All Chapters of Dark Secrets Between Roommates: Chapter 131 - Chapter 140

Chris I opened my mouth. Nothing useful came out. Behind me I could feel Aiden still standing in the open like an idiot instead of being invisible in the corner where I told him to go. The phone was still in his hand. The bloody gauze was still on the floor. The whole basement looked exactly like what it was, a crime scene with two people who had no business being in it together.Maya took another step down. Then another. The soup bag swung against her leg.“You’re bleeding,” she said, and now her voice was climbing. “You’re covered in blood. What the hell happened? Did someone attack you? Why didn’t you call me? Why me!”“Maya, calm down,” I tried, and even I could hear how weak it sounded. “It’s not as bad as it looks. I just… I had an accident. It’s fine.”“Fine?” She was fully in the basement now, staring at the red stain spreading across my shirt like it had personally offended her. “Chris you look like you got stabbed. Is that a stab wound? Did someone stab you?”Behind me Aide

Chapter 133Chris “What? I’m not wrong. And you’re still not telling me why he’s here or why you’re protecting him like this.”I moved between them again, slower this time because every step pulled at the cut. The basement felt smaller with both of them looking at me. Aiden stayed half a step behind my shoulder like he did not know whether to stay visible or try the shadows again. Maya’s bag of soup and medicine still sat on the floor where she had dropped it earlier. She had not picked it back up.“You need to go upstairs,” I said. “Tell my dad everything is fine. Then leave. Don’t come back down. Don’t text. Don’t call my mum about this.”“Or what? You’ll stop answering me completely? You already did that.”“I’m serious.”“So am I. Chris, look at yourself. You’re pale. You’re shaking. There’s blood on the couch and on him and on the floor. And instead of letting me help you’re standing there cold as ice the second I talk to the guy you’re hiding. That’s not normal.”“None of this i

Chapter 135 Aiden “Don’t,” Jovian said. His voice had dropped into that harder register, the one that used to show up during the intense nights. “Don’t ever touch me like I’m fragile. I’m not fragile. I’m pissed. I’m pissed that you keep trying to fix something that won’t stay fixed. I’m pissed that every time I open my mouth the words come out wrong. ”My hands came up between us on instinct. “Jovian, breathe. You’re spiraling.”“I know .” He leaned in closer. The pressure of his body kept me pinned against the counter. His fingers tightened on my shoulders. Not hard enough to bruise, but hard enough to make the point. I could feel the heat coming off him, the way his chest rose and fell too fast. “Let go,” I said, keeping my voice steady even though my pulse had jumped. “You’re not thinking straight.”“Maybe I don’t want to think straight.” His forehead almost touched mine. “Maybe I want to stop apologizing for five goddamn minutes and just feel something that isn’t guilt.”I

Chapter 137Aiden The girl pulled back, startled. Ethan looked over her shoulder at me, completely calm.“Then leave.”“This is my room too. You don’t get to turn it into a free show because I said no.”He stood up. One of his hands stayed on the girl’s waist. He looked right at me. “You’re the one who came over here. You’re the one making it a problem. If it bothers you that much, close your eyes and pretend it’s not happening.”I shook my head. “I tried that. It still got through. Stop.”The girl looked at me. Then she looked at him. She looked nervous now. Her face was a little red. “Maybe I should just….”Ethan cut her off right away. “No. Stay.”I took one step closer to them. My voice was low but clear. “Get her out. Now.”He stared at me for a long second. His eyes did not move. Then something changed on his face. The hard look softened for a moment and then turned cold again. He turned to the girl. His voice was flat and empty. “Out.”She blinked. “Are you serious? I just got

Chapter 139 Aiden The quiet that came after those words was worse than the shouting. He dragged a hand down his face and left it there for a second like he was trying to hold the rest of the feelings in. When he dropped it his eyes were still wet and he looked tired in a way I had not seen before. The anger was still sitting on top but under it was this plain hurt that made my stomach twist even though I did not want it to.I did not want to feel bad. I really did not. The blood on my shirt and Jovian’s face and the way Ethan had used that girl as a prop were all still sitting heavy in my chest. But the way his voice had gone quiet at the end, the way his hands were clenched like he was holding himself together, it got under my skin anyway. I hated that it worked. I hated that part of me still wanted to close the space between us.My feet moved before my head caught up. I dropped down to the floor without thinking about it too hard. My knees hit the wood and the impact sent a small