All Chapters of The Surrogate Virgin : Chapter 11 - Chapter 13

I didn’t pack a thing, no bag, no toothbrush. I just walked through the night like I could somehow outrun everything, fear, shame, gravity.In less than twenty-four hours, my world cracked wide open. Every door I thought I had? Slammed shut.Noah’s been suspended, I’m being blackmailed and someone only God knows who is holding onto a video that could ruin everything. Not just him, not just me, but everything we’ve been trying to hold together. I couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe. My hands were shaking, my heart wouldn’t slow down, and it felt like the walls were closing in so I left. I didn’t even know where I was going, I just needed somewhere quiet, somewhere I wouldn’t have to pretend I was okay, somewhere I could finally take a full breath without feeling like I was about to fall apart. That place… it didn’t fix anything, but at least for a while, it felt like the world stopped spinning so fast.”Desmond’s.He opened the door like he’d been waiting, like he already knew.No questio

I didn’t sleep even after Noah left, the room cooled and my skin stopped tingling with the memory of his hands. I just lay there motionless listening to the creak of the ceiling fan and the buzz of something I couldn’t name pulsing beneath my skin.Desmond’s house didn’t feel safe anymore. It felt… heavy like the walls were watching me and they knew what I’d done.By morning, the air was so thick that it felt like I had to swallow it just to breathe. I packed slowly and quietly. I didn’t have much, just a few clothes, some toiletries, and a journal I barely wrote in anymore. I folded things carefully like I was trying not to make noise, like a child sneaking out of a room she was no longer welcome in. But I wasn’t really sneaking out, I just didn’t want a scene. I should’ve known better. I stepped out of the guest room, bag slung over my shoulder and there he was, Desmond. He stood barefoot in the hallway, leaning against the wall like he’d been there all night, watching the door. M