Betrayal
Aviana
I yank the hoodie off my head and bolt past him, racing straight for the cabin door without a second glance. My heart hammers against my ribs—who he is doesn’t matter. I just need to get out. Now.
“Little Bird?!” His voice cuts through the air. Will he follow?
I can’t let him. I can’t do this. The pull I feel toward him—it’s the trauma, nothing more. I need to get to my cabin, change, and find Cade. Immediately.
But before I can take another step, a hand clamps around my wrist, yanking me back. I spin, crashing against the cabin door, breath stolen from my lungs.
He looms over me, mask back in place, eyes burning. “Little Bird, what happened?”
Tears blur my vision, my breath hitching, trapped somewhere between a sob and a gasp. Why can’t I speak? Why can’t I just say the words?
“Look at me and breathe with me, Little Bird.” His voice is steady, grounding, but I don’t want to be grounded—I want to run.
I struggle against his grip, desperate for space, for air. “Nightshade, please, let me go.” My voice is shaky, pleading. I need him to release me, to give me an out. “You’re hurting me, and I—I have to get to my session with Cade.”
It’s an excuse, a weak one, but I need it to be enough.
“No, you don’t. Quit lying to me.” His voice is firm, and before I can react, he pins both my hands above my head against the door .
“Ouch, Nightshade!” I yelp, a sharp protest spilling from my lips.
His grip tightens just enough to make his point. “I told you—we don’t tell lies. Lying will get you punished.”
My chest tightens, panic clawing its way up my throat. “Don’t, Nightshade. Don’t say that. Please.” My voice cracks, trembling with something deeper than fear. “Anything but that. Liam used to say that to me. I can’t—I can’t go back there, Nightshade. Please.”
His body stills, his grip on my wrists firm but not cruel. “Little Bird…” His voice is softer now, edged with something almost tender. He leans in, close enough that if his mask weren’t in place, our lips might brush. “Tell me the truth. Why did you run?”
I swallow hard, the words threatening to lodge in my throat. “I was scared,” I whisper. “Your kiss—it reminded me of someone from my past. But I know you’re not him. You can’t be.”
His entire body tenses. “Who?” His voice darkens, protective. “Who else do I need to put on my shit list, Little Bird?”
I shake my head quickly. “He didn’t hurt me, Nightshade. Not the way you’re thinking.” I inhale sharply, grounding myself. “He hurt me with his words. And then I left. I never saw him again.” My voice is steadier now, though my heart still hammers. “Please… just let me go. Let me go on with my day.”
His eyes flicker with something unreadable. “Why are you in such a rush to leave?”
I exhale shakily. “I just need air. Space. Give me time to think.” I meet his gaze, pleading. “You say you want me in control? This is me being in control. Let me go. Don’t follow me.”
For a moment, he doesn’t move. The silence stretches between us, thick, heavy. Then, slowly, his grip loosens.
“Please…” I whisper.
Defeat flickers across his eyes, something raw and vulnerable. It’s a look I recognize—a reflection of the pain I saw on Ryan’s face that day. The day he shattered me with words he could never take back.
His grip loosens, and before I can process it, he turns and strides toward the bedroom, dismissing me without another word. I don’t wait. My feet are already moving, carrying me straight out the door.
Before I make it a few steps out of the door in just his hoodie, he calls out for me, “Little Bird…”
I pause, but don’t turn around.
A moment later, he’s beside me, pressing a folded bundle of clothes into my arms. My clothes. The ones I ripped off in a rush to get into the shower last night.
“Change,” he says, his voice quieter now, lacking its usual teasing edge. “I’ll take you back to your cabin.”
I stare at the fabric in my hands, my jaw tightening. “I’ll change,” I say slowly, lifting my chin, “but I’ll find my own way back.”
He doesn’t argue. He just steps back, giving me space. “Suit yourself.”
Without another word, I slip past him, shutting the door behind me, heart pounding as I move to the bedroom to change.
***
“I didn’t see you at breakfast this morning.” Cade doesn’t waste time, diving straight in as soon as I settle into the chair across from his desk. “I figured you were off on one of your sunrise hikes, but then Scarlet ran into me and said you never came back last night.” His sharp gaze locks onto mine, unreadable but probing.
I lean back slightly, feigning nonchalance. “So I heard she’s been telling people you and I spent the night together.”
His jaw tightens. “Well, Aviana, we obviously weren’t.” His voice is edged with impatience. “So why don’t you tell me where you really were?”
