āđāļāđāļēāļŠāļđāđāļĢāļ°āļāļāđāļāļĢāđ
31 - NOT MY CIRCUS, NOT MY CLOWN - EXCEPT MAYBE IT IS
āļāļĢāļąāļāļāļĢāļļāļāļĨāđāļēāļŠāļļāļ:
2025-02-06 06:58:11
āļāļāļāļĩāđāđāļāļĩāđāļĒāļ§āļāđāļāļ
The Roomie Complex   32 - PHONE CALL
Aiden's POVThe moment I stepped into my office, the heavy silence greeted me first. It was the kind that pressed down, thick and oppressive, like the weight of the past refusing to stay buried. I swallowed it down, forcing my focus on the only thing that could keep me saneâwork.Numbers. Contracts. Emails. Anything to drown out the thoughts clawing at the back of my mind.But then I saw her.Anika.She was sitting on the couch near the floor-to-ceiling windows, legs crossed at the knee, a picture of effortless confidence. She didn't glance up right away. No, she made sure I saw her first. Her lips parted slightly, her jaw moving slow and deliberate as she chewed her gum, the glossy pink sheen of it catching the morning light. Then, with an almost practiced sensuality, she blew a bubble, holding my gaze as it popped.My grip tightened around the handle of my briefcase.I hadnât invited her here.Hell, I hadnât even seen her since the benefit that night. Hadnât texted. Hadnât called. A
āļāļĢāļąāļāļāļĢāļļāļāļĨāđāļēāļŠāļļāļ : 2025-02-07The Roomie Complex   33 - THE ACCIDENT
CherylI was already late.Like, ridiculously, embarrassingly late. Damon who was both my boss and somehow a lover was going to have my head, but in my defense, it wasnât entirely my fault. Okay, maybe it was. Just a little. But what was I supposed to do? The second I left that stupid insurance building, my brain had started spiraling.Had Aiden gotten the message? Had he even seen it yet? Was he going to call me? Was he going to ask me to come with him?Did I want him to?Of course, I did.And that was the problem.The tension between us wasnât something you could just wave off. It was heavy, electric, the kind that wrapped itself around your throat, making it impossible to breathe. The kind of thing neither of us ever acknowledged, even though it crackled in the air every time we were near each other.So, instead of driving straight to work like a responsible adult, I stopped at a cafÃĐ to grab a sugary drink and tame the ridiculous rush in my head. Caffeine wouldâve just made things
āļāļĢāļąāļāļāļĢāļļāļāļĨāđāļēāļŠāļļāļ : 2025-02-08The Roomie Complex   34 - ANOTHER CONFESSION
AidenHospitals had a way of making you feel like a kid again.Like you were small. Like you didnât belong. Like every bad memory you ever tried to bury clawed its way up to remind you that you werenât as grown as you pretended to be.I moved through the lobby with long, purposeful strides, the fluorescent lights overhead buzzing like an unwanted thought in the back of my mind. I could hear Anikaâs heels clicking against the tile behind me, but I barely registered it. My focus was on one thing and one thing only.Her.She was here. She was alive.And she was dying.The irony wasnât lost on me.I barely noticed the people around me, barely noticed the nurses bustling from one side of the room to another, barely noticed the smell of antiseptic clogging my nostrils. But then, I noticed her.Cheryl.She stood near the waiting area, arms wrapped around herself, her body slightly hunched forward like she wanted to fold into herself and disappear. The second she looked up and locked eyes wit
āļāļĢāļąāļāļāļĢāļļāļāļĨāđāļēāļŠāļļāļ : 2025-02-09The Roomie Complex   35 - I ALREADY PAID FOR IT
CherylThe hospital air felt suffocating.I stepped out of the room, exhaling a breath I hadn't even realized I was holding, pressing a hand to my chest like I could physically loosen the tight, inexplicable knot forming there.It made no sense.Why did it feel like I was the one left behind?Aiden hadn't looked at me once. Not when he spoke to Molly. Not when he walked out. Not even when I left the room. I could have been a ghost, and it wouldnât have made a difference.I let out a bitter chuckle. He didnât need me.And I wasnât sure why that hurt.The vibration of my phone startled me, dragging me out of my ridiculous thoughts. I pulled it out of my pocket, and Damonâs name flashed across the screen.I hesitated.I had texted him earlier that there was an emergency, but I hadnât told him the emergency was Aiden. I let the call ring out, waiting for it to go to voicemail.Seconds later, my screen lit up with a message."I found a place for you."My fingers hovered over the keyboard,
āļāļĢāļąāļāļāļĢāļļāļāļĨāđāļēāļŠāļļāļ : 2025-02-11The Roomie Complex   36 - AN INVITATION
Cheryl"Waitâwhat?!"My voice came out sharp, my eyes snapping up to meet Damonâs, searching his face like maybeâjust maybeâI had misheard him.He looked utterly unbothered. Like he had just told me he picked up my dry cleaning instead of dropping thousands of dollars on a house."You heard me," he said smoothly, hands slipping into his pockets, his stance too damn relaxed. "I already paid for it."I let out a short, breathy laugh, running a hand through my hair. "Youâre joking, right? This is a joke?"Damon tilted his head, watching me with that unreadable expression of his."Do I look like Iâm joking?"I took a step back, shaking my head. "Damon, no. No. I told youâI canât let you pay for this. We talked about this.""And I heard you," he said, his voice calm in contrast to the mini panic attack rising in my chest. "I just decided I didnât care.""You didnâtâ" I stopped myself, pressing my fingers to my temples. "Damon, this is insane. This isnât just a new phone or a fancy dinner.
