LOGINTara's POV
The next morning, I woke up with the memory of last night still replaying in my head like a broken record. Each time I remembered pushing the twins away, I felt a stab of satisfaction. But then I'd remember the hurt look on my mum's face when I told her to use the twins as her children, and my stomach would twist with guilt.
I hated that I had talked to my mum like that. The words had come out harsher than I'd intended, but what I hated even more was that she believed the twins' fake care. The way they had just sat there watching me choke, their faces blank with indifference, only springing into action when they heard her footsteps, it made my blood boil every time I thought about it.
I got ready for school mechanically, each movement feeling heavy w
Xavier’s POVThe moment the hotel room door slammed shut behind Tara, something inside me snapped.I grabbed the nearest thing I could find, a lamp on the bedside table and hurled it across the room. It shattered against the wall with a satisfying crash, but it didn’t make me feel any better.I swept everything off the desk in one violent motion. My hands found the chair, and I lifted it, smashing it against the ground over and over until one of the legs broke off. The sound of destruction filled the room, but it couldn’t drown out the memory of Tara’s face when she’d ripped off my mask.The betrayal in her eyes. The hurt. The anger.“I’ve lost her,” I said to the empty room, my voice breaking. “I’ve lost her forever.”I sank onto the edge of the bed, my head in my hands, trying to breathe through the pain crushing my chest. But then the anger surged back, hot and vicious.This was Jane’s fault.If Jane hadn’t followed me here, if she hadn’t called Tara over and over, if she hadn’t g
Tara’s POVMy mind was spinning, trying to make sense of what Jane had just said. Room 247. That was this room. The room I was in right now with Jake.But that couldn’t be right. Jane must have made a mistake. She must have gotten the wrong room number.“Jane,” I said, my voice shaking slightly. “What room number did you say?”“247,” Jane repeated clearly. “I saw Xavier go into room 247. Tara, I’m not making this up. I followed him here because I needed to talk to him, and I saw him go into that exact room.”I looked around the hotel room, my eyes landing on the number on the back of the door. 247.My heart started pounding harder. This had to be a coincidence. It had to be.“Okay, so Xavier is in this hotel,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “That doesn’t mean anything. Maybe he’s in a different room on a different floor. Maybe you saw the number wrong.”“I didn’t see it wrong,” Jane insisted. “Tara, I can even describe what he’s wearing. A black jacket, dark jeans, and…..”Th
Xavier’s POVI felt my jaw clench with irritation as Tara’s phone rang again. Jane had been calling all evening, over and over, completely disregarding the fact that Tara clearly didn’t want to talk. Who did that? Who kept calling someone repeatedly when they obviously weren’t answering?The selfishness of it made my blood boil. Couldn’t Jane understand that Tara had a life outside of their friendship? That maybe, just maybe, Tara was busy with something important?Like being here with me.But then Tara answered, and I tried to push down my annoyance. At least now Jane would say whatever she needed to say and leave us alone.“Jane, this better be important. Do you know what time it is?” Tara said, her voice sharp with irritation that mirrored my own feelings.I couldn’t hear what Jane was saying on the other end, just the muffled sound of her voice through the phone. Tara was sitting up now, the sheet wrapped around her, and I could see her expression changing as she listened.“What a
Tara’s POVJake was still trying to explain why he was wearing the mask, his words coming out in a rush like he was afraid I’d walk away before he finished. But I couldn’t focus on what he was saying. My mind was too full of everything that had happened today: Sarah in the hospital, Tony’s kiss, the guilt sitting heavy in my chest.“Jake,” I said, reaching out and gently tapping his arm to stop him mid-sentence. “It’s okay. You don’t have to explain right now.”He looked surprised, his eyes visible through the mask showing confusion. “Are you sure? I thought you’d want to know why I….”“I’m sure,” I interrupted softly. “Can we just… have dinner? I’ve had a really long day and I just want to be with you. We can talk about the mask later.”Jake studied my face for a moment, and I could tell he was trying to figure out if I was really okay or just pretending. Finally, he nodded. “Okay. Let’s get dinner then.”We made our way to the hotel restaurant, and Jake had apparently already made a
Tara’s POVI sat in the back of the cab, my mind spinning in circles as I stared out the window without really seeing anything. My fingers kept touching my lips, still feeling the ghost of Tony’s kiss there.What had I just done? Why had I kissed him back?The guilt crashed over me in waves, mixing with confusion and shame. I was on my way to meet Jake, Jake, and now I’d just kissed someone else hours before our meeting.I should have insisted that Jasper come with me to Tony’s place. If Jasper had been there, none of this would have happened. Tony wouldn’t have kissed me, and I wouldn’t have this awful guilt sitting heavy in my chest.But I’d respected Jasper’s boundaries when he said he didn’t want to come. I’d gone alone. And now everything was a mess.I was so lost in my spiraling thoughts that I didn’t even realize we were pulling up to my house until the driver’s voice snapped me out of it.“Miss? We’re here,” he said, glancing at me in the rearview mirror with concern. “Are you
Tara’s POVI walked out of the hospital with Jasper beside me, my legs feeling shaky and my emotions completely raw. Everything that had just happened with Sarah and her mother had left me feeling drained and overwhelmed.“That was intense,” I said quietly as we stepped out into the late afternoon sunlight.“You did a good job in there,” Jasper said, his voice warm with approval. “Standing up to Sarah’s mother like that. Not many people would have had the courage to do what you did.”“I just couldn’t watch her treat Sarah that way,” I said, my voice still thick with emotion. “She needed someone to tell her the truth.”“And you did,” Jasper confirmed. “I think your words really got through to her. Did you see how guilty she looked?”“I hope so,” I said. “Sarah deserves better.”We walked in silence for a moment before I glanced at my phone and realized how much time had passed. It was already early evening.“Oh no,” I said, stopping in my tracks. “I completely lost track of time. I sti







