LOGINA flash of light suddenly explodes outside, and I scream before I can stop myself. My hand flies to my mouth, but the thunderclap straight afger detonates so close it feels like the sky itself is splitting. I flinch, heart hammering. Thunder. I hate thunder. I sprint to my desk and snatch my phone. Eight o’clock. Shit. Shit, shit, shit. My shift at the diner starts now. “Oh my god,” I whisper, stuffing everything into my bag with trembling fingers. My chair topples behind me with a deafening crash, but I don’t pause. I charge out of the library. Straight into the pouring rain. Rain lashes my face, soaking my hair and clothes in seconds. Thunder rattles through the air, vibrating the concrete beneath my boots, and my luck runs out—I step straight into a deep puddle that soaks me to the knees. I bite back a scream and sprint toward my red car. There's only one car left, and it's one right beside mine. Rain pelts my face, but through the rain, I can definitely see something. A
“He’s so intimidating,” Sam blurts the second we arrive back at Tessa, flopping into the chair like a man defeated by desire. “Who?” Tessa asks without looking up from her laptop, fingers still dancing across the keys. “Madden,” Sam replies, voice low and reverent. “He’s so… manly.” Tessa finally lifts her gaze. “Manly?” “Yeah,” Sam says, leaning back, chest puffed slightly. “Like he could fuck your brains out five times a day and still take you out for dinner afterward. A real man.” “Jesus, Sam,” I groan, the image searing itself into my mind. “Will you calm down? We’re in a library and he could hear you right now.” Tessa leans back, smirk curling her lips. “Well… he’s right. That man looks like he has stamina. Have you seen that body? There’s no way he’s a one-and-done kind of guy. He looks… thorough.” Sam sighs, exaggeratedly disappointed. “Thorough and completely straight, unfortunately.” I pat his arm lovingly. “Your time will come. Did the security guard message you at a
“You scared me,” I breathe out, chest pounding so hard it feels like it might burst. A half-smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. It’s just enough to make my pulse spike. Like he enjoys the effect he has on me. My phone screen goes black. All light vanishes. I freeze for a moment, realisation crashing over me. We shouldn’t be here. We're just a student and a teacher in a public library—but it feels different. Electric. Dangerous. Dark. “What are you doing here?” I whisper. Why am I whispering? Why does it feel like we shouldn't be seen here? I glance up at him. In this narrow aisle, surrounded by towering shelves, he looks impossibly tall, almost predatory. He blends into the shadows, the old books, like some creature of the night—daunting, frightening, but magnetic. He steps closer, almost brushing my shoulder, and slides a book into the shelf right by my head. My breath catches. “This is the criminology section,” he murmurs, voice low, a velvet rumble in the silence. He
We replay the footage. 1 p.m., the rush of students flooding the hallway, lockers clanging, sneakers squeaking, hundreds of bodies moving like a river—and then, black. Blank. Empty. Nothing. “Someone deleted it,” the guard mutters, his deep voice sharp with frustration. My breathing picks up, fast and shallow. Sam turns to me, concern written across his face. “Who? Who has access to the cameras?” Tessa asks, her voice sharp but tinged with fear as she looks at me. “I do,” the guard replies, eyes locking on mine. “I’m the only one with access. Nobody else. Everybody has to go through me.” My skin prickles. A cold shiver crawls down my spine. He turns back to the screen, voice low, dangerous. “This was done from inside this room. Someone must’ve broken in after hours. I will find them. Nobody goes through my work without my permission.” I don't hear anything anymore. I shake my head. “Someone is after me… someone is following me… stalking me.” Sam grabs my arms, gentle but fi
“Tristan?” Sam repeats under his breath. “That’s fucking hot.” Delilah frowns immediately. “How does Nick know that?” “Well…” I say, wiggling my eyebrows slightly. “Because… they’re brothers.” “What?!” all three of them blurt out at the same time. Several heads turn in our direction. I immediately lift a finger to my lips and shush them with wide eyes, leaning closer over the table. “Yeah,” I whisper quickly. “Apparently their whole family situation is… insane. Something about them all trying to steal each other’s girlfriends and—” I stop mid-sentence when I catch Delilah’s eyes. Shit. Sam leans closer, curiosity lighting up his face. “And?” “Nothing,” I say quickly. “Nothing?” Tessa repeats, raising an eyebrow. Delilah keeps staring at me. “What did he say?” she asks quietly. I shake my head. “It’s nothing.” “Tell me,” Delilah says, her voice tightening. I shake my head again, a little more firmly this time. I can see it in her face—the moment she realizes I know someth
Katie glares at us the second she sees us, her expression sharp enough to cut. My friends don’t even try to hide it—shock, confusion, something close to betrayal flickers across their faces as they take in the sight of me standing next to Nick. The rest of the class just looks lost, like they’ve walked into the middle of a scene they don’t understand. They all know about our relationship. They all took Nick's side. At the front of the room, Mr. Madden looks furious. Not irritated. Not mildly annoyed. Furious. He smooths his face the second some attention lands back on him. But his eyes stay locked in, like dark pools of horror. Nick, of course, couldn’t care less. “Morning,” he says lightly as he steps inside, holding the door open behind him like we’ve just arrived together for coffee instead of interrupting a lecture. I slip in behind him. The air in the classroom feels frozen. I should’ve just stayed in bed this morning. “Nice of you to join us,” Mr. Madden says slowly, eac
“I need to get laid,” I announce the moment I ceremoniously dump my bag onto the cafeteria table. Three heads snap up instantly. “That bad?” Delilah asks. “You mean that good?” Sam counters with a wicked smirk. I drop into my chair and toss Mr. Madden’s card onto the table like it personally off
I can't focus. I try emailing the summary again. The message bounces back immediately, just like before. The error notification stares at me from the corner of my screen like it’s mocking me. I'm too scared to ask Mr. Madden if I can leave the classroom. Sam keeps whispering questions, little mur
“Fuck!” My hand slams against the printer, a sharp crack echoing in the empty reception area. Why isn’t it working?! The screen flashes some cryptic error I’ve never seen before, and my card keeps getting rejected. My chest tightens, each heartbeat like a hammer against my ribs. I check my watch
I drive back with music blasting, but my mind isn’t on the playlist. The roads are busy, but every car around me, every rearview mirror reflection, feels loaded with meaning. Maybe it’s the fact that someone got into my locker and left my favorite wine—or maybe it’s just me—but I can’t shake the fe