I force myself to hold his stare, keeping my expression neutral. “I went for a hike and got lost,” I lie smoothly. “I found an empty cabin nearby and stayed there until first light.” My pulse quickens, but I pray he doesn’t notice.
The truth lingers just beneath my skin, a secret I can still feel against my body.
I changed clothes and rushed out of there without another word to Nightshade. My emotions were at war and I had to think. I definitely couldn’t think straight with his presence there.
Now, sitting in front of Cade, I wonder if he can see the lie written across my face.
“Mmm.” Cade exhales under his breath, his eyes narrowing slightly, like he’s weighing whether to believe me. “And you didn’t have any nightmares while staying in that dark, empty cabin?”
I hesitate. “No, actually—well—”
“Avi.” His voice is firm, cutting through my weak attempt at evasion as he walks around his desk and sits on the edge of it in front of me. “Tell me the truth.”
I sigh, shifting in my seat. “I had one small nightmare,” I admit, “but I was able to calm myself down using that trick you taught me the other day.”
His expression softens just a fraction. “And that was?”
I straighten slightly, recalling the method. “When I feel a panic attack coming on, I breathe and list something I can smell, feel, see, and hear. I ended up taking a scalding hot shower, and the feeling of the water on my skin grounded me. It brought me back to reality.” My voice lowers, steadier. “No one is here that can hurt me.”
Cade leans forward slightly, studying me. “You could have called the office. You know that transfers to my cabin after hours.”
“I could have,” I acknowledge, tilting my head. “But if I didn’t know exactly where I was… you wouldn’t have been able to find me, now would you?”
A flicker of something crosses his face—concern? Frustration? Maybe both. But he doesn’t press further. Not yet.
My gaze focuses from him to the windows.
Is Nightshade out there right now? Watching me? Is he in his cabin? Will I see him again?
A dozen questions swirl through my mind, my pulse quickening—until I feel hands on my knees. I jolt in my chair, my breath catching.
“Avi? You seem like you’re in another world this morning.” Cade murmurs, now kneeling in front of me.
I shake my head, forcing a weak smile. “I’m sorry, I must have—”
“Disassociated?” he finishes for me, his voice gentle but observant. “It looked like it. Want to talk about it?”
I hesitate, my fingers twisting together in my lap. Would telling Cade about Nightshade be a betrayal? I don’t even know what last night meant—if it meant anything at all. But still, I ease into the conversation, testing the waters.
“I, uh… I met someone. Here at camp.”
Cade’s expression shifts, something unreadable flickering behind his eyes. “Oh.” His voice is casual, but there’s something laced beneath it—disappointment, maybe? He stands, putting space between us, his back half-turned.
I swallow hard, my throat tightening around the words. “He reminds me of someone from my past,” I admit, my voice barely above a whisper. “Someone who told me I was too broken to love. That no one could ever love me like this.” The memory stings, raw and unhealed, and I force a shaky breath. “Hearing it then was one thing, but now… now it’s like I can’t shake it. Like part of me still believes it.”
Cade nods slowly, as if piecing it together. “Sounds like a trauma bond,” he states matter-of-factly.
“A what?” I ask, brow furrowing.
“In a way, you form a bond or attachment to someone who—”
I cut him off. “It’s not like that, Cade. I don’t even know this person. ”
He turns back, frowning. “Wait… I thought you said you met him.”
“I did. In a way.”
His expression darkens, his patience thinning. “Aviana.” His voice is sharp now, demanding. “Do you know his name?”
I shift uncomfortably, heat creeping up my neck. “Not really…” I admit, the words are small and humiliating.
Cade exhales, jaw tightening. Without another word, he strides to the door, swings it open, and calls down the hall, “Hold my next appointment, Cynthia. Please.”
Then he shuts the door.
I blink, caught off guard. “What are you doing?”
He turns to me, arms crossed, his gaze piercing. “We’re going to talk this out. We’re going to get to the bottom of who this is, what’s going on, and you’re going to tell me the truth, Avi.”
For the next twenty minutes, I tell Cade about Nightshade—who he is, how we met, the strange pull he has on me. But I carefully omit the parts about him drugging me and holding me captive in a secluded cabin. If I told Cade that, he’d call the police without hesitation. They’d comb every inch of the camp until they found him.
And despite everything… I’m not sure I want that.
As the words leave my mouth, a strange sense of relief settles over me. I’ve finally told someone. I’m no longer carrying this secret alone.
But beneath that relief, guilt festers.
I feel like I’ve betrayed Nightshade.
And worse—like I’ve betrayed myself.