CHAPTER 6: Storm Before the Fall

CHAPTER 6: Storm Before the Fall

“You need to eat.”

Kai looked at the full plate. He had been inside for three days. Mr. Ashford was always watching.

“I’m not hungry.”

“Eat.” Mr. Ashford sat across from him. “Now.”

“Stop talking to me like I’m a dog.”

The words came out sharp. Weeks of pressure were boiling over.

Mr. Ashford’s face was blank. “Be careful.”

“Or what? You’ll lock me in my room?” Kai pushed the plate away. “I can’t breathe here. You’re smothering me.”

“I’m keeping you safe.”

“This isn’t safe! It’s a prison!” Kai stood up, his chair scraping loudly. “You control everything I do. What I wear. Where I go. I’m trapped.”

“You’re alive.”

“I’m going crazy!”

Silence fell. Heavy and dangerous.

Mr. Ashford stood up slowly. He walked around the table. Each step was careful. Controlled.

Kai wanted to run, but his feet were stuck to the floor.

“You think I want this?” Mr. Ashford’s voice was low and tight. “You think I like being like this?”

“Then stop.”

“I can’t.” Mr. Ashford’s hand shot out and gripped Kai’s chin, forcing him to look up. “Do you know what it’s like? Watching you sleep, knowing someone wants to kill you? Checking my phone every minute, scared of another threat?”

Kai’s breath caught.

“You’ve become my weakness,” Mr. Ashford said. His grip tightened. “I hate weakness. I’ve spent my life getting rid of it. But you…” His eyes searched Kai’s face. “You’ve ruined all of that.”

“Let me go.”

“No.”

“You’re hurting me.”

Mr. Ashford released him immediately. He took a step back, his hands curling into fists.

“I had a student once,” he said. “Before here. Before Victoria. A boy who was like me. Broken. Angry. Smart.”

Kai froze. Mr. Ashford never talked about his past.

“I tried to help him. I taught him. I believed in him.” Mr. Ashford’s voice cracked. “Then one day, he wasn’t in class. Or the next day. Or the day after.”

“What happened?”

“His stepfather beat him to death.” Mr. Ashford’s eyes went distant. “Because I taught him to be strong. To stand up for himself. And his stepfather didn’t like that.”

Kai couldn’t breathe.

“I promised I would never get close to anyone again,” Mr. Ashford said. “Never care. Never try to help. Then you walked into my classroom. You looked so fragile. And I saw him. I saw the boy I couldn’t save.”

“So that’s what I am?” Kai’s voice shook. “A replacement? A way to fix your mistake?”

“You are so much more than that.” Mr. Ashford moved closer. “And that terrifies me.”

Thunder rumbled outside. Rain began to tap against the windows.

Kai’s phone buzzed on the table.

They both looked at it.

Unknown number.

Mr. Ashford grabbed it. He read the message. His face went pale.

“What does it say?”

“We’re leaving. Now.” Mr. Ashford pulled Kai toward the door.

“Tell me!”

Mr. Ashford stopped and showed him the screen.

We have your uncle. Come alone or he dies.

Kai’s world spun.

“My uncle?”

“It’s a trap.” Mr. Ashford was already calling someone. “They don’t have him. They want you to come out.”

“You don’t know that!”

“He’s the only family I have left!” Kai pulled away. “I have to go.”

“No.”

“You can’t stop me.”

“Watch me.”

Mr. Ashford moved quickly, blocking the door. His face was hard.

“If you walk out that door, you will die. That is not an option.”

“Then come with me.”

“That’s what they want. Both of us, outside and vulnerable.” Mr. Ashford’s phone rang. He answered. “Talk to me.”

A pause.

“You’re sure? Good. Keep watching him.”

He hung up.

“Your uncle is at a bar. He’s drunk. He’s safe.” Mr. Ashford’s eyes locked on Kai’s. “This was a test. To see if you would run.”

Relief washed over Kai, followed by anger.

“How did you—”

“I’ve had people watching him since the first threat.” Mr. Ashford stepped closer. “I’ve had people watching everyone you know. Anyone who could be used to hurt you.”

“That’s crazy.”

