Chapter 6

The afternoon sun hit the park at an angle that made the trees cast long, skeletal shadows across the grass. I checked my phone for the fifth time in three minutes. The screen stared back at me, blank and cold. I tried calling Liam again, but it went straight to voicemail, the same mechanical voice telling me he wasn't available. A cold dread was beginning to settle deep in my stomach.

I was waiting for Julian at the edge of the park. He had explicitly insisted I wait for him here after my last seminar, his voice leaving absolutely no room for negotiation over the phone. I sighed, leaning my head back against the cold iron of the park bench.

These past few days hadn't been easy for me. Ever since we moved into the Crestview Heights apartment, Julian had been hovering all over me, tracking my schedule, vetting my atmosphere, breathing down my neck until I felt like a prisoner in my own skin.

I closed my eyes and sighed again, trying to block out the weight of it all, until suddenly, the light vanished. Two hands slid over my face, covering my eyes.

My body went instantly rigid. I thought it was Julian, but the texture of the palms didn't feel like him—Julian’s hands were always slightly calloused, heavy, and carried the faint scent of cedarwood. And it couldn't be Liam, since I had just tried calling him seconds ago.

"Caleb," I breathed, the realization hitting me as the fingers relaxed.

"You got me," he laughed, pulling his hands away.

I turned around, my heart doing a frantic tap-dance against my ribs. "Hii."

Before I could even stand up properly, Caleb pulled me into a tight hug, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. "You're so scarce these days, Tess. I feel like I haven't seen you outside a lecture hall in a week."

"I'm sorry," I said, my voice tight as I immediately tried to pull back.

I was trying my best not to let us hug, not to let there be any kind of physical closeness between us. If Julian saw us like this, it wouldn't just be an argument. It would be war. I cast a frantic look over Caleb’s shoulder toward the street, praying the black SUV wasn't already idling by the curb.

Caleb didn't let go completely. He stepped back just an inch, his fingers sliding down to hold my hand firmly. "Tess, listen to me. I want to tell you something."

"Can't it wait, Caleb? I'm supposed to be meeting my brother—"

"No, now," he interrupted, his voice dropping into a serious, urgent register.

Then, he reached up and grabbed my face, his palms cupping my cheeks to force me to look directly into his eyes. My mouth parted in pure shock. My mind went completely blank for a split second. Does this guy have a death wish? Touching me like this in broad daylight, right where anyone could see?

"I'm sure you've heard about Liam not being in school," Caleb said, his eyes scanning my face with intense concern. "Everyone in the department is talking about it. Tess, I don't think he's sick. I think it has something to do with Julian."

The mention of Liam's name brought the panic crashing back over me. "I know," I said, my voice rising as I tried to pull my face out of his grip. "I know, Caleb. That's exactly why you need to leave. Like, right now. Before he gets here."

But Caleb wouldn't let go. He kept holding my face, his lips moving, saying things about Julian, about the university, about keeping me safe—but I couldn't hear the words anymore. The sound of his voice turned into a dull, distant hum as the adrenaline flooded my system. All I could imagine was the black SUV pulling up, Julian stepping out into the light, and the absolute bloodbath that would follow.

"Caleb, please," I begged, my hands coming up to grip his wrists. "You need to leave. And stop holding my face."

"No, Tess, listen to me," he said, his gaze softening, turning incredibly intense. "I like you. I like you so much."

For a fraction of a second, my heart stumbled. A warm, dangerous flush spread through my chest, and I almost melted right there on the grass. I couldn't help it. I had always had a massive crush on Caleb, long before Julian ever came back from the academy, back when my life still felt like it belonged to me. Hearing him say those words was everything I had wanted weeks ago.

But the moment didn't last. It vanished the exact second a sickening, heavy punch landed squarely on Caleb’s face.

The sound of flesh hitting bone echoed through the quiet park. I shrieked, stumbling backward as Caleb was sent crashing to the dirt path, his lip instantly splitting open, bright red blood welling up against his skin.

"Omg!" I cried, my hands flying over my mouth.

