All Chapters of The Sin Behind His Door: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

**CHAPTER ONE**The sound always started at midnight.A low, steady rhythm against the wall—solid, deliberate, impossible to ignore. It traveled through the new house like a secret that didn’t care about locked doors. I found myself in the hallway again, bare feet cold on the floorboards, heart already ahead of me.I didn’t go there to spy. Not at first. I went because the silence in my own room felt heavier than the noise. Because something about this house still didn’t feel like mine, and the only proof that anyone else was fully alive in it was that steady, private rhythm behind my mother’s door.I leaned close. Just enough to hear. Just enough to make the metal of the keyhole press a temporary mark into my skin.Inside, low voices. My mother’s, breathless. Jake’s, deeper, quieter, the kind of voice that didn’t need volume to fill a room. He was a large man—broad-shouldered, built like someone who had spent years outdoors and never quite learned how to take up less space. At dinner

CHAPTER THREE "Ready for school?" He suddenly asked while I swallowed before nodding my head. Then he released my mom, his hands still resting lazily over my mother's butt cheeks, squeezing slightly while... Looking at me, this time, with more intensity. "I will see you later love." He kissed my mother and then hugged her, still looking at me. I clutched the rims of my bag, daring not to look away. "Did you do something to my dad?" Drake asked, "He has been looking at you a little over five minutes." "Just shut up." I replied and he frowned at me. "You must have forgotten that I can still tell on you." "And I remember telling you that I don't care if you did tell him or my mother." "What if I don't tell either of them and told your friends in school." He replied and blood drained from my extremities, leaving my fingers cold. Drake watched the color fade from my cheeks, his satisfaction visible in the way he straightened his posture."Exactly why I said that you have to do my bid

CHAPTER FIVE"Who is it?"The question hung in the air, sharp and accusing. I felt the color drain from my face. "Don’t tell me you... you peep through my...""I don't need to peep," Drake interrupted, his voice a low, jagged crawl. He stepped into my personal space, his hands heavy on my shoulders. "You aren't exactly quiet, Aubrey. You're loud. High-pitched. Sometimes I wonder if the neighbors can hear you, let alone our parents."A flicker of mischief danced in his eyes, but it felt like a threat. I swallowed, my throat dry."That’s why I have to blast my speakers every night," he whispered, his breath ghosting against my ear. "To drown you out. It’s pathetic, really."I felt myself shrinking, my skin burning with a shame so intense I couldn't look him in the eye. He was assessing me, reading every twitch of my expression."So tell me again," he pressed, his grip tightening. "Who is it?""Brendan..." The name tumbled out, desperate and hurried. "It’s Brendan. I... he’s just too hot

"Is she okay?" I heard my mother’s voice drift from the hallway as they followed me up."Just being a typical teenager," Jake replied. I could almost feel the weight of his hand on her waist, pulling her flush against him. "Don't worry about it. She’ll be fine.""If you say so," she murmured.I collided with Drake at the top of the stairs. My steps faltered, the air leaving my lungs as his eyes searched my face. His brows furrowed, his gaze lingering a second too long, but I didn't give him the chance to speak. I pushed past him and bolted into my room."Come down for dinner!" my mother called out after me.I threw the bolt and collapsed against the wood, my breath coming in shallow, jagged hitches. Every detail of Jake’s face in the car was burned into my mind. The way I’d kissed him—the fact that he hadn't been surprised. For a heartbeat, he had let the mask slip, showing me a flicker of genuine, raw need. It hadn't

  "Awww, that’s so sweet of you." Mom reached across the table, her fingers lacing through Jake’s. She pulled his hand to her lips, planting soft kisses while Jake's mouth spread into knowing smiles, his eyes watering with emotion as he stared at my mom.  "I'm supposed to do that much for my daughter!" He said, his eyes not meeting mine. His gaze still fluttery towards my mom as they played kisses over each other's hands.  I gripped my spoon until the metal bit into my palm. I stared at the steaming dish in front of me, the aroma suddenly turning oily and sickening in my throat. I could vomit if I ever ate this under their gazes especially with Jake.  I wanted him to look up. I wanted him to catch the way my hand shook, to see the silent "liar" written across my face.