“That’s how we survive.”

Kai let out a broken laugh.

“You’re obsessed.”

“Yes.”

“You’re controlling.”

“Yes.”

“You’ve taken over my whole life.”

“Yes.” Mr. Ashford raised his hand and cupped Kai’s cheek. “And I would take more, if it kept you safe.”

Kai’s legs gave out. He sank to the floor. The fear, the stress, the confusion—it was too much.

He started to cry. He couldn’t stop.

Mr. Ashford knelt and pulled him close. It wasn’t a grip of control. It was just warmth.

“I can’t do this,” Kai sobbed into his shirt. “I’m not strong enough.”

“You are.” Mr. Ashford’s hand stroked his hair. “You’ve survived things that would break most people. You just don’t see it yet.”

“I’m so tired.”

“I know.”

They stayed on the floor as the rain beat down and the thunder shook the windows.

Kai’s phone buzzed again.

Mr. Ashford grabbed it. He read the message and went very still.

“What is it?”

Mr. Ashford didn’t speak. He just handed the phone to Kai.

Ask James about August 3rd, 2019. Ask him why he really chose you.

Kai looked up. “What does that mean?”

Mr. Ashford’s face was a mask. “Nothing. They’re trying to make you doubt me.”

“Then tell me what happened on August 3rd, 2019.”

“Kai—”

“Tell me!”

Mr. Ashford walked to the window. He looked out at the storm.

“That was the day your parents died,” he said quietly.

Kai’s blood ran cold.

“The car accident. I was the first one there.” Mr. Ashford’s reflection looked haunted. “I was driving home. I saw the crash. I called for help. I stayed until the ambulance came.”

“You… you were there?”

“I pulled you from the car.” Mr. Ashford turned. “You were eight years old. You were bleeding. And I thought of my student. The one I couldn’t save. I promised myself that if you lived, I would give you a real life.”

Kai couldn’t breathe. The air was gone.

“I followed you through social services. I watched you move from home to home. I saw you struggling. When I took this job, I made sure you were in my school.” Mr. Ashford’s eyes met his. “I’ve been watching you for eight years, Kai. Waiting for the right time to step in.”

“That’s… that’s not helping. That’s stalking.”

“Call it what you want. It doesn’t change the truth.” Mr. Ashford moved toward him. “You were always going to be mine. From the moment I pulled you from that car.”

“You’re insane.”

“Maybe.” Mr. Ashford stopped in front of him. “But I’m the only thing keeping you alive.”

Kai stepped back toward the door. His hand found the knob.

“Where are you going?”

Kai pulled the door open. The hall was dark. The door to the balcony was open, the rain blowing in. “I need… I need to think.”

“Kai, don’t—”

But Kai was already running—out the door, down the hall, toward the stairs.

He burst outside into the rain. It soaked him instantly. The cold was a shock.

He heard footsteps behind him. Fast ones.

Mr. Ashford grabbed his arm and spun him around.

They stood in the pouring rain. One breathing hard, the other panting.

“If you run, you’ll die,” Mr. Ashford said, his voice rough. “It’s not just Marcus. There are other people. They want to use you to get to me. But if you stay, you’ll be safe. Your life will never be the same. But you’ll be mine.”

Thunder crashed above them.

Kai’s heart pounded. Not just from fear. From something else. A dark pull deep inside.

“Why me?” Kai’s voice broke. “Why did you choose me?”

Mr. Ashford pulled him close. His hands were tight, almost desperate.

“Because when I saw you in that car, I saw myself,” he said. “Lost. Alone. Needing someone to care. And I haven’t been able to let you go since.”

His lips were close to Kai’s. Almost touching. Waiting.

“Choose,” Mr. Ashford whispered. “Run or stay. But choose now.”

Kai was shaking—from the cold, from the fear, from the want.

A car turned the corner. Its headlights were bright, blinding them.

The car sped up, heading right for them.

Mr. Ashford’s eyes widened. “Get down!”

He shoved Kai to the ground and turned.

The car swerved and stopped right in front of Mr. Ashford.

The driver’s window rolled down.

Victoria smiled. “Hello, James. Miss me?”