Chapter 65 #2
I checked the mirror one last time.
Still in my school uniform - the white shirt, the black trousers - only now the blazer was gone, replaced by my black hoodie. I tugged the hood a little lower, smoothing the front like that might somehow make me look less like someone who’d been crying.
I still looked rough.
Pale. Eyes red.
But at least the hoodie made me feel less… exposed.
Less like someone could look at me and see everything.
It was good enough.
It had to be.
I swallowed hard and forced myself toward the door, every step deliberate, every breath controlled.
I just had to get there first.
I had to make sure Kai didn’t come here.
I had to keep him safe .
Even if I wasn’t.
I cracked my bedroom door open, just a sliver, listening.
I could hear Connor in the kitchen - his deep voice low and clipped on the phone. The sound froze me in place. My fingers tightened around the edge of the door, knuckles whitening.
He was right there, and I had to be quiet if I was going to make it out without being seen.
I held my breath, leaning forward just enough to see the faint glow of the kitchen light spilling into the hallway. His shadow moved across the floorboards, pacing. I could hear the scrape of a chair, the clink of a bottle, the rough edge in his voice as he spoke to whoever was on the other end.
My heart hammered so hard it felt like it might shake the door.
I swallowed, forcing myself to breathe quietly through my nose. I couldn’t let him hear me. I couldn’t let him see me. If he turned around, if he stepped into the hallway, if he asked where I was going-
No. I couldn’t think about that.
I eased the door open another inch, just enough to slip through. My socked feet made no sound on the carpet. I kept my body low, shoulders tight, moving like the air itself might betray me.
Connor’s voice rose suddenly - a sharp, irritated bark - and I flinched, pressing myself flat against the wall. My ribs screamed at the movement, but I didn’t dare make a sound.
He kept talking. He hadn’t heard me.
I edged toward the stairs, one slow step at a time, timing each movement with the rhythm of his voice. When he spoke louder, I moved. When he paused, I froze.
Halfway down the stairs, the floorboard beneath my foot creaked - the faintest sound, but it shot panic straight through me. I held my breath, gripping the bannister so hard my fingers ached.
Connor stopped talking.
Silence.
Thick. Heavy. Waiting.
I didn’t move. I didn’t breathe. I didn’t blink.
Then his voice started again - lower, distracted - and I exhaled shakily, continuing down the stairs with even slower steps.
I reached the bottom. The front door was only a few feet away.
I just had to make it out. Quietly. Cleanly. Before he turned around.
I took my chance and made a quick run for it.
Not a sprint - just fast enough to get across the hallway before my courage failed.
I reached the door, eased it open a fraction, and slipped through the gap sideways, holding my breath the whole time.
The cool air hit my face as I pulled it shut again, guiding it into place with my fingertips so it wouldn’t make a sound.
The latch clicked softly.
I froze.
Every muscle in my body locked. I stood completely still on the doorstep, listening - waiting - bracing for the sound of the kitchen chair scraping back, for Connor’s voice calling my name, for footsteps coming toward the hall.
Nothing.
Just the distant hum of the fridge through the door. Just his voice still low on the phone. Just the quiet.
I let out a slow exhale, shaky and thin.
I’d done it.
I was out. And he was none the wiser.
The relief hit me so hard my knees almost buckled. I grabbed the railing to steady myself, pulling the beanie lower over my forehead, making sure it hid everything it needed to.
Then I stepped off the doorstep and started walking, fast but quiet, putting distance between me and the house before anything could change.
Before he could realise. Before he could stop me.
I shoved my hands deep into my jacket pockets, pulling the fabric tight around me as I started down the street.
Each step sent a dull throb through my ribs, but I kept going.
My socks scuffed against the pavement. I hadn’t even had time to put on shoes.
The cold from the ground seeped straight through the fabric, numbing my toes with every step. Each uneven bit of pavement jabbed up through the material, but I kept walking, fast, eyes down, trying to control my breathing, trying to keep my head down, trying to keep moving.
A car door slammed somewhere in the distance and I flinched, heart leaping into my throat before I realised it wasn’t him.
I forced myself to breathe.
In…
Out…
Keep walking.
The park wasn’t far - five minutes if I walked normally, ten if I took the quieter route. I chose the quieter route. I couldn’t risk being seen.
My fingers curled tighter inside my pockets, and the cold bit at my cheeks, making the sting of earlier worse, but I didn’t stop. I didn’t slow down.
I just kept moving.
The park was empty except for the wind moving through the trees. I sat on the edge of the bench, elbows on my knees, trying to breathe through the shaking in my chest.
I kept my head down. I didn’t want to see myself reflected in anyone’s eyes.
Least of all his.
A car door slammed somewhere behind me - not loud, but enough to make my whole body jolt. I straightened too fast, pain flaring through my ribs, and turned just slightly, just enough to see-
Kai.
He was walking fast at first, like he’d been half-running across the grass. But the second he saw me - really saw me - he stopped dead.
He froze.