āļāļĢāļąāļāļāļĢāļļāļāļĨāđāļēāļŠāļļāļ : 2025-02-14The Roomie Complex   37 - BAKING SODA
CHERYLMoving day. The day I was finally supposed to pack up my life and start over.I should be excited.I should be jumping for joy.Instead? I was standing in the middle of the hallway, dressed in the absolute worst color choice for a move-in dayâwhite.A white sweater. Sweatpants. What was I thinking?Too late to change now. The movers were already outside, lugging my stuff into the van, while Damon stood by, making sure everything was moving smoothly. Like the bossy, take-charge man that he was.He looked ridiculously sexy in all black, but that wasnât where my mind was.My mind was stuck upstairs.With him.Aiden.The man I had spent years hating.The same man who had somehow, some way, managed to wedge himself into my head like an unsolvable riddle.We had spoken earlier that morningâif I could even call it that.A muttered âgood morningâ from him.A reminder from me about the party later that evening.And thenâhe vanished.Into his room. Into his thoughts. Into the awkward, su
āļāļĢāļąāļāļāļĢāļļāļāļĨāđāļēāļŠāļļāļ : 2025-02-20The Roomie Complex   38 - LIGHTS OUT
CHERYLI smiled. I nodded. I accepted congratulations from people I had never met in my life, people who were in my houseâa house that wasnât even mine.Damon introduced me to everyone like I belonged here, like this was some grand milestone in my life worth celebrating. But the truth?I felt like a stranger.I wasnât even sure what I was doing here.The drink in my hand was growing warm, the ice melting into something tasteless. I had been nursing it for what felt like hours, using it as a propâsomething to keep my hands busy, something to give me an excuse to retreat when the conversation became too much.And yet, my mind was elsewhere.On the door.On the one person I hadnât seen yet.I told myself I wasnât looking for him.That I wasnât waiting for him.That I didnât care whether he showed up or not.But every time that damn door swung open, my breath hitchedâonly to deflate when it wasnât him.Aiden wasnât coming.Of course, he wasnât.Why had I even thoughtâwhy had I even hopedâ
āļāļĢāļąāļāļāļĢāļļāļāļĨāđāļēāļŠāļļāļ : 2025-02-21The Roomie Complex   39 - TENSION
CHERYLHis lips were fire.Wild. Unrelenting. Desperate.Aiden kissed me like he was making up for every second we had spent not kissing. Like he had been starving for this moment. For me.And God help meâI kissed him back.I melted into him, my fingers fisting into his shirt, pulling him closer because I couldnât help myself. His handsâcold against my burning skinâbrushed against my waist, sending shivers down my spine even as his mouth stole every ounce of oxygen from my lungs.I was floating.Butterflies exploded in my stomach, my heart raced, and my mindâmy very sanityâspiraled out of control.This was bad.So, so bad.But damn it, it felt so good.Aiden deepened the kiss, his tongue teasing against mine, his fingers sliding up my arm, branding me with his touchâAnd thenâThe lights came back on.A gasp.A collective horrified silence.I jerked away from Aiden, my chest heaving, my lips still tingling from the intensity of that kiss.And then I saw them.The entire party.Staring
āļāļĢāļąāļāļāļĢāļļāļāļĨāđāļēāļŠāļļāļ : 2025-02-22
āļāļāļĨāđāļēāļŠāļļāļ
The Roomie Complex   67 - TORN
AIDENI shouldâve known the address Damon sent wasnât neutral ground. I mean I did recognise the address but I didn't think she'd be there too.The moment I stepped into the sleek, modern living room, the temperature dropped ten degrees. Not because of the air-conditioning, but because of herâCheryl, sitting on one of those black leather chairs like she belonged there, and Damon, standing behind her with that arrogant smirk and a half-drunk glass of whiskey in his hand.The sight stopped me mid-step.I hadnât prepared for thisâhadnât prepared to see her again in his space. The last time Iâd seen her, she was shaking, holding a gun, her hands stained with fear and guilt. And now? Now she looked too calm, too collected, like she hadnât just watched me disappear into the shadows of chaos.But what got me the mostâĶ was that she didnât look surprised, maybe she did, I wasn't particularly looking at her. I was staring daggers into Damon's eyesâYouâve got to be fucking kidding me,â I said,
