SageAdrian’s words made the whole room go still, I turned my head towards him just to see him knocking back his second glass of wine.“I wouldn’t mind joining your little trio sometime,” he said casually, eyes dancing across the table, lingering a little too long on Kaiden, then me. “You’re all so… magnetic.”It was a joke, maybe. Maybe not. He said it with a smirk that indicates that he was just joking around. I laughed, because what else was I supposed to do?But Kaiden didn’t.His jaw tensed. And then, without a word, he pushed his chair back, rising to his full height with that sharp-edged grace only he had when he was pissed but trying to play it cool.“Adrian doesn’t know his place,” he said simply, voice smooth as velvet and just as dangerous. His eyes flicked toward Professor, who remained still, watching him. Unreadable, like always.Then Kaiden turned and walked toward him.He didn’t hesitate or look around to see if anyone was watching him. He climbed into Professor’s lap
RiverThe mind is a curious thing, you juggle things you had no idea you were capable of juggling.I thought I could move on from things but I found myself sifting through today. I wasn’t the type to let things get under it. Not really. Not things like gossip or self-righteous deans spouting morality with wine-stained lips and trembling egos. But after I left her office that morning, I found my thoughts curiously unsettled, looping over her words like a scratched record.It wasn’t guilt. I felt none. I’d lived too long and seen too much to let moralistic shadows determine the truth. Still, I found myself sitting at my desk, staring out the window at the slow drift of clouds, my phone resting in my palm like a question I didn’t want to ask aloud.I called Kaiden.It rang twice before he picked up.“Professor?” His voice was light, familiar. “You’re alive?”“I am,” I said, leaning back. “Unfortunately for many.”He laughed softly. “That sounded vaguely threatening.”“Everything I say i
RiverWhen he disappeared behind those doors, thats when the breath escaped me. I meant what I said, I would take care of him. He doesn't need to work when he had the both of us.It was about time I quit this school. It was difficult trying to keep it together here.The world saw me as composed person bit what they didn't know is that I was almost at the verge of loosing my mind going over the notes, the things that we have been through stuck in my memory like a bad cancer.“Professor River,” the assistant at the reception desk called, her tone clipped. “Dean Vasquez would like to see you. Immediately.”I raised an eyebrow. “Is that so?”She nodded, nervously glancing at my eyes but unable to meet them. I gave a polite smile—tight, and proceeded down the hallway.The dean's office door stood ajar. I knocked once before stepping in.Dean Vasquez, a formidable woman with silver-streaked hair and a jaw sharp enough to draw blood stood behind her desk, arms folded. She wore her authority
RiverI returned to the room after finishing up in the study, the weight of his words still pressing against my spine. The soft click of the door behind me felt unusually loud in the silence of the space. Moonlight spilled through the slightly parted curtains, painting soft silver lines across the bed. Sage was fast asleep, curled beneath the sheets, breathing evenly. For a moment, just a fleeting moment, peace reigned.Kaiden was sitting by the edge of the bed, shirtless, wearing only a pair of gray sweatpants. His back was turned toward me, and the muscles along his shoulders shifted slightly as he turned his head, sensing my presence.“What did he say?” His voice was low, but alert. Always alert.I moved to the armchair across from the bed and sat down, loosening the cuffs of my shirt. “I only told him about the guy you nearly beat to death.”He smirked, unapologetic. “Nearly?”“Don’t get cocky.”He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. “And?”I exhaled slowly, studying him.
KaidenMy head buzzed with everything we’d just uncovered: the kid who had taken Sage, the whispered deaths surrounding Desmond, and the growing sense that someone close, too close was at the root of it all.I poured a glass of water in the kitchen and downed it in one go. My throat was parched, and for once, I didn’t know if it was from the heat or the rage. I felt like something coiled was tightening inside me.Sage came out of the bathroom with a towel over his head, water dripping from his damp hair onto the floor. He looked at both of us—me by the kitchen island, Professor standing by the window, arms crossed, gaze locked on something far beyond the glass—and immediately tensed.He pulled the towel off his head and let it rest on his shoulders. “What’s going on?”Professor didn’t answer.Sage walked closer, eyes narrowing. “Don’t do that. Don’t keep me in the dark. I’m already in this, whatever this is. You don’t get to shut me out now.”I leaned against the counter, arms folded
Kaiden It was only when we were halfway back to the car that I realized my hand was still bleeding. I hadn’t felt the pain— ust the contact. The skin across my knuckles was torn, some of it clinging to the inside of my rings. My body always remembered how to hit harder than it should. Old habits. I didn't think before jumping on him. The second I knew it was the same guy who took Sage, I lost it. My protective instincts roared inside me till it overpowered logic. Professor drove in silence for the first few minutes. His fingers were tight around the wheel, eyes straight ahead, but I knew his mind was moving a mile a minute. “That kid,” I muttered, flexing my fingers, “he’s lucky I didn’t kill him.” “You almost did,” he said without looking at me. I didn’t regret it. Not even a little. Sage chirped from the backseat, “Kaiden, you have to be careful with your actions. You are now in the spotlight and you shouldn't be doing such.” “I am sorry, I wasn't thinking at th