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Chapter 8
Tanggal publikasi:
2026-02-28 00:36:53
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The Rogue Next Door Chapter 113
ColeThe ride back to campus is the quietest drive I’ve ever taken.Maya sits in the passenger seat with both hands wrapped around a paper cup of coffee we picked up at a gas station somewhere along the highway. She hasn’t taken a single sip. I don’t think she even realizes she’s still holding it.She hasn’t cried since we left her father’s apartment.Somehow…That worries me more.People think tears are the breaking point.They aren’t.Silence is.Silence is what comes after you’ve cried so much there’s nothing left.The truck hums beneath us as miles of highway disappear under the tires. The radio plays low enough that I can’t make out the words, and neither of us makes any move to turn it up.Every few minutes I glance over.Every few minutes I ask myself the same question.Should I say something?Every time, the answer is no.Because what do you say to someone whose entire childhood just shifted beneath their feet?How do you comfort someone who discovered that the mother they ido
The Rogue Next Door Chapter 112
MayaI don’t want to go back inside that apartment.I spent half my childhood trying to escape it.Now I’m standing outside staring at the open front door, wishing I could somehow turn around and pretend none of this is happening.But the sheriff’s deputy is still waiting.The movers have slowed down, giving us space without really giving us privacy.And somewhere inside that apartment are the certified letters my father has been pretending didn’t exist.I wipe the last of my tears away before looking at him.“Dad.”He still won’t meet my eyes.“What are the letters?”Silence.“Dad.”His shoulders sag even farther.“I was hoping you’d never have to know.”A knot tightens in my stomach.“Know what?”He rubs both hands over his face, looking older than I’ve ever seen him.“Please,” he whispers.“Not here.”I glance toward the deputy.He gives us a sympathetic nod before stepping farther down the hallway, giving us as much privacy as he can.Cole’s hand brushes mine.Just enough to remin
The Rogue Next Door Chapter 111
ColeThe closer we get to Maya’s dad’s apartment, the quieter she becomes.She hasn’t said more than a dozen words since we left my house.She just sits in the passenger seat wearing my hoodie, twisting the sleeves around her fingers so tightly I’m surprised the fabric hasn’t torn.Every few minutes she looks down at her phone, hoping for another message.There isn’t one.I keep glancing over at her whenever we stop at a light.She’s pale.Too pale.Like she’s trying to prepare herself for something she already knows is going to hurt.“You okay?” I ask softly.She lets out a humorless laugh.“That’s becoming everyone’s favorite question.”“I know.”She turns toward the window again.“I don’t know how to answer it anymore.”Neither do I.I reach across the center console and lace my fingers through hers.She squeezes my hand immediately.Not hard.Just enough to remind herself I’m here.We drive another fifteen minutes before my GPS announces we’ve arrived.The apartment complex isn’t
The Rogue Next Door Chapter 110
MayaI don’t move.I can’t.The words stay frozen on my phone screen while my brain stubbornly refuses to understand them.They came this morning. Everything’s gone.Everything.What does that even mean?Furniture?Clothes?Pictures?The apartment?My childhood?The room suddenly feels too small.Too warm.I can hear my own heartbeat pounding inside my ears.Cole says my name quietly, but it sounds far away.“Maya.”I blink once.Then twice.Nothing changes.My father’s text is still there.Everything’s gone.“I have to go.”The words leave my mouth automatically.Like breathing.Like instinct.I start climbing off the bed before I even realize I’m moving.I need my shoes.My purse.My keys.I need to get to my dad.I need to…I don’t even know what I need.I just know I can’t sit here.“I’m going with you.”Cole’s voice is calm.Steady.Certain.I shake my head immediately.“No.”“Maya.”“No.”I grab my hoodie from the chair and shove my arms into it so fast I almost put it on backwa
The Rogue Next Door Chapter 109
ColeI wake up before Maya does.For a second, I have no idea where I am.Then I feel the weight of her curled against my side, her head tucked beneath my chin, one hand fisted in the front of my T-shirt like she grabbed hold of me sometime during the night and never let go.My heart does that stupid thing again.The one it keeps doing around her.The one that reminds me I’ve completely, irrevocably fallen for this girl.Sunlight spills through the crack in my curtains, painting soft gold across the room. Somewhere downstairs, I hear a cabinet slam followed by Jake loudly arguing with someone over cereal.Normal.Everything outside this room is completely normal.Inside?Nothing about this feels normal anymore.Maya shifts in her sleep, her nose brushing lightly against my chest before she lets out the tiniest sigh I’ve ever heard.Jesus.She’s adorable.I brush a loose strand of hair away from her face as carefully as I can, trying not to wake her.She looks different asleep.Younger
The Rogue Next Door Chapter 108
MayaI don’t remember deciding to go to Cole’s house.One second I’m sitting in my car outside Po Folks, gripping the steering wheel while my father’s words replay in my head.Four months.He had lost his job four months ago.Four months of lying.Four months of pretending he was fine.Four months of me believing every crisis was just another bump in the road instead of the entire road collapsing underneath us.The next second, I’m pulling into my driveway with my chest so tight I can barely breathe.The house is mostly dark, except for the kitchen light and the soft glow coming from Bree’s bedroom upstairs. Logan’s truck is in the driveway, but I don’t go inside right away. I just sit there with my hands still on the steering wheel, staring at the football house next door.Cole’s house.Lights are on.Of course they are.The football house is never fully asleep. Even from my car, I can hear faint music, laughter, male voices yelling about something that sounds vaguely competitive and
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