Chapter Twenty -Six

Chapter Twenty -Six

Kade's pov

There she was.

Vivian.

My Vivan!!!.

In his arms.

I don’t know how long I had been standing there.

Twenty minutes minutes, maybe thirty, just far enough from the school gates to go unnoticed, just close enough to see everything. The air was cool, buzzing faintly with the energy of early morning, but inside, I was burning, two fucking minutes from exploding.

Her body lay against his like it belonged there.

His arms wrapped around her shoulders like he had the right. Like she was his.

And she let him. She fucking key him touch her.

I balled my fist.

No... the fucking worst was that she was smiling while they hugged like it was something good

Not the tight, guarded smirk she gave me when I teased her. Not the wide-eyed breathless look I would pulled from her when my hand slid beneath her shirt. No, this was different. This was soft. Light. Free.

It made me sick.

I dug my nails into my palm and forced myself to stay still. My brain had become static. One part told me to turn and fucking go way, the other screamed for me to stormed over there and rip the boy apart then pick my little birdie and Pou d into her oyssy till she gets that she is only mine, to break her till she is too damaged for anyone else but me.

I choose the first.

Because it wasn’t just about a hug.

It was about her.

And she was mine.

Even if I never said it out loud. Even if I would touched her like she was a secret I would orget by morning. Even if I had no claim.

She was still mine.

That soft smile she gave him? I hated it. I hated how her eyes glowed in the sunlight. Hated that she let him hold her in public, like they were something. Like he had a future with her.

Scott.

He was harmless. Boring. A boy who probably asked his mom for dating advice and thought flowers fixed everything. I knew his type—romantic, safe, sweet in a way that made girls feel seen.

He wasn’t a threat.

But he had her.

That made him dangerous.

I swallowed down the knot in my throat and shifted behind the tree. Just enough to shield me from view. Just enough to hide the fact that I was losing it, losing my sanity.

This wasn’t me. I didn’t care. I didn’t give a fuck about girls. It was always the other way around. Girls came, practically worshipped me then I show them the demon in me, they ran. It didn’t matter. That was the rule.

Until her.

Until little miss sunshine walked into my life with those fuck me eyes and her quiet fire and flipped my whole world upside down.

Now look at me, creeping around her school like some psycho ex-boyfriend when I hadn’t even kissed her outside the house. At least not where it counted.

My fists tightened.

I told myself it meant nothing. That night in the hallway, the way she trembled beneath me, the way her breath hitched when I touched her neck, I told myself it was a one-time thing. A slip. A thrill. The fact I fucked my fist all night imagining it was a great prove that it wasn't.

Because I couldn