05-26-2025, 11:17 PM
Jay had one boot fully laced, his wallet halfway back in his coat pocket, when everything seemed to hit at once.
Voices rising. Footsteps. That girl standing in the middle of the room like she might actually pounce. Her eyes locked onto him with a look that didn’t belong on a woman's face. It was animal. Barely human. Like she could smell something on him. Something rotten. Something familiar.
It was chilling.
He didn't know her at all. Not really. He wracked his brain to try and remember. To place her in their past, but it was empty. Yet she knew something. And that scared him more than he liked. He stood, fast. Too fast. The scrape of the chair where he'd been putting on his shoes was sharp, a punctuation mark against Nox’s detached quip about being tied up. Jay shot him a look: half warning, half exhausted. Now was not the time.
He felt Liam rush by, blur and motion, tugging the girl’s hands, pulling her away from whatever had her locked onto Jay like prey.
For a breath, a long, tight breath, the only thing he wanted was to throw the door open and be gone. Fuck it. All of it. The house, the heat, and the whiskey he wasn’t drinking and the girl who stared at him like his soul was made of ash.
But her eyes. That look. Like she was trying not to come apart. Dammit. Jay’s feet moved before his brain could veto the choice. And he followed. Around the corner, down the hallway, where the light dimmed and Liam was still half-pulling her, still being the adult no one asked him to be.
Jay slowed his steps, not wanting to spook her, but also knowing the damage might’ve already been done. She wasn’t fighting anymore, but she was clearly wrecked. Shoulders tense. Breaths hitching. Face turned down, like the shame was bigger than the body holding it. Jay stopped a few feet behind them.
“Hey wait,” he said, voice low, knife-edged but careful.
Liam was there. Protective. Brave. But Jay wasn’t looking at him.
His eyes were on her.
“I’m not... I’m not here to hurt anyone,” he said, hands up slightly in a show of peace. “...despite what it looks like. But you looked at me like you knew me. Like I did something.”
He swallowed. The hallway felt too warm. Too close. And his coat still stuck to his shoulders.
Voices rising. Footsteps. That girl standing in the middle of the room like she might actually pounce. Her eyes locked onto him with a look that didn’t belong on a woman's face. It was animal. Barely human. Like she could smell something on him. Something rotten. Something familiar.
It was chilling.
He didn't know her at all. Not really. He wracked his brain to try and remember. To place her in their past, but it was empty. Yet she knew something. And that scared him more than he liked. He stood, fast. Too fast. The scrape of the chair where he'd been putting on his shoes was sharp, a punctuation mark against Nox’s detached quip about being tied up. Jay shot him a look: half warning, half exhausted. Now was not the time.
He felt Liam rush by, blur and motion, tugging the girl’s hands, pulling her away from whatever had her locked onto Jay like prey.
For a breath, a long, tight breath, the only thing he wanted was to throw the door open and be gone. Fuck it. All of it. The house, the heat, and the whiskey he wasn’t drinking and the girl who stared at him like his soul was made of ash.
But her eyes. That look. Like she was trying not to come apart. Dammit. Jay’s feet moved before his brain could veto the choice. And he followed. Around the corner, down the hallway, where the light dimmed and Liam was still half-pulling her, still being the adult no one asked him to be.
Jay slowed his steps, not wanting to spook her, but also knowing the damage might’ve already been done. She wasn’t fighting anymore, but she was clearly wrecked. Shoulders tense. Breaths hitching. Face turned down, like the shame was bigger than the body holding it. Jay stopped a few feet behind them.
“Hey wait,” he said, voice low, knife-edged but careful.
Liam was there. Protective. Brave. But Jay wasn’t looking at him.
His eyes were on her.
“I’m not... I’m not here to hurt anyone,” he said, hands up slightly in a show of peace. “...despite what it looks like. But you looked at me like you knew me. Like I did something.”
He swallowed. The hallway felt too warm. Too close. And his coat still stuck to his shoulders.
Only darkness shows you the light.