Chapter 21: Ugly Truth

For a while, neither of us moved. The closet felt smaller than before, smaller than physics should’ve allowed. Like the shelves had shifted inward and the hanging coats were trying to suffocate me. My skin was too hot. My hands were trembling. My lungs couldn’t work out how to process air. Tyler’s breathing was rough behind me, uneven enough that some distant, insane part of my brain registered it with satisfaction. Then the rest of my brain remembered Clair. Clair laughing, saying my name, saying I was safe, stable and smart. How she mentioned my families money, my goal of a high paying finance job, her options on the side and how oblivious I was to almost everything. My stomach turned so sharply I thought I might be sick. Tyler’s hand left me carefully, like he’d suddenly realised I wasn't there. The absence of it made me feel exposed. Cold, wrong in a way I couldn’t explain without wanting to punch a hole through the nearest wall.

Chapter 22: The Escape

The hallway was dim and crowded with noise. A couple stumbled past, laughing too loudly. Someone leaned against the wall scrolling their phone. Nobody looked at me twice. Of course they didn’t. Clifford Hayes was calm. Clifford Hayes was sensible. Clifford Hayes did not come apart at parties. I stepped into the hall. Tyler followed. “Don’t,” I said without looking back. He stopped. For a second, that was worse than if he’d argued. I made it halfway down the stairs before I saw Clair. She was in the living room near the sliding doors, hair fixed, lipstick reapplied, one hand wrapped around a red cup. Brad stood a few feet away with his soccer friends, laughing like he hadn’t just detonated my life upstairs. Clair saw me and her smile flickered, just for a second. Then she recovered. Clair Bennett could probably recover from a house fire with perfect posture. “There you are,” she called, bright a

All Chapters of Denial before Surrender: Chapter 21 - Chapter 22

Chapter 21: Ugly Truth

Chapter 22: The Escape