inside,” I whispered, moving toward the entrance.

And then, almost too late, I felt him brush past me. Not violently, not intentionally, but it was close enough that my stomach did flips and my breath hitched. I had to lean against the cart to steady myself, hands shaking.

Inside, I tried to focus on the list my mom had texted me. Apples, bread, milk. Simple things. But I couldn’t think. All I could feel was him. The heat of him. The memory of the kiss. The brush of his hand. And the delicious, forbidden thought of what could happen if we, if we gave in to our desires.

I caught a glimpse of him a few aisles over, pretending to look at cereal, but I knew he was watching me. Always watching me. And I hated myself a little for liking it. Hated myself a lot for it.

By the time we finished, my legs were trembling, my palms clammy, my chest tight. I wanted to escape back to my room, to put some distance between us. 

But as we walked to the car, he slipped his hand into the small of my back. Just a light touch, protective, he said later, but it sent sparks shooting through me that I couldn’t ignore.

“Don’t” I whispered, breathless, my heart hammering. “Don’t make this worse.”

He didn’t answer immediately. Only his thumb brushed lightly over my spine, a faint, torturous caress. “I’m trying not to,” he said finally, voice low, husky. “But it’s impossible.”

I was about to say something to him, to tell him I was also struggling when I heard her voice. 

Kiara, the woman who had been rumored to be dating him. She was beautiful, she had the perfect body and she looked like a princess, I always envied her, how flirting always came so easy to her, and how all men seemed to be drawn to her. 

"Babe, I thought that was you." she said in that high pitched voice of hers, and threw her arms around Trey's neck, then went ahead to kiss her, passionately. And he kissed her back and my heart sank with jealousy. 

A few minutes later, Trey turned around, his hand still around her waist, 

"Kiara, meet Yubi, my step sister, yubi, you know Kiara." he said, his eyes meeting mine, "Our parents just got married." he added. 

Kiara just glanced at me for what felt like a second and she went back to chanting to her boyfriend, my step brother. 

I don't know how long We stood there, me just standing there like an idiot while Kiara chanted to Trey about some party tonight. 

When we finally got back in the car, the silence was too loud, and I preferred it that way. We didn't speak to each other and I just wanted to get home and go to my room.