Page 18

Emmie

Zara breaks out behind me, the door crashing back against the wall.

“Are you okay?” she asks, breathless.

“Is Kai?” My voice cracks as I sink onto the low stone step outside the venue, burying my face in my hands. “I can’t believe that just happened.”

Zara drops down beside me. “What even was that?”

I lift my head slowly, eyes stinging. “Messages that Kai sent to me in confidence. Landon must’ve read them when I was at his. Before I knew what he’d done.”

Realisation flickers across her face. “You think he went through your phone?”

I nod, ashamed, guilty, furious, all of it. “He stood up there and used them to humiliate Kai in front of everyone.”

Zara blinks hard. “That’s messed up.”

“It’s more than messed up.” I breathe out shakily. “He didn’t just violate my trust. He exposed Kai . He stole something vulnerable. Private. And then turned it into a performance.”

Zara places a hand on my arm. “Hey. None of this is on you.”

I shake my head. “But it is. I’m the one who kept those messages. I didn’t delete them. I should have known Landon was capable of something like this.”

“You trusted him. That’s not a crime.”

I don’t say anything, because part of me still feels like it is . The door creaks again behind us. I look up, heart already racing, expecting Kai.

But it’s Seb. His jaw is tight. “Are you okay?” he asks.

I nod. “Where’s Kai?”

“Inside.”

Zara pushes to her feet. “You might want to stop him from doing something stupid.” Seb nods and disappears without another word.

I stay where I am, still stunned, still cold, still trying to process what it means.

Seb reappears, breathless, eyes scanning the street. “He’s gone,” he says. “Slipped out the back door.”

“What?” I jerk to my feet. “Did you see where he went?”

Seb shakes his head. “No one saw. Place is packed. He could be anywhere.”

“Split up?” Zara suggests, already pulling out her phone. “We’ll check around campus and the nearby bars.”

I nod and head off alone, heart hammering, stomach twisted with worry. And I silently pray he hasn’t gone after Landon.

It’s dark now, the streetlamps throwing long shadows across the pavement. I duck down a side alley, thinking he might’ve needed air, somewhere quiet. But instead, I walk straight into someone.

He steadies me with both hands, and bile rises in my throat the second I see who it is.

Landon.

“Oh,” he says with a smirk. “Fancy bumping into you.”

I jerk away. “Don’t touch me.”

He raises his hands mockingly. “Relax. I’m not the villain here.”

“You drugged me,” I say accusingly. My voice echoes off the alley walls, sharp and unforgiving. “You took advantage of me. You violated my trust. Then tonight, you tried to humiliate Kai using something he told me in confidence . What the hell is wrong with you?”

He smirks as though it’s all one big joke. “Look, don’t get so emotional. Girls love a tragic Romeo. It’ll work out well for him. Besides,” he leans closer, his breath sour, “you seemed pretty comfortable at my place. No complaints that night, as I recall.”

I don’t flinch. I take one step forward and I kick him, hard , right between the legs. He lets out a strangled noise and doubles over, hands between his knees, face contorted in pain.

“Try that on someone who doesn’t know exactly what you are,” I say, voice ice. “You come near me again and I will report you. I don’t care who believes me. I will make sure everyone knows what you did.”

He groans but manages a laugh, it’s breathless and bitter. “You really think your little boyfriend’s any better than me?”

I stiffen. Landon straightens slowly, still wincing.

“He ran off to that bar by the viaduct. Full of freshers. Word’s out now, how sad and broken he is.

Poor little Kai. Girls are flocking.” Something sharp twists in my gut.

He grins. “You should’ve seen him. All wide-eyed and miserable with that tragic backstory.

Honestly? Never seen him pull so much attention in one go. ”

“Liar,” I whisper, my voice cracking.

“Am I? Go and see for yourself. But don’t come crawling back to me when he turns out exactly like his dad. A drunk.”

I don’t say a word. I spin on my heel and head towards the bar.

Kai

I don’t even remember walking here. One minute, I’m choking on the heat of that room, on the looks, on the silence.

The next, I’m in a bar, surrounded by sticky floors, cheap neon and music that’s too loud for the size of the place.

My hoodie’s half-zipped and someone’s already handed me a shot I didn’t ask for.

Word travels fast, I guess.

Girls keep looking over. Smiling. A couple drift close like moths to a flame. They think they can fix me. I snort a laugh, knocking back another drink.

“Are you okay?” one of them asks, her hand lightly brushing my arm. “That poem, was that really about you?”

I shrug. “Does it matter?”

She giggles. “Just didn’t expect someone like you to be so . . . deep.”

Another girl slides into the booth beside me before I can reply. “You want to talk about it?” she coos. “We can be sad together.”

