STORY 1- CHAPTER 5

Kai's voice cracked, raw and frayed with panic laced by a deeper, more dangerous edge.

The next blow landed like thunder. The doorframe splintered with a grotesque crack, wood shrieking in protest as it yielded. He shoved the door open, rushing inside like a storm.

He froze on the threshold.

"Fuck... Isla," he rasped, the words splintering. His gaze devoured me, tracing the tear-streaked ruin of my face, then lingering on the jagged, fiercely sexy pixie cut that had transformed me into someone sharper, bolder, untouchable. His hand lifted, trembling with the urge to brush those uneven strands, before he clenched it into a white-knuckled fist at his side, restraining himself.

"W–what did you do?"

I shrugged, the movement shaky but defiant. "Cut it. Needed something to change. Needed to stop being the girl everyone walks away from."

Kai stepped closer, the broken door hanging crooked behind him. The room felt suddenly too small.

"You're drunk. We need to talk about what happened—"

"You kissed me back," I whispered with a hoarse and accusing voice.

Kai's jaw clenched so hard I heard it. His gaze dropped to my mouth, then lower, lingering on the way my tank top clung to my tight nipples.

"I did. And I've been losing my mind over it ever since."

Heat flooded my core despite everything. I was still soaked, body betraying me even as my heart screamed. But when he reached for my waist, the hurt exploded.

"No!" I screamed, shoving hard against his chest. My palms hit solid muscle. He stumbled back a step and his eyes wide with shock. "Don't touch me! You always push me away, Kai! Every fucking time I get close!"

Tears burned hot down my cheeks. I shoved him again, voice rising into a raw, broken scream that echoed off the walls. "I'm done waiting! Get out! Get the hell out!"

"Isla, please—"

"GET OUT!"

He froze, pain and guilt twisting his perfect face, but he backed toward the ruined doorway. "I'm sorry... fuck, I'm so sorry."

The broken door clicked as best it could behind him.

I collapsed onto my bed, sobbing into the pillow until the alcohol finally pulled me under, the taste of his forbidden kiss still burning on my lips.

***

I woke up with a pounding headache and a brand new reflection staring back at me. The jagged pixie cut looked wild and sexy, short, messy, framing my face with sharp edges that screamed changed.

I added smoky eyeliner, glossy lips, a tight crop top that showed off my toned stomach, and low-rise jeans that hugged every curve. No more soft, sweet Isla. No more nice girl who waited to be chosen.

On campus, heads turned. Whispers followed. Guys who'd never glanced twice now stared openly. I didn't smile politely or look away. I walked like the ground belonged to me.

I stopped being nice.

When a girl from lit class tried dumping her drama on me, I cut her off cold: "Not my problem." Ryan's pleading texts? Blocked instantly.

Kai and I didn't speak. Not one word. He sat across the breakfast table, eyes burning holes into my new haircut and the confidence radiating off me, jaw tight. The tension was suffocating, but I didn't care.

I needed air after the heavy morning. The chaotic energy of campus was already pressing in, but I pushed through it anyway: slamming lockers, roaring laughter, and blaring music filling the halls as I made my way to the park. My mind was still dizzy from everything, the sting of last night's rejection and this morning's silent war with Kai still fresh.

I was jamming the last of my books into my bag when Natalie's shrill voice ripped through it all like a knife.

"Whoa! Look who's here? Your pathetic ex, Ryan!"

She leaned against the lockers like she owned the damn place, flipping her long blonde hair with that vicious smirk.

Her squad cackled behind her. Natalie had been my rival since freshman year. It feels like she's always trying to bring me down. And now she was parading my cheating ex like he was her greatest prize.y

Ryan stood a few feet away, backpack dangling off one shoulder. But when his eyes locked on me, his whole expression changed. His stare dragged hungrily over my jagged pixie cut, then down my body over the tight crop top straining against my boobs and the low jeans hugging my hips and ass. He swallowed hard, I could see it. His cheeks were flushing.

Poor Ryan. The safe, long-haired Isla he used to take for granted was gone. This new version of me looked fierce. Dangerous. And seriously fuckable... at least to him.

Natalie caught him staring and her face twisted with rage. I really love that scene for real.

"You deaf?" She shouted again. And I only smirked.

"Really, Natalie?" I hissed back. I really didn't want to create any scene this morning but that bitch wouldn't let me pass by.

"New hair, huh? But your pathetic energy is still there." She drew circles in the air with her finger and everyone started to laugh as if I was their new amusement. Yet I only shrugged my shoulders.

"You're still riding my sloppy seconds for attention? Must suck knowing he only picked you because I was way out of his league!"

Natalie growled and stormed right up to me with her blazing eyes. "Excuse me? You delusional bitch! You think that ugly chopped hair and those cheap whore clothes make you hot now? Newsflash! You're still the same pathetic boring loser who couldn't keep her man! I'm the upgrade. At least I know how to fuck him right!"

Her friends howled with laughter. I wasn't even impressed with her move. Same old bitch who was jealous of me with the same drama she always brings as if becoming fatherless made me less worthy. She didn't even know the whole truth that I have a step-father and clearly a hot step-brother yet I really don't want to mention.

I rolled my eyes hard and stepped even closer, voice dripping with attitude. "Shut the fuck up, Natalie. You're really out here embarrassing yourself for a guy who couldn't even stay loyal? Girl, have some self-respect. The only pathetic one here is you still chasing my leftovers like they're a prize."