Page 11 of The Moment I Knew

He froze. I was so thrown off by the look of worry that crossed his face that I barely even noticed when he swore under his breath and crossed the room in two quick strides. I did, however, notice when he suddenly barked, “Move!” at me.

“What?”

He swore again, then grabbed my wrist and hauled me toward the hall.

“Are you serious?” I hissed. “You can’t just⁠—”

“Closet,” he muttered, already yanking the door open.

“This is not⁠—”

He shoved me inside. I stumbled back, colliding with shelves and hanging coats, my breath punching out of me as he followed, crowding into the space and pulling the door nearly closed behind us. We were chest to chest.

The closet was barely big enough for one person. Two was a joke.

“Are you out of your mind?” I whispered. His jaw clenched, his body going rigid like he was bracing for impact. “This is insane.”

“You going to explain why you’re in my apartment to my aunt?” he shot back under his breath. “Because I’m not.”

Outside, someone laughed. A door opened.

His eyes dropped to mine. “Don’t talk.”

“I wasn’t⁠—”

His hand came up, clamping over my mouth. My breath stuttered against his palm, my heart slamming so hard I was sure he could feel it. His eyes stayed locked on mine, intense and unblinking, daring me to make a sound.

Footsteps sounded outside, light and hurried. I tried to peer out the gap under the door without moving my head since he still had his hand over my mouth. I couldn’t see much, but I did notice when a shadow crossed in front of the door. My heart kicked up a notch, half-expecting his aunt to open the closet door and find us in here packed like sardines, but then I heard her knocking on the door right across the hall.

You know, the room I was in literally ten seconds ago.

“Anyone here?” the voice came again. Now that it was closer, I realized it sounded younger than I was expecting. He muttered something under his breath, which was completely unfair since he was still blocking me from saying anything. If he was anyone else, I would have bitten his hand or kicked him in the leg until he let go, but I still wasn’t sure that I wasn’t in danger here, so I stayed completely still.

Was there any possibility he would forget I was here after a little while?

The footsteps faded back into the direction of the living room, along with a high-pitched giggle.

“Oh my gosh, you were right, it’s totally empty up here.”

Another voice, this one definitely male, laughed softly. “Told you.”

The sound of a door closing echoed through the flat. Then laughter. Finally followed by the unmistakable sound of kissing filtered through the wall.

I squeezed my eyes shut, wishing I could just melt straight into the wall. Better yet, I’d love to be able to teleport back downstairs or turn back time to stop myself from coming up here at all. Being stuck in this closet as a couple made out in the living room would be bad enough. Being stuck here with him? That was just nightmare fuel. At least he’d dropped his hand from my mouth by now.

“So,” I whispered, needing something to take my mind off what was going on out there, “since we’re stuck here together anyway, mind if I ask your name?”

I dared to peek one eye open, almost certain that he was going to tell me to shut up. Instead, he ran his eyes up and down my face before muttering, “Cole.”

I wasn’t sure what name I’d been expecting. Something scary like Reaper or Axe. Now that I thought about it, I guess I didn’t expect him to have a real name at all, just something he’d named himself.

“I’m Imogen.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Right,” I muttered. “Of course you do.”

We both fell silent again, which was the worst possible thing we could do when the only other noise in the flat was a couple kissing ten feet away.