Page 48 of Shadows of Obsession

[Jaxon]:All's good. See you tomorrow.

Connor let out a sharp breath, like he'd been holding it for hours.

"I'm heading up to bed, then," he said. Relief softened his voice, though exhaustion still tugged at his features.

After he left, the house felt even quieter. Emptier.

I stayed on the couch, staring at Jaxon's message.

He said everything was fine. But his absence said otherwise. Whatever had happened with Jared had taken hours and something told me "fine" was a generous interpretation.

Eventually, I turned off the TV. As I made my way upstairs, I checked the locks on every door. Something I hadn't felt the need to do here—until tonight.

One step forward, two steps back.

Jared's return, and Connor's warning, had reopened wounds I thought were healing. The progress I'd made, the confidence I'd been rebuilding… it all felt like it was crumbling again. Eroding at the edges.

I tried to push the fear down. Tried to believe Jaxon could handle his brother. That he was strong enough. That he'd be okay.

But the unease lingered like a shadow as I climbed the stairs, thick and silent, the darkness pressing infrom all sides.

CHAPTER 15

Anna

It was Saturday. A day that usually meant Connor's home would soon be filled with dozens of people enjoying good food and one another's company. Yet this particular cookout felt off before it even began.

Jaxon had texted earlier that he wouldn't be around, a first for him, according to Connor. Normally, he'd be here helping with food prep, setting up chairs, doing all the things that made these events run smoothly.

Instead, I stood at the kitchen counter, prepping meat for the grill just as I had seen Jaxon do it before. My hands moved automatically—season, turn, repeat—but a quiet unease threaded through every motion. I was standing where he had stood, filling a space that somehow felt too big for me. Jaxon had a way of making everything look effortless, even the simplest tasks. I worried I'd fall short of that without meaning to.

Not that it matters,I told myself, trying to shake off the thought.He's not even going to be here.

Connor moved through the house setting up, but something was missing. The usual lightness in his movements was gone. He worked in near silence, his face drawn, his energy taut with worry. When he passed through the kitchen, it was only to give me a brief, grim nodbefore heading back outside. His mind was clearly somewhere else. On Jaxon, most likely.

Mine was too.

The front door creaked open, and Denny stepped inside. His expression mirrored Connor's—somber, subdued. He offered me a faint smile before grabbing a few trays of meat to take outside. Even without words, it was obvious he knew about Jared's visit. The weight of it hung over the house, heavy and inescapable, dimming the easy warmth that usually came with these cookouts.

Once Denny joined Connor outside, I decided to head upstairs to clean up and get dressed for the evening. My feet sank into the plush carpet as I crossed my room, catching sight of my phone on the dresser. I grabbed it, hoping for a message from Jaxon, something saying he'd changed his mind, that he was coming after all, even if he was running late.

Nothing. No new notifications.

I sighed and typed out a message.

[Me]:Are you sure you won't come tonight?

I held the phone in my hand, biting my thumbnail as I waited to see if he'd start typing a response. The screen remained blank. No three dots. No sign of life from Jaxon.

Great.

I set the phone down and stepped into the shower, hoping the hot water might wash away some of the anxiety gnawing at my chest. It didn’t.

When I finished, I stood in front of my closet, contemplating what to wear. I thumbed through hangers until I landed on a pocketed blue sundress that brought out my eyes. As I checked myself in the mirror, smoothing down the fabric, I realized I was dressing up with the hope that Jaxon might still show up.

The thought made me frown.

Why does his absence bother me so much? And why am I dressing up hoping he'll see me? I didn’t care what I looked like, not for him.