Page 102 of The Wrong Play

The subject line was empty. Just my name.

And the message?

I can’t wait to see you soon.

I stopped breathing.

A ringing noise filled my ears, drowning out the distant cheers and conversations around me. My body went cold, my fingers tightening around my phone so hard I thought the screen might crack.

No.

No, no, no.

I blinked fast, trying to swallow the panic, to shove it down into the deepest part of me where it couldn’t suffocate me, but it was too late.

Because my mind had already cracked open.

And the memories spilled out like poison.

I was crying.

Soft,silent tears streaking down my cheeks as I sat on the edge of his bed,my hands clutching the sheets,gripping the fabric like it could somehow ground me.

“Don't be like this,Riley,”Callum sighed,his voice laced with exasperation,like I was the one in the wrong.Like I was overreacting.

I wasn’t.I knew that.But he was so good at making me doubt myself.

“You’re hurting my feelings,”he continued,his footsteps slow and deliberate as he crossed the room toward me.

My shoulders hunched automatically.Bracing.For what?I didn’t know.

Maybe for the words that would come next.Maybe for the hands that always followed.

I hated when he was disappointed in me.I hated when I made him upset.I hated that I cared so much.

“You didn’t even try,”he murmured,stopping in front of me.His fingers brushed against my cheek,his nails scraping lightly down my jaw. “You just lay there.”

I flinched.

“I told you I wasn’t in the mood,”I whispered,but my voice was pathetic,breaking on the last word.

“You’re never in the mood.”

His fingers slid lower,wrapping around my throat,not squeezing,just holding.A quiet reminder.

A warning.

“But I always make it good for you,don’t I?”he asked softly,lips tilting in a knowing smirk.

I nodded,because it was easier.Because it was safer.Because I knew if I fought him on this,it would only get worse.

And I didn’t want worse.

I shuddered, snapping back to reality so fast it made my head spin.

The stadium lights suddenly seemed too bright. The air too thick, pressing down on me like a weight I couldn’t shake. I squeezed my eyes shut.

I was safe now. I was away from him.

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