Chapter 37 – Cracks Show
Sam's POV
I barely slept.
Every time I shut my eyes, Elias’s voice echoed in my head. You’re going to tell me. Whether you want to or not.
He knew. Maybe not the whole truth, but enough to sense the cracks in my walls. And sooner or later, he was going to rip them wide open.
When I dragged myself into the common area the next morning, Elias was already there, leaning against the counter with a mug of coffee. He didn’t look tired. He looked steady, like he’d been waiting for me.
“Morning,” I muttered, grabbing a cup just to have something to do with my hands.
“Morning,” he said evenly. Then, after a beat, “Sleep well?”
I froze, back turned. “Fine.”
“Liar,” Elias said simply.
I spun around, glaring. “Are you seriously starting with this already?”
“Starting?” His brows lifted. “Sam, I haven’t stopped. I told you last night—we’re not done.”
I groaned, setting the cup down harder than I meant to. “You’re like a dog with a bone.”
“And you’re like a vault with cracks,” he shot back. His eyes narrowed, unrelenting. “You’re trying so hard to keep everything sealed, but it’s bleeding through. I see it. Everyone will see it eventually.”
I swallowed, forcing a scoff. “You think you’re so perceptive, huh?”
“I don’t think,” Elias said. “I know.” He took a step closer, lowering his voice. “You’re hiding something about Ward.”
My heart stuttered, but I forced a laugh. “I don’t even like the guy. Isn’t that enough reason to avoid him?”
Elias studied me, silent, his gaze too sharp.
“Plenty of people don’t like Ward,” he finally said. “But they don’t sneak into his room in the middle of the night.”
My mouth opened, then closed again. No excuse came. Nothing that sounded remotely believable.
Elias sighed, almost like he was tired of his own persistence, but his eyes stayed on me. “Sam. Just tell me what you’re after.”
I gripped the edge of the counter, nails biting into the wood. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Try me.”
Something broke in my voice before I could stop it. “No.”
That single word cracked with too much weight, too much pain. I saw Elias catch it—the flicker in his expression, the shift in his stance.
“Sam,” he said softly now, almost careful. “This isn’t just about Ward, is it?”
I froze.
He stepped closer, his presence filling every inch of air around me. “Who is it about?”
I shook my head, my chest tight, heat burning behind my eyes. “Drop it, Elias.”
“I can’t,” he said.
“You have to.”
His jaw clenched. “Why? Why can’t you just tell me?”
“Because if I do—” My voice cracked, raw. I snapped my mouth shut, biting down on the words before they spilled.
Elias leaned in, so close I could see the storm in his eyes. “If you do, what?”
I shoved past him, desperate for space. “Forget it.”
“Sam—”
“Forget it!” I spun on him, my chest heaving. “You don’t know me, okay? You think you do, but you don’t. So stop acting like you can read me. Stop acting like you… like you care.”
The last word slipped out before I could stop it, and silence hit like a slap.
Elias’s expression shifted. His jaw tightened, but his eyes… his eyes looked wounded.
“You think I don’t care?” His voice was low, rough.
I looked away, my throat closing. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It does,” Elias insisted. “It matters to me. Because if you keep going down whatever path you’re on, it’s going to end bad. And I don’t…” He cut himself off, dragging a hand through his hair, frustrated. “I don’t want to watch you burn yourself alive.”
My chest ached. His words sank too deep, rattling the foundation of everything I’d built.
I whispered, “Why? Why do you care so much?”
Elias’s gaze caught mine, steady and unwavering. “Because you’re not just some random roommate to me.”
My heart stopped.
The words hung there, heavy, dangerous, electric. I didn’t know if he realized what he’d just admitted. I didn’t know if I wanted to hear it.
Before I could answer, Declan’s voice cut across the room.
“Well, isn’t this cozy.”
We both whipped our heads toward the doorway. Declan leaned against the frame, arms crossed, smirk sharp as a blade.
I stiffened instantly. How much had he heard?
Elias straightened, his face going cold, his voice clipped. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be?”
Declan chuckled. “Not when the entertainment’s this good. You two… you’re hiding something.” His eyes lingered on me, slow and deliberate. “And I’m going to find out what.”
A chill shot down my spine.
Elias stepped between us, his body blocking Declan’s view. “Back off.”
“Relax, Cross,” Declan drawled. “Just saying. Secrets don’t last long in this dorm.”
His gaze flicked over my shoulder, locking on me with a knowing grin. “Especially not yours, Hale.”
My heart nearly stopped.
Declan winked, then sauntered off like he hadn’t just ripped the floor out from under me.
I stood frozen, my pulse racing, my body trembling.
Elias turned to me, his eyes hard. “He knows something.”
“I know,” I whispered, my voice breaking.
Elias studied me, his chest rising and falling. “Sam. If you don’t tell me what’s really going on, he’s going to figure it out first.”
My throat closed, tears stinging my eyes. I opened my mouth—ready to say it, ready to finally let the truth spill—
But the words wouldn’t come.
I was breaking, I could feel it. My mask was slipping, and Elias could see every crack.
And now… so could Declan.