Chapter 36
Ivy
I haven’t gone back to Zane’s room since they left.
He hasn’t even looked at me once today.
So, I sit in the front lounge instead, curled up small on the couch, the blanket I dragged out wrapped tight around my legs.
The sun hangs low, illuminating the dust in the air through the broken blinds, casting lines across the cracked wall in front of me. My back faces the door, unable to look in the direction he left but also wanting to be right here when they come back.
He left without a damn word. Barely even acknowledged me. Phoenix kissed my forehead before they left, then mumbled something to Zane when he ignored me. But Zane still left without even throwing me a sideways glance.
When I woke this morning, I found him sitting near the door, already lacing his boots. When I tried to say good morning, I was met with a stiff nod, averted eyes, and silence.
It was jarring. Zane was cold as ice. Completely detached.
Yesterday everything was fine between us. Better than fine, he was warm, flirty, and I felt truly comfortable with him. As if our relationship had reached a new level.
This morning felt like rejection. I got too close, and he flicked a switch and shut me out. He can’t even stand to look at me. And I don't know why.
It’s not just the absence of his usual warmth.
Zane treated me as if I crossed an invisible line, and he’s decided he was done with me. As if he suddenly regrets every soft touch, every kind word and he hates me for it.
What changed between yesterday and this morning?
The blanket slips from my shoulder. Grabbing it back fast, my fingers tremble. The station is too quiet.
Every creak makes me flinch and sparks a light in me, hoping they’ve returned. Hoping Zane will be back to himself.
I hear movement again… but it’s just Myles.
He's been hovering. Not in the room, not quite, but close. Always within earshot. Lingering near the kitchen, stepping into the hall and stopping or walking by slowly enough to make sure I see him.
Giving me space… but not really.
More like he wants the credit for giving me breathing room, without actually letting me breathe.
The floor creaks again, and then he's there, shadow spilling in the room from the hallway light behind him, holding a can of peaches like it's a peace offering. His huge frame fills the doorway, and I feel my pulse spike.
This is the first time I’ve been totally alone with him since the attempted name-carving. The first half of that encounter was earth shattering but my body only remembers the fear he induced after.
“You're not in Zane's room,” he says in a friendly tone.
My stomach drops with the reminder. So, I don't answer right away, afraid my voice will give me away.
“I didn't think I should be,” I say quietly. “He’s been acting kind of weird.”
Myles narrows his eyes slightly, something flashing there, almost satisfaction, but he hides it fast.
“Yeah,” Myles scoffs, something smug in his tone. “He usually follows you around like a lost puppy. Always checking on you like you're gonna run. But you and I know you’re not going anywhere,” he chuckles as he steps forward slowly and tosses the peaches down on the coffee table.
It clatters loudly and I jolt, the blanket slipping off my shoulders again.
Myles inhales and raises both hands as if surrendering. “I'm not gonna hurt you,” he grinds out, annoyed. “Relax.”
I don't relax. He almost did hurt me. Only last week.
Now he’s acting suspiciously nice, and it makes the hairs on the back of my neck prickle.
“I'm not, Ivy,” he insists, tension rising in his voice. “I swear to God.”
I only nod.
He exhales harshly and backs off a step, dragging a hand down his face. “Shit. That's not how I wanted… I just… I brought you that 'cause I thought it might make you smile or some shit.”
Glancing at it again, I don't smile.
“I don't know how to do this soft shit,” he grinds out.
He huffs and grabs the chair across from me, spins it around and drops into it backward. Arms resting on the chair’s back, he stares at me as if I'm some puzzle he's trying to solve without the box.
The white shirt pulls tight across his broad shoulders and my traitorous eyes trace every contour of muscle and lines of ink before I can stop them. Heat rises in my chest—desire and dread tangling until I can’t tell them apart.
“You know, I haven’t seen Zane act like this in a long time,” Myles says after a moment, dropping the ‘nice guy’ act completely. “He's kinda acting like he’s pissed off.”
Myles’s lips tug at the corners. I know he’s trying to bait me, but I hate how my chest tightens anyway.
“I noticed,” I say dryly, refusing him the satisfaction. If Phoenix can order him around, maybe I can too. I just need to be firm, and Myles will submit like when we were in the showers.
His smirk widens, and his voice drops lower. “I think he thinks you did something wrong. Or maybe… he's finally realising you're not his to protect anymore.”
That hits harder than I expect, like a slap across the face I didn't see coming. My throat tightens and I swallow past the painful lump.
