All Chapters of LOVE AND LUST : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

CHAPTER 22MIRAMira’s phone screen glowed in the dark, the blurry photo of their dining room window staring back at her like an accusation. Her heart thudded as she lay in bed, the house quiet except for the faint murmur of Dad and Miss Katy talking downstairs. The timestamp on the message—8:17 p.m., right in the middle of their family dinner—made her skin crawl. Someone had been outside, watching them, close enough to snap a photo. She clutched her mom’s necklace tighter, its familiar weight grounding her as her mind raced.Rachel’s voice from their earlier call echoed in her head: “We’re not letting this creep win.” Mira wanted to believe her, but the photo felt like a violation, a crack in the safety of her home. She glanced at her window, the curtains drawn tight, and fought the urge to check outside again.Her phone buzzed, and she flinched. It was Ethan, texting back: I’m at my computer now. Can you send me the photo? I might be able to pull something from it—like a reflection

CHAPTER 24MIRAMira’s heart pounded as she stood outside Sofia’s house, the afternoon sun casting long shadows across the neatly trimmed lawn. Ethan and Rachel flanked her, their faces set with determination, but Mira’s stomach churned with a mix of fear and resolve. The photo from her locker—the one showing her lifeless in the pool, paired with the note, “Remember what happens when you don’t listen”—had pushed her past silence. Sofia had been at that party, had handed her that drink, and Mira needed answers.“You sure you’re ready for this?” Ethan asked, his voice low, his hand brushing her arm. His touch was steadying, but it also sent a flutter through her chest that she tried to ignore.Mira nodded, though her throat felt tight. “I have to know. If Sofia’s involved…” She trailed off, the memory of that night—fuzzy, fragmented, and terrifying—clawing at her.Rachel cracked her knuckles, her eyes narrowing at the house. “If she’s got anything to do with those messages, I’m not lett

CHAPTER 26MIRAMira sat at her desk, her fingers tracing the edge of the photo from her locker—the one of her lying lifeless in the pool. The latest message, “You’re digging too deep, Mira. Stop, or Ethan pays the price,” burned in her mind, a constant reminder that the sender was watching, waiting. She’d told Dad and Miss Katy about the messages last night, and their promise to keep her safe had eased some of her fear, but the threat against Ethan felt like a knife to her heart. She couldn’t lose him, not when he’d been her rock through all of this.Her phone buzzed with a text from Rachel: Found something. Want to check it out tomorrow? Mira’s pulse quickened. the guy Sofia had mentioned, the one who’d followed her upstairs at the party. The guy in the black hoodie. If he was the sender—or worse, the one who’d hurt her that night—she needed to know.A knock at the front door jolted her from her thoughts. She glanced out her window, expecting Ethan or Rachel, but instead saw a fami

CHAPTER 28MIRAThe classroom hummed with the low chatter of students waiting for the bell, sunlight streaming through the windows and casting long rectangles across the desks. Mira sat beside Rachel, her notebook open but untouched, her mind still spinning from the past few days. Ethan, freshly discharged from the hospital, leaned against her desk, his arm no longer bandaged but his face still a shade too pale. He was joking about the hospital food being worse than school cafeteria pizza, and Rachel’s laughter was a welcome sound, a brief escape from the weight Mira carried.The decision to stop chasing the guy in the black hoodie—and the anonymous messages had felt like a relief in the hospital, a way to protect Ethan and find normalcy. But normalcy was a fragile thing, and the creak outside her window last night had reminded her that the sender wasn’t done. Mira’s fingers tightened around her pencil, her resolve hardening. She couldn’t just let it go, not when the truth about that

CHAPTER 30MIRAThe pizzeria was alive with the hum of conversation, the clatter of plates, and the warm smell of melted cheese and fresh dough. Mira sat in a corner booth, her dad across from her, his grin wide as he slid a slice of pepperoni pizza onto her plate. Miss Katy sat beside him, her laughter mixing with the jukebox’s soft rock tune as she recounted a story about burning her first attempt at homemade pizza. For a moment, Mira felt like she could breathe, the weight of the anonymous messages and the guy in the black hoodie fading under the glow of the neon signs.“Let’s make a rule,” Dad said, raising his soda glass. “No heavy stuff tonight. Just us, pizza, and maybe a debate about whether pineapple belongs on a pie.”Katy laughed, nudging him playfully. “You’re not starting that argument again, Dennis. Mira, back me up—pineapple’s a crime, right?”Mira managed a smile, her first real one all day. “Team no pineapple,” she said, clinking her glass against theirs. The normalcy