บททั้งหมดของ A Story That Doesn’t Belong To You: บทที่ 61 - บทที่ 70

Ryan didn’t sleep that night.Even with Chris asleep on the couch and Daniel curled up in the arm chair refusing to go home in case Ryan needed him the apartment felt haunted.Not with ghosts. But with memories. And paranoia.Every creak in the floor. Every flicker of shadow outside the window. Every time the refrigerator hummed a little too loud.He kept thinking Adrien would appear in the mirror again.Because he had once. That night after the party. Ryan had been brushing his teeth, and when he’d looked up, Adrien’s reflection had stared back through the window behind him. A trick of the light? A hallucination? It hadn’t mattered he knew Adrien had been there.And now, even with Adrien suspended, even with the post public, Ryan still felt like prey.By morning, his eyes burned.Chris shoved coffee into his hand the second he emerged from his room.“You look like a haunted librarian,” Chris said gently. “Drink that before you float into the walls.”Ryan gave a half laugh. “I’m fine

The hotel was quiet, far from campus and nestled on a lonely stretch of road overlooking the edge of the city. From the window of their room, Ryan could see headlights cutting through the evening mist, fading into the dark like ghosts on the run.He sat at the small desk, the anonymous phone still in his hand, the message from the unknown number burned into his brain.“I warned you. Now you’ll see who you really belong to.”Ryan’s reflection in the glass wasn’t the same boy who had given that speech on identity weeks ago the one who had unknowingly caught Adrien’s eye and lit the spark that turned into this fire.No. This version of him was sharper now. Still afraid, but no longer fragile.Behind him, Daniel paced the carpet with his arms crossed, jaw clenched tight.“I traced the number,” Chris said from the edge of the bed, his laptop open in front of him. “It was masked, but the message pinged off a nearby tower less than ten kilometers from here.”“Adrien’s not in school anymore,”

Adrien wiped the blood from his lip with the back of his hand, his breathing heavy but controlled. Ryan’s chest rose and fell sharply as he strained against the ropes, every muscle in his body burning with adrenaline.“You just made this harder for yourself,” Adrien murmured, tilting his head like he was savoring Ryan’s defiance. “But I admire the fire. I’ll enjoy putting it out.”“Go to hell,” Ryan spat.Adrien leaned in close enough that Ryan could feel his warm breath brush his ear. “No, Ryan. You’re in hell. And I’m the only one who can take you out of it.”Ryan jerked his head away, but Adrien’s fingers dug into his jaw, holding him in place. He kissed Ryan’s cheek deliberately this time, slow and taunting, before pulling back with a look of quiet satisfaction.“You’ll stop fighting soon,” Adrien whispered, his hand trailing down Ryan’s chest toward the waistband of his jeans. “They all do.”Ryan’s stomach twisted violently. “They?”Adrien smiled, a cruel curve of his lips. “You’

Ryan sat frozen for several heartbeats after Adrien left, his ears straining for any sound through the thick silence. He heard footsteps fade down the hallway. Then a door opened somewhere in the distance… and closed.Then nothing.He tested the ropes binding his wrists. They were tight, but Adrien had been rushing this time. In his breakdown, he hadn’t tied them with the same meticulous precision as before. The fibers dug into Ryan’s already raw skin, but they shifted. Slightly.Ryan gritted his teeth and twisted harder, ignoring the pain as the coarse rope scraped at his flesh. Move. Now.It felt like forever before one wrist slipped free. He yanked his hand loose with a low hiss of pain, then tore the remaining bindings from his other wrist and ankles. He stood slowly, his legs trembling with the rush of blood returning to his limbs.The room spun briefly, his head still pounding from where Adrien had struck him, but Ryan forced himself steady. This was his chance. If Adrien came b

Ryan woke up gasping.The room was still dark, though a faint strip of morning light had slipped through the curtains. His heart pounded in his chest like it wanted to escape his ribcage. Sweat clung to his skin, and the ghost of Adrien’s hands lingered on his body phantoms from a dream that had felt too real.He reached for the edge of the bed, needing something solid, and instead touched Daniel.Daniel stirred instantly. “Ryan?“I… I’m okay,” Ryan whispered, though his voice trembled and his eyes glistened with panic.Daniel sat up beside him, rubbing a hand over his back. “Nightmare?Ryan nodded. “I thought I was back there. With him.Daniel said nothing, only pulled him close again. Ryan went, willingly. He hated how safe Daniel made him feel because a part of him feared it would be stolen from him again.“I feel dirty, Ryan said suddenly. “Like I’m stained and no one can see it but me.“You’re not dirty,” Daniel replied quietly. “You’re hurt. And healing doesn’t make you any less