“You don't know that,” I murmur.
He shrugs, eyes never leaving me. “He’s barely even looked at you, Ivy. Not once. That's not like him. He’s usually glued to your hip like a fucking shadow.”
Wrapping the blanket tighter around me, my eyes burn, and I bite the inside of my lip hard enough to taste metal.
“I didn't come here to make you feel worse,” he says, suddenly softer. “I just… look, I thought you might want a sweet treat.”
He gestures toward the peaches like there's some kind of redemption. I frown at them.
“I don’t,” I snap, the words sharper than I intended, but I double down. “Just leave me alone, Myles.”
He freezes. For a second I think—and hope—he’ll obey.
But then he straightens and throws his head back, laughing loudly. “Nah, I think I’ll stay for a bit.”
Well, that didn’t work.
He stretches his legs out, boots thunking heavily on the tiled floor, taking up too much space. “Not gonna touch you or anything. Just figured… maybe you don't wanna be alone.”
Maybe I need to be firmer, like how Phoenix is with him.
“I’m not asking, Myles. Leave,” I order.
His lips curl into a sadistic smile and he chuckles under his breath.
“Careful, Ivy. Phoenix backs up his commands with brute strength. Try ordering me around again, and I’ll remind you just how small you are,” he warns. “You submit to me, because if you don’t… I can force you to.” His voice rumbles through the room as the chair creaks in his grip.
My stomach drops and liquid fear pools in its place, trickling down and heating my core. Suddenly I want to try again, just to push him over the edge.
I forgot how threatening Myles is… and how much I love it.
He lets me sit with that feeling and trying to deny the pulse between my legs.
This is the Myles I like. As amazing as it is to see him submit for Phoenix, it wouldn’t be so powerful if just anyone could bend him like that.
“You know,” he starts again, his tone easier now, “Zane looked at me this morning like I'd stolen something from him. Looked like he wanted to snap my neck.”
“What?”
“Yeah,” he scoffs, then sighs. “He’s been mad with everyone… not just you.”
Shaking my head, I try to make sense of it all. I don’t know what the hell is going on with Zane and why he’s blanking me, but it’s a little comforting to know it’s not only directed at me.
Then Myles leans forward, dragging a hand through his hair and avoiding my gaze. “Sorry I’m an asshole sometimes,” he mutters.
His voice sounds dejected but it’s the realest I’ve ever seen him.
He stands, grabbing the peaches off the table and setting it gently on the armrest beside me. “I meant it, you know. I'm not trying to scare you, I'm just… not good at all this.”
Myles lingers a moment longer, looking at me with a new softness in his eyes. Then he turns and walks off, boots heavy against the floor.
It's been a few hours since Zane and Phoenix left. The time has dragged as the hours passed and the sun set. I didn’t expect them to be gone so long and it’s starting to get dark.
The stillness in the station doesn't feel peaceful anymore. It feels like the moment before a scream, tense and uneasy.
My skin buzzes, as my anxiety builds in the uncomfortable silence.
Should they have been gone this long? What if something’s happened to them?
I still sit curled up on the corner of the sun-bleached couch, staring at a book I'm not reading as I wait for them to return.
It’s the same book Zane gave me. The one he'd tucked between the bars with his soft, knowing look.
Now it just feels heavy in my lap. Wrong. Like I stole it from someone it actually meant something to.
Myles is still trying to give me space… but he's bad at it.
He hasn’t been hovering as much or tried to speak to me again since the ‘peaches’ attempt. Actually allowing me to have the lounge room to myself now.
It should comfort me more than it does. It used to. He's still completely unpredictable. Still dangerous.
But his last words broke through in a way I can’t ignore. Or maybe it was his tone. Either way, he’s not hiding the fact that he’s an asshole and wouldn't leave even if I asked.
He wants to be near me. Needs it. And won’t let anything keep him away.
Something about that feels so secure. That he’d ferociously fight to keep me around, no matter what I do or say. As if I could never push him away if I tried.
I glance up at the hallway wondering when he’ll pass again, pulse flickering at the thought of him coming back.
Picking up the can of peaches, I turn it in my hand and almost laugh at the fact that—once again—Myles gave me no way of opening it.
The handle of the front door rattles behind me.
My heart blooms. “Phoenix? Zane?” I call, a grin breaking across my face as I peer over the back of the couch.
Then the front door explodes off the hinges, splinters flying. The sound shatters my hope, and I lurch to my feet, blanket sliding to the floor.
Oh god… they’re here.