Chapter 021: Circling Each Other

~SAFFRON~I don’t go out with Elixir anymore.I couldn’t bring myself to leave the house after seeing Jason’s cut. It felt like a part of me had bled too, and that quiet truth settles heavy in my chest—I care about him more than I’m ready to admit. So I text Elixir instead.'Hey, something came up. Can we reschedule for tomorrow?'He replies almost immediately. 'No problem. Tomorrow works. Let me know what time.'Back in my room, the dream won’t leave me alone. Jason’s mouth claiming mine, hungry and raw. His hips pressing me down. The way I moaned into him like I was starving. I can still feel the ghost of his hands. My mom and Fred are still out, and darkness has pressed against the windows.I stare at the ceiling until the silence screams. I need noise. I need to get out of this room. Anything to drown out the loop in my head. I slip downstairs into the dimly lit home theater, turn on the system, and sink into a plush recliner chair.I pick 'A Walk to Remember.' A warning voice w

Chapter 022: Unfinished Sketch

~SAFFRON~The afternoon sun filters through the leaves of the old oak on the east lawn, throwing patchy shadows over the grass where Erica and I sit. Classes let out almost an hour ago, but I told my mom they were running late so I could wait here without any questions. Erica sprawls next to me, legs stretched out, pretending to scroll through her phone while her eyes keep darting toward the main path. She’s not even trying to hide it anymore. She’s been buzzing since yesterday, dying to witness whatever this thing is between Elixir and me.“If he ghosts you now, I’m officially calling seeing you two together yesterday a hallucination,” she says, nudging my shoulder.I laugh, but my stomach does a nervous little flip. “He’ll show. We texted this morning.”Honestly, part of me hopes he’ll be late. Last night in the theater room is still sitting heavy in my chest. Jason’s rare smile, the way his eyes went dark when I mentioned Elixir, and the way his words cut at the end. I promised mys

Chapter 023: Breaking Point

~JASON~~A month later~“Yo Jace. You hear? Your stepsister’s official with The Miller boy now. Heard it from Matthew.”Tyler’s words land like a slapshot to the ribs during practice. The entire rink goes dead. Whistles, skates carving ice, teammate chatter. All of it sucks into silence. My lungs forget how to work. I don’t remember nodding. I don’t remember the half-assed grunt I give him.Next thing I know, my truck roars down campus streets. The engine screams louder than the blood in my ears.I am three whiskeys deep in a dim bar, body sticking to my damp hockey jersey. I lift the fourth glass halfway to my lips and freeze.Something vicious uncoils behind my ribs. Shards of broken glass wrapped in pure, scalding rage. My chest locks tight. Every breath scrapes raw.She’s supposed to be mine.Not his. Never his.The thought of Elixir fucking Miller hands being on her waist, his mouth on those lips, hits me like a blindside check. My vision tunnels red. He will parade her around ca

Chapter 024: Something Hollow

~SAFFRON~The first time Elixir kissed me in public, three girls dropped their forks in the student café.I remember it because Erica laughed so hard that iced coffee sprayed out of her nose.“Babe,” she wheezed, wiping her mouth. “You cannot just stand there acting normal when one of the hottest boys on campus is eating your face.”“He wasn't eating my face. And I was not acting normal.”“You looked bored.”“I was trying to breathe.”She cackled louder. “Oh please. If he kissed me like that, I’d need CPR and a priest.”I kicked her under the table.It has been a month since the night on the lawn when Elixir jogged over calling my name and interrupted whatever silent, dangerous thing had been about to happen between Jason and me. A month since I watched Jason’s face soften the moment he saw me… and then watched that softness disappear. Not that I count.Not that I notice every morning how his bedroom door stays closed until after I leave for class. Not that I know exactly which hours

Chapter 025: One Long Brown Strand

~JASON~I wake up feeling like death has already won.My skull feels split open, like an axe is buried deep between my eyes and left there to throb. Every pulse is punishment. My tongue tastes like old pennies and bad decisions. My stomach lurches so violently I slap a hand over my mouth and lie perfectly still until the room stops trying to throw me off.It doesn’t stop.I crack one eye open. Sunlight stabs through the curtains like a personal grudge.“Fuck.”Even my own voice sounds wrecked.I try to sit up and immediately regret every choice I’ve ever made.Pain explodes through my right hand.I stare down at it. My knuckles are wrapped in clean white gauze—neat, tight, careful.I blink.There’s a glass of water on my nightstand. Two painkillers beside it. A metal bowl on the floor near the bed. A blanket is pulled over me like someone actually gave a damn.I know for a fact I didn’t do any of this.I don’t remember getting home.I remember Tyler telling me Saffron was official wit

Chapter 026: Moth to His Flame

~SAFFRON~The second Jason’s bedroom door clicks shut behind me, I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.I make it three steps down the hallway before I stop, one hand pressed flat to the wall, the other over my chest like it might calm the storm he just started in there.The lie sits sour and metallic in my mouth.I close my eyes, remembering last night.His door had been slightly ajar. I pushed it open quietly and stepped inside for the very first time.Jason’s room felt like stepping into another world.It was darker than the rest of the house—deep charcoal walls, heavy black curtains that barely let any moonlight through. Hockey sticks leaned against one corner like silent sentinels. A few trophies sat on a shelf. The room was surprisingly organized for a boy’s space. More organized than mine actually. The air smelled so much like him. His bed was large and unmade, sheets twisted as if he’d been fighting them in his sleep.He lay on his back, still wearing his hockey je