The Roomie Complex   66 - LION'S DEN
CHERYL'S POVThe sky hung heavy and gray above me as I drove, casting the entire town in a muted haze. It was the kind of weather that whispered secrets and warned of stormsâfitting for the place I was heading. Damonâs house. Or, more accurately, the house Damon bought for me. My grip on the steering wheel tightened as I turned onto the long, winding driveway. The structure loomed into view like a forgotten secretâmodern, cold, and elegant. It hadnât changed. White concrete walls, dark paneling, glass edges that reflected the world but let no one in. It was still as breathtaking and lonely as the man who owned it.I parked and stepped out slowly, gravel crunching underfoot. The keypad beside the tall black door blinked awake as I approached. I didnât hesitateâmy fingers moved by memory, punching in the code he had set using my birthday. There was a soft click, and then the door opened with a sigh, as if the house had been holding its breath all this time.Silence met me inside.Thick
The Roomie Complex   65 - SICK IDEA
Cherylâs POVI stared at the phone on my dresser for longer than I should have, the contact name glowing like it knew too much â like it was mocking me.Damon.I didn't even know what I wanted to say. What did you say to a man you shot? To a man you might've killed â who might still be bleeding out in some forgotten room?Still, my fingers moved on their own, like muscle memory. I tapped the call button before I could talk myself out of it. I held my breath as the dial tone started.Once.Twice.Three times.Heâs not going to pick up, I told myself. Maybe that was a good thing. MaybeâClick.His voice, low and gruff, filled my ears like smoke curling under a door."What a pleasant surprise," he said.I froze. My throat clenched, mouth suddenly dry."...You're okay," I managed. My voice sounded far away, like someone else had spoken for me."For the most part," he said, and I could almost hear the smirk beneath his words. "But my heart is still broken. Wasnât expecting the woman Iâm in
The Roomie Complex   64 - RIFT
Cherylâs POVThe morning light streamed through the pale curtains, brushing my room in gold, but it only made the pounding guilt in my head stronger.I sat up slowly, rubbing my arms, feeling the faint bruises of last night's chaos beneath my skin. It was almost absurd how normal everything looked. The smell of bacon frying downstairs, the creak of the old wood floors in my auntâs house, the chirping of birds outside.But inside me?Nothing felt normal.Every time I closed my eyes, the gunshot echoed in my brain â loud, sharp, deadly. My fingers twitched at the memory, and I recoiled, wrapping my arms around my knees like they could somehow hold me together.I had shot someone.Not just anyone. Damon.I hadn't meant to â God, I hadn't meant to. It was instinct, pure reflex. I had seen the gun pressed to Aidenâs head and I hadnât thought â I had acted.Like some wild animal, desperate to protect.But the more I thought about itâĶ the more I realized the sinking truth:I wasnât sure I ha
The Roomie Complex   63 - THE CONFESSION
Cherylâs POVThe moment I felt his arms wrap around me, I thought everything would be okay. For a single, fleeting second, the chaos quieted. But then I looked down. My eyes found Damonâs body lying limp on the cold, cracked earth, blood blooming beneath him like ink spilled from a broken pen.Thatâs when it hit me.I had shot someone.I had taken a life. Maybe not completely yet, but I could see the way his chest rose in stuttered breaths, each one weaker than the last. His blood... his blood was on me.I stepped out of Aidenâs embrace like I was in a daze, my body numb, the gun suddenly burning hot in my hands. I dropped it. It clattered to the ground like it had fulfilled its purpose.âWe need to call someone,â I breathed. â911. We have to call for help.âAidenâs voice was firm but low. âWe need to get the hell out of here, Cheryl. Now. Before Alejandro realizes whatâs happening.ââNo!â I snapped, shaking my head. My voice cracked. âNo, we canât just leave him like that. I shot him
