Maybe time with Tate is exactly what I need. A reminder of who I was before everything started feeling sharper, darker. Before a dangerous man stepped into my world and left his fingerprints on my thoughts.
I just don’t say that part out loud.
It’s past nine by the time my shift finally ends.
The nurse taking over for me was running late, and by the time I finish handing things over, my body feels heavy with exhaustion. The ward has settled into night mode, lights dimmed, voices lowered, machines carrying on their soft, tireless vigil.
I gather my things slowly, slinging my bag over my shoulder before checking my phone.
Nothing.
No missed calls. No messages.
Not even from Khai.
I tell myself I’m relieved. That the absence is a good thing. That I don’t need another reminder of the way his kiss has lodged itself beneath my skin.
It’s a lie.
A quiet, aching part of me had hoped, stupidly, for something. A word. A sign. Proof that last night wasn’t something I imagined into significance all on my own.
I consider texting him.
Just for a second.
Then I scoff softly at myself. What would I even say?Hey, I can’t stop thinking about the way you kissed me? Absolutely not. I lock my phone and tuck it away, forcing my feet to move toward the exit before I can change my mind.
The staff car park is dim and mostly empty when I step outside. Cool air brushes my skin, raising goosebumps along my arms as I walk toward my car. That familiar unease curls low in my chest again, sharp and sudden.
My hand lifts instinctively toward my sternum.
I stop myself.
You’re fine, I tell myself firmly.Just tired. Just shaken.Anyone would be after a near mugging. It doesn’t mean anything.
Except the feeling doesn’t fade.
As I get closer to my car, the sensation sharpens, prickling along my spine like a whispered warning. The hairs at the back of my neck lift. I slow, scanning the shadows, the rows of parked cars, the quiet corners of the lot.
Nothing.
No movement. No figures. No sound but my own breathing.
Still, the certainty lingers,someone is watching.
A shiver crawls through me as I unlock my car and slide inside, locking the door the second it closes. Only then do I let out the breath I didn’t realise I was holding.
The engine turns over. The headlights cut through the dark.
I pull out of the car park and drive home, telling myself I’m imagining things. That exhaustion is playing tricks on me. That there’s nothing out there.
But the feeling follows me all the way home.
Chapter Fourteen
Khai
I linger in the shadows, sealed inside my blacked-out car, anonymous, forgettable. The kind of presence no one registers until it’s far too late. Smoke burns my lungs as I draw it in slow, patient drags, eyes fixed on the sliding doors. I’m waiting for her.
