LOGINLEON'S POVThe hallway was buzzing with the noise of chattering students as I quietly stood in front of the vending machine, mindlessly tapping my fingers against the glass as I debated between a sparkling water and a soda.My head was still spinning from my last encounter with Damian the day before. And I hadn't seen Aaron all day, which for some reason, was affecting my mood.Maybe I'd just gotten used to him bothering me everyday.But at least Rose wasn't with me, which meant there were no unnecessary added attentions being drawn.âYou should get the new strawberry soda, it's amazing.âI turned my head to see May standing behind me, grinning.âHi Miss pretty,â I murmured, smiling back at her.She blushed, ducking her head. âWhat's up, Leon?âI shrugged, ânothing major, just trying to get through senior year and also decide on what to drink. Thanks by the way, I'm trying the soda.âShe nodded, adjusting her glasses. âUm, I'm having this little picnic thing with my cousins on Saturda
DAMIAN'S POVMy words lodged in my throat, unable to let me bring them out.Then I shrugged my shoulders and sighed as I sat down.âAgain, I told you, I simply approached him because I was curious.ââUh huh,â Dakota cooed, nodding her head slowly even though I could see the disbelief shining in her round, hazel eyes.âWhat?â I blurted out.And she exhaled a laugh that made a few strands of her bangs flutter upwards.âNothing,â she shook her head. âJust trying to digest the bullshit you're feeding me right now, Damian.âI threw my hands up in frustration as I grunted, dang she still knew how to piss me off.She was always like that even when we were children.âSeriously I feel like I'm being rage-baited by you, Dakota.ââYou wish,â she sneered, eyeing me with mild disdain. âAnyways, back to what you were saying. You say you only talked to this guy because you were curious?âI rolled my lips, staring off into the distance as I inwardly debated whether to keep talking and responding to h
DAMIAN'S POVâFuck!â I cussed, tapping the screen of my tablet harder just before I was completely eliminated from the game.âFuck it!â I snapped again, barely able to hold back from tossing the still glowing gadget.On a whim, I swiped off the tab and opened the reading app I'd downloaded three days ago.Then I clicked it open, swiped until I saw what I was looking for, then I tapped and began to read.I felt the stark white light of the document on my face, the cursor blinking at me like a taunting heartbeat. I had already read it three times now. Once for shock, once for analysis, and a third time because, much to my growing annoyance, I couldn't seem to stop thinking about the story.âOkay, spill. Youâre being weird, Damian and it's making me uncomfortable watching you, â Dakota taunted, tossing a throw pillow at me from the other end of the couch.âStop it, Dakota,â I replied grimly. âAlso you don't have to watch me, just leave or close your eyes.ââOh please,â Dakota rolled her
LEON'S POVThe library was my favourite sanctuary.As usual, it was speckled with dust motes and muffled silence. It was the only place where I could truly breathe.I sat in my usual secluded corner at the back, the screen of my laptop casting a pale, bluish glow against my face as my fingers rapidly danced over the keyboard.I was deep in the vibe of the story, in the way the words flowed, the descriptions of skin and desireâŚthings that Iâd never actually dared to speak aloud.âI knew I'd find you here.âThe voice came out of nowhere just as a shadow stretched across my keyboard.I slammed the lid of my laptop shut so fast my heart skipped a beat, my blood turning to ice. I looked up, prepared to stammer out some excuse about homework or notes, only to find Damian standing there.He wasn't wearing his usual unreadable expression, and he wasn't surrounded by his group of tittering minions. He also looked different in the soft, amber light of the library, more human, almost approachabl
LEON'S POVI didn't move.Not back, not forward, just stood in my doorway in yesterday's clothes at seven thirty in the morning and looked at Reid Calloway on my porch and breathed.The manila envelope was under his left arm, casual, like he'd just picked up mail on his way over. His expression was exactly the same as the libraryâpatient, warm enough to read as friendly if you didn't know what you were looking at.My phone was upstairs.Aaron was across town.It was just me and a door I'd already opened and a person I hadn't invited here."How do you know where I live," I said. My voice came out even, which surprised me slightly."You'd be amazed what's publicly available," Reid said. "Voter registration. Utility records. Nothing nefarious." He said *nefarious* like it was a word he found slightly amusing. "Can I come in?""No."He nodded, unsurprised. "Okay. We can do this out here." He shifted the envelope from under his arm, held it at his side but didn't open it. "I want you to un
LEON'S POVNobody answered or at least not immediately.Which was fine. Some questions needed a moment before anyone should try to answer them, and what do we do about a person who has two years of private letters and a burner phone collection and apparently nothing but time* was one of those questions.I wrapped both hands around my coffee cup and thought.Aaron was doing the sameâI could see it, the inward focus, the way he went quiet when he was actually working through something rather than performing composure. Marlowe was watching both of us with the patience of someone who'd learned to wait."What's in the letters that he'd actually use," I said finally. "Specifically. Not everythingâjust the thing he'd lead with."Marlowe looked at the table for a moment. "There's a sectionâ" he stopped, recalibrated. "About six months in. I was in a bad place. Notâ" he glanced at me briefly, then Aaron, "ânot dangerous. Just low. The kind of low that's hard to write about without it sounding
AARON'S POV I leaned back against the headboard, letting Jessie crawl over me. She was a divorcee and also one of my auntâs âbook clubâ friends, the kind of woman who spent her afternoons drinking chardonnay and her nights looking for something to make her feel dangerous, preferably from guys way y
LEON'S POV At the mention of Damianâs name, it was like a spark in a gas-filled room. Aaronâs expression shifted, his jaw tightening as he straightened to his full height. He loomed over me, the sheer hyper-masculinity of his frame making me feel small, hot, and a little scared. âReally?â he taunt
LEON'S POV The starch in my Sunday shirt felt like a noose, chafing against my neck as I climbed the stairs. Downstairs, the muffled sound of my parents discussing the service, echoed through the hallway. I felt like a fraud. My skin still felt sensitive from the morningâs sermon, my conscience br
LEON'S POV I sat at my desk, my Calculus textbook open to a page I hadnât read in twenty minutes. Nor had I touched the homework either. Coupled with these, I still had to get ready to talk to the dozen judgemental pre-teens that I was giving piano lessons to. A task my dad had volunteered me up f