The Roomie Complex   62 - THE ESCAPE
Damonâs POVHe always knew it would come to this.The moment he saw Cheryl for the first time â in that slinky red dress at that bar, soft curls falling over her shoulders like poetry in motion â he knew he'd never stand a chance. Not when Aiden was involved. Aiden always got what he wanted, he looked like a guy that got everything he wanted. The girls. The glory. The forgiveness. Even after everything.But not this time.Not anymore.Damon lit a cigarette and took a long drag, leaning against the black Impala parked under the sickly orange glow of a dying streetlamp. The road out here was cracked, half-swallowed by overgrown weeds. The silence of the place clawed at the back of his neck, broken only by the distant echo of a rusted windmill creaking with each breeze.The warehouse ahead of him stood like a tomb â abandoned, graffitied, the scent of oil and mildew bleeding from its rusted frame. It used to be a car assembly plant, once. Now, it was the kind of place nightmares came to
The Roomie Complex   61 - THE DEVIL
Cherylâs POVThe room was dimly litâtoo dim to tell if the red smears on the floor were wine or something far worse.The air smelled of rusted metal, sweat, and something faintly floralâlike someone had tried to mask the decay with cheap perfume, or maybe it was my own perfume turned cheap from the deathliness of this place. A single lightbulb swung lazily from the ceiling above me, casting long, flickering shadows that danced across the concrete walls like ghosts.My hands were still untied and free when my eyes popped again to the strangeness of this place, but they still ached from the pressure of the zip ties. My legs were numb, folded underneath me on the cold stone floor. I didnât know how long Iâd been hereâminutes, hoursâit all bled together in this silent, chilling purgatory.Until the door opened.It didnât creak or groan. It glided open smoothly, almost soundlessly, like it had been waiting for this moment. And when I looked upâhe was there.The boss - or so I assumed becau
The Roomie Complex   60 - INTENSE
Cherylâs POVThe first thing I felt was the cold. It seeped through my skin like tiny shards of ice, making it impossible to stay asleep. Then came the painâan aching throb behind my eyes, the sore sting in my wrists, the bruised thump of my knees. My body felt like it had been tossed like trash into the back of a car.I opened my eyes to darkness. Not complete darkness, but the dim, flickering kindâthe kind that hummed from a dying fluorescent bulb overhead.My heart pounded. My breathing stuttered.Where the hell am I?I sat up slowly, the thin mattress beneath me crunching with old springs. My hands were free, but the bruises around my wrists told me they hadnât always been. I looked around. Four walls. One metal door. No windows. A chair in the corner. A bucket near the wall that made my stomach turn.This was not a misunderstanding.This was not a mistake.I had been kidnapped.My fingers clenched into fists as panic began to crawl up my throat. And thenâĶ Aiden. His name crashed
The Roomie Complex   59 - THE PRICE
AIDEN'S POVI didnât touch my food. I mean how could i even bring myself to eat in the situation but I had ordered the pastas already, it would be a shame to let it all go to waste.I couldnât even bring myself to look at it.The table sat still, mocking meâher untouched wine glass, the roses she didnât take with her, the memory of her voice echoing in my ears like a haunting."Do you know why I didnât show up to that party?"God. I could still see the tears in her eyes when she said it. I could still feel her slipping through my fingers like smoke I couldnât hold onto.She had walked out of that restaurant with her head held high, but I knew the storm she was holding back. Just like I knew Iâd caused it.I stood slowly, threw some cash on the table, and stepped out into the night air. The streets were a little quieter now, the golden light of the restaurant casting long shadows across the pavement.Thatâs when I saw it.Her purse. Her phone.Just lying there. Abandoned.Panic sliced
āļāļēāļāļāļĩāļāļļāļāļāļēāļāļāļ°āļāļāļ