I don’t even know their names. I knock back another drink and force a smile. “I’m good, thanks.”

I’m not. I feel hollow. Stripped. Like someone cracked me open in front of a crowd and now people are crawling into the mess, trying to make sense of it. Of me .

More girls join. Laughing. Tossing hair. Dropping words like brave and sweet . It makes me want to scream.

Because none of them know me. They just want to be seen with me. Like grief is fashionable now.

I close my eyes and rest my head back against the booth. I didn’t come here to be found. I came here to disappear.

Emmie

The moment I step inside, I spot him. He’s slouched in a booth near the back; head tipped against the wall like he’s trying to disappear into it. A few girls hover nearby, smiling too brightly, laughing at things he hasn’t said.

He’s not laughing. He’s not even really there.

My chest tightens at the sight of him, at how tired he looks, how wrecked. Like tonight ripped him wide open and he’s still bleeding from it.

One of the girls leans in, touching his shoulder. Another nudges a drink closer to his hand.

I walk up without a word.

They look at me, mildly confused, a little smug.

One raises a brow like she’s already gearing up to dismiss me.

I don’t shout. I don’t lose it. I just say, calmly, “Can you leave us alone, please?” There’s something in my voice that makes them blink with uncertainty.

“He’s with me,” I add, for clarification.

The first girl straightens. “We were just being nice –”

“Great. Thanks. But I’m here now.” She rolls her eyes but gathers her things. The others follow, muttering.

Kai doesn’t move. I slide into the booth beside him, careful not to touch him, not yet.

He shifts slightly, eyes still closed. “You saw, then?”

“I saw.”

He exhales, slow and hollow. “You mad?”

“No.”

His brow furrows. He opens his eyes, finally looking at me. “I thought you’d yell,” he says quietly. “Or leave.”

“I thought about it. But then I remembered we’re both evolving, right? Being better.”

A shadow of a smile touches his lips, but it doesn’t last. I nudge the half-empty glass away from him. “You don’t have to do this, you know.”

“What? Drink?” His voice is rough. “I wasn’t trying to get wasted. Just, trying not to feel like I’m drowning.”

I nod. “Well, you suck at it.”

That earns a small laugh.

I lean back, breathing in the sour air of the bar. “I’m sorry,” I say. “About Landon. About the messages.”

His jaw tightens, but he doesn’t look away. “It’s not your fault.”

“He had no right.”

“No. He didn’t.”

We sit in silence for a beat, the world carrying on around us, music pulsing, people shouting, drinks clinking. But none of it touches us.

“I wanted to come after you,” I say softly. “But I didn’t know if you wanted to be found.”

“I didn’t.”

My heart sinks. “I can leave.”

His hand finds mine, our fingers interlocking. “But I’m glad you did.” Kai looks down at our joined fingers like he’s afraid they’ll disappear if he blinks. “I didn’t want you to see me like this,” he says finally.

I squeeze his hand. “Like what?”

“This,” he mutters. “Falling apart. After everything, I didn’t want to be someone else who let you down.”

My heart twists. “You didn’t.”

He lets out a breath, and his thumb brushes gently over my knuckle. “Those things I wrote, I never meant for anyone else to read them. Not even you, if I’m honest. I just, God, I felt like I was splitting in two back then.”

“I know,” I whisper.

He nods, swallowing. “I spent so long pretending I was fine that I forgot how to admit when I wasn’t. And then you happened. And it was like, I needed to tell you why I behaved the way I did, try and make sense of it.”

I lean my shoulder against his. He doesn’t pull away. “You don’t have to be okay all the time,” I say. “Not with me.”

He turns his head slightly, just enough that his hair brushes mine. “I wish I could go back,” he says. “Undo what happened. Not just with Landon, but with you. I wish I’d been better.”

I close my eyes. “You’re trying to be now. That’s what matters.”

He nods, quietly. “Are you staying, Emmie, for good? I know that’s a big ask, but I need to know if you’re serious about us.”

I look him in the eye. “I’m staying.”

Relief passes over his expression. “Yah know, as he read out those words, I realised something. That it was karma for what I let happen to you.”

I shake my head. “No one deserves to be humiliated, Kai. But I reckon it worked in your favour,” I add, looking around the room and noting a few girls still hanging around.

He cups my cheek, forcing me to look at him. “I’m not interested in anyone but you, Emmie.”

I rest my forehead against his, letting the noise of the bar fade into the background. For the first time in a long time, I’m not looking backward. I’m not bracing for impact. I’m just here, with him. And it feels like enough.

His hand slides back into mine as he leans in, smiling that rare, real smile, the one he saves just for me. “Ready to go home?”

I nod. “Only if you’re coming with me.”

His fingers tighten around mine. “Always.”