Page 24 of When the Storm Breaks
I don’t give him anything.
He tilts his head, studying me like I’m a puzzle he’s waiting to solve.
“Then why do you care?”
The words sit thick on my tongue. How the hell am I supposed to explain it?
The way her presence knots something in me. How her touch felt like both the anchor and the storm.
Chase shrugs, like this is all just a game to him.
And he’s not done. His voice dips—bratty, mocking.
“I had herfirst!”
The words hang in the air, baiting. But I don’t bite. Don’t even look at him. I turn toward the door, my voice even when I finally speak.
“No. You didn’t.”
The hallway stretches out, too quiet, an unsettling stillness building with each step.
I don’t need to hear Chase behind me. I can feel him. Before he can even open his mouth, I speak—low enough that only he can hear.
“Not now.”
When we reach the front of the bar, I scan the room. Calla’s bag is slung over the chair to the right of the bar, shopping bags scattered on the floor around it. But she’s nowhere to be seen.
Chase, now behind the bar, sighs, and the sound is loaded with irritation.
When our eyes meet, I catch the looks he throws me. Subtle, but pointed.
“You need to stop acting like an animal,” he says, tone cutting as he fiddles with something on the bar, trying to look casual.
“Lighten up, Haiyden. You’re scaring people away.”
Each word hits like a punch, digging into my chest. The urge to fight back rises like bile. I swallow it down, trying to keep my voice steady.
“You have no fucking right to—”
Before I can finish, the bell above the front door rings.
I turn.
Calla steps inside, cheeks flushed, breath quick. Another coffee cup and a pastry bag dangle from her hand.
“Sorry to interrupt,” she says, almost apologetically.
“All good,” Chase replies, breezy as ever.
She glances back at me, then back to Chase. Her voice lowers.
“Honestly, I was trying to avoid… whatever that was.”
Chase barks out a laugh, but it doesn’t sit right with me. They’re too friendly. Too familiar. Too comfortable.
My gaze moves back to Calla, and her presence alone hits me like a wave. I feel the wreckage inside me as she moves closer.
Her hands tremble slightly as she offers me the coffee and pastry.It fucks with my head.
