There are only two girls at the table, chatting quietly over breakfast. The smell of bacon hits me the second I step in, and my stomach growls loud enough for one of them to look up and grin.
“Help yourself,” she says, nodding towards the tray piled high with sandwiches.
I slide into a chair, grateful for the normality of it, and take a bite. The taste is heaven after the night I’ve had. For a minute, I almost feel human again.
Then Sasha walks in.
She’s all glossy hair and smug smiles, wearinghisshirt. The same one Shadow had on last night. My jaw stills mid-chew, the bread turning dry in my mouth. The room feels smaller.Hotter.
Her gaze sweeps the table, landing on me. That knowing little smirk curves her mouth as she strolls past, hips swaying like she owns the place.
The girls keep chatting, oblivious. My appetite dies right there at the table. I stare down at my plate, my half-eaten sandwich suddenly unappealing.
Sasha helps herself to coffee, her movements slow and deliberate, like she knows she’s being watched. She leans against the counter, sipping loudly before turning to the other girls.
“You wouldnotbelieve the night I had,” she starts, voice syrupy sweet. “Let’s just say, Shadow’s not quite as cold as everyone thinks.”
The table erupts with giggles. I swallow my food, every muscle in my body tightening.
“Oh, come on,” one of the girls teases. “You and Shadow?Again?”
Sasha smirks, stirring sugar into her coffee even though she’s clearly not paying attention. “What can I say? He’s got a soft spot for me. And that man knows how to make a girl forget hername. How could I say no?” She laughs, tossing her hair over her shoulder.
The girls laugh louder.
I swallow hard, my throat tight. The words hit like shards of glass, sharp and deliberate.
Sasha takes a slow sip, pretending to ponder something. “Poor thing,” she adds, feigning sympathy. “The last girl who thought she’d tamed him didn’t last long either. Guess he gets bored easy.”
The other girls glance at me now, realising I’ve gone completely still.
I push my plate away, forcing a smile that feels like it’s cracking my face. “You can finish mine,” I say quietly and stand.
“Going somewhere, sweetheart?” Sasha purrs, her tone light but her eyes gleaming.
I meet her gaze, and for the first time, I don’t bother hiding the hatred. “Yeah,” I say, voice low, “before I give you another black eye.”
The room goes dead quiet. One of the girls coughs awkwardly into her drink. Sasha’s smile falters just for a second, and that’s all I need. I turn and walk out before I do something I can’t take back.
The second the door closes behind me, I break into a run. Past the bikes. Past the clubhouse. Past everything that’s choking me.
The cold morning air burns my lungs, but I don’t stop until I reach the tree at the side of the building, the one I always seem to end up under when the world’s too loud.
I grip the trunk, my nails digging into the rough bark, and finally let it out.
A scream tears from my throat, raw, guttural, everything I’ve been holding in. The sound rips through the still air and leaves my chest aching, empty.
Then another. Louder, until my voice cracks and I can’t breathe anymore.
I drop to my knees, the dirt biting through my jeans, my palms pressed hard to my face as sobs take over. All the anger, the heartbreak, the fear, it all pours out at once, unstoppable.
I curl forward, my forehead against the ground, shoulders shaking as the last of it breaks free. I cry until my whole body hurts, until there’s nothing left but silence and the hollow ache of everything I’ve lost.
With shaking hands, I take out my phone and type out the text I’ve been thinking about all night.
Me: I need money. It’s urgent.
A second later, his reply comes.
