All Chapters of Yours Truly: Loving the One I Shouldn’t: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

[Maddox]Holidays seem to fly by like a train, while school months crawl by like snails. I mean, who even invented school?Tell me why I’m back in my dorm room. Tell me why I’m already planning to succumb to depression with classes again. Oh well, I have to become a physiotherapist and make my mother’s dreams come true.Sigh. ‘What about yours?’I shook my head and locked that voice in the farthest black box in my mind.Being back on campus should have felt like a relief after the lake house. No more walking on eggshells around Damian’s sudden mood swings. No more forced family time where Edward tried playing happy dad while Damian looked ready to explode.But the relief only lasted about five minutes before the guilt settled back in like an old friend I couldn’t shake.Every time I pictured my mom’s face these days, that real, glowing smile she finally had again after ten long years, my stomach twisted. What would she say if she ever discovered the truth? The anonymous stories. The

[Damian]Practice ended early today. Mostly because my head was actually in the game for once, but mainly because I knew who was waiting for me outside.Ever since the semester started, Coach has been riding my ass. I've been distracted, out of sync, and barely holding it together during drills with the rest of the guys. But today was different. I practically forced Maddox to come down to the rink. I had a whole plan laid out in my head: keep him close, play it cool, and for the love of God, don't act like an asshole.Getting him a job with our team was the easiest way to start. But now that he was actually here, my entire body was wired, buzzing with the sheer thought of him waiting just beyond the locker room doors."Dude, you’ve been staring at that wall for like... two years," Auther said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.I snapped out of it, throwing a sharp glare his way, though a stupid smile ruined the tough-guy act.Auther just shook his head, pulling his jersey over his hea

[Maddox]I took a step back and forced out a shaky laugh. “Are you sure you heard yourself?”Damian took a slow step forward. “Crystal clear.”I was still trying to wrap my head around this version of him. Who the hell was this Damian? And why was I so damn excited to peel back every layer? I was officially weird.“Damian, if this is some kind of joke, or you’re just trying to scare me and make fun of me, I’m really going to take offense.”His expression didn’t flicker. “Your last chapter was trash, like I said. But it ended on a very hot note.”He paused, waiting for me to respond. I couldn’t. My voice had completely deserted me.“I need you to show me,” he continued. “Show me exactly how you wrote that last chapter.”I blinked. “You mean… like explain how I wrote the scene?”He shook his head and took several measured steps back, giving me space that somehow felt even more dangerous. “No. I mean the way you had Nate touching himself while thinking about Quinton. All the things he wa

[Maddox]The professor’s lecture had long since devolved into meaningless background noise. While he droned on at the front of the auditorium, I sat at my desk, frantically scribbling notes into my notebook until my hand cramped.Exhaling a weary breath, I let my pen drop and slumped forward, resting my forehead against the cool wooden surface of the desk.Damian had texted me yesterday. I still hadn't responded.The truth was, I was actively avoiding him. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't flush the memory of what had happened between us two days ago out of my head. I knew Damian probably interpreted my radio silence as outright rejection, but it wasn't that simple. I just couldn't keep doing this. Damian was my step-brother and completely, wildly out of my league. That was why I had ignored his text asking when we were having our next session.Before I even realized the lecture had ended, the classroom began to empty. I groaned softly, sitting up to shove my notebooks back i

[Damian]I stared at my phone screen until the light faded to black, but there was still no reply.I’d lost count of how many times I’d tried reaching Maddox, only to be met with complete silence. A suffocating weight settled right in the center of my chest, mixing with a cold ache of rejection.I sank back onto the couch and stared up at the blank ceiling. This is why, I reminded myself bitterly. This is why you don't let anyone in. Every single time I let my guard down, people walked out. It had to be because of that damn dream. Maddox had probably gotten terrified, realized what this was, and decided he was done interacting with me entirely. I let out a ragged breath, feeling completely drained. Done and exhausted.My phone buzzed against my palm. My heart did a pathetic little leap--Maddox?I sat up fast, only to see my father’s name flashing on the screen.The disappointment hit me like a slap. I rolled my eyes, growling under my breath, and slammed the phone face down on th