It was Julian. He was standing over Caleb, his chest heaving beneath his dark jacket, his knuckles already dusted with white dust from the path. He looked like an absolute psycho, his blue eyes blown out, dark, and wild. He looked like he could kill anyone at any given time, his entire body vibrating with a quiet, lethal rage that made the air around him feel heavy.

Then, he turned away from Caleb and looked directly at me. He stepped forward, invading my space in a single stride, and brought his hands directly to my face.

His fingers were cold against my burning skin. I didn't flinch. I didn't pull back. Strange as it was, even with the blood on his knuckles and the madness in his eyes, I knew he would never hurt me. It was a bizarre, twisted reality that I had learned to live with—Julian could hurt everyone else in the world, he could destroy lives and break bones, but he would never lay a violent hand on me.

Julian pressed his hands firmly against my cheeks, his thumbs tracing my jawline, forcing me to look up into the storm brewing in his eyes. He stared at me for a long, agonizing time, his breathing slow and ragged as he searched my face for any sign of betrayal.

Without a word to Caleb, he let go, stepped back, and opened the passenger door of the SUV.

"Get in, kitten," he commanded.

The word sent a chill straight down my spine. I knew he was really mad now. Julian only ever called me kitten when he was completely furious, when the calm mask had shattered and the darker side of his obsession took over.

He moved to slam the car door shut, but before he could, I reached out and held his hand. My fingers clamped over his cold wrist, my eyes wide and pleading as I looked up at him.

"Plz, Julian," I whispered, tears of frustration stinging the backs of my eyes. "Let him go. Pls. Let's just go home. Just get in the car."

Julian froze. He stared down at my hand on his wrist, then looked across the grass at Caleb, who was slowly pushing himself up from the ground, wiping the blood from his mouth. Julian’s jaw tightened so hard a muscle leaped in his cheek. For a second, I thought he was going to shake me off and finish what he started.

But then, he slowly withdrew his hand from my grip and closed the car door, locking me inside the leather-scented cabin.

Through the tinted glass, I watched him turn back to the path. I thought he wouldn't listen. I braced myself for the sound of another blow, closing my eyes in terror, until I finally heard the driver-side door click open. Julian climbed into the seat beside me, his expression entirely blank, completely empty of the rage from a moment ago. He turned the key, the engine roaring to life, and threw the vehicle into drive.

We drove home in absolute silence. The city of Crestview Heights blurred past the windows, but neither of us said a word. The quiet inside the car was deafening, suffocating me until I could barely draw a full breath.

I was so tired of his psychotic behavior. God, I was so tired of the constant whiplash between his gentleness and his madness. And it was so much worse now that our parents weren't home—they were away in the city for a week-long conference, leaving the two of us entirely alone in the off-campus apartment. There was no one to maintain appearances for. No one to hold him back.

Julian pulled into the underground garage, parking the SUV in our designated stall. He cut the engine, stepped out, and walked around to open the passenger door for me.

As I stepped out onto the concrete floor, he held my hand, his fingers slipping between mine, locking our fingers together. I kept my eyes on the floor, my heart hammering against my ribs. I won't lie to myself anymore—I have always hated Julian for what he did to our family, for the way he controlled me, but deep inside, there was an attraction there. A dark, magnetic pull that I couldn't ignore no matter how hard I tried. I knew it, and he knew it too.

I looked up at him as we reached the elevator, my voice trembling. "Julian, I—"

"Shower and come eat, Tess," he interrupted, his voice dropping into that smooth, unyielding rasp as the elevator doors slid open. He looked down at me, his eyes dead serious. "You're sleeping in my room tonight."

My breath hitched in my throat. "What!!!!!"

Julian stepped into the elevator, pulling me along with him by the wrist. The doors closed, sealing us into the small, metallic box. He didn't look at me, but his grip was absolute.

"I won't repeat myself," he said, his voice suddenly booming through the small space, echoing off the walls. "I said go shower, Tessa."

I was so scared. The sheer volume of his voice, the raw authority behind it, made my knees go weak. The moment the elevator doors opened on our floor, he let go of my wrist, and I didn't wait around for him to change his mind. I ran straight into my bedroom, slamming the heavy wooden door shut behind me, my heart beating so fast I could hear it in my ears.