Just like that, the night was taken from us.
A sound cuts through the quiet of my writing. I haven’t thought about that night for longer than I can remember, getting caught, the embarrassment.
Our teenage innocence at the time, crime.
I blink, pulled back into the present.
My phone buzzes across the table, lighting up the room with its pale glow.
Ella:Are we still good for tomorrow night?
I sigh as I stare at the message, thumb hovering above the screen.
My mind goes somewhere else.
For a moment, I think about deleting it, pretending I never saw it.
It would be easier. Safer without Ella’s chaos and smile.
Dr. Pembrooke’s voice echoes in my head:Isolation can feel noble, but usually it’s just fear in disguise.
I exhale slowly, feeling the war inside me, the part that thinks I should be alone, and the part that doesn’t want to be anymore.
Finally, I pick up the phone and type.
I’ll see you then.
I set it down beside the open journal, its glow splashing across the book in the dim light… one holding the past, the other a door to a future I don’t deserve.
Chapter 16
Ella
I’m having déjà vu.
Ashton tosses a mascara wand at me. “How’s your blood pressure?”
“Fine.”
“Well, you’re listening to Taylor Swift and whispering while applying foundation.”
“I’m fine, stop watching me.” I toss the mascara back at her.
She grins. “So, you think he’s actually going to show up this time?”
I pause. “I don’t know. I hope so.”
“Me too...for his sake, because I will hunt him down if he doesn’t.”
I chuckle to myself and look down at my outfit—a navy sundress that hugs in all the right places, nude heels, minimal makeup. I look like I care… but not too much. Like I know what I’m doing, even though I absolutely do not.
As I head out, Ashton calls from behind me, “You got this!”
When I walk into the restaurant, I freeze.
He’s already there.
Sitting at the same table we were supposed to share last time. Beige dress shirt, rolled at the sleeves. That same jawline that could slice glass. Nathan Reign, in the flesh—and looking like a Calvin Klein ad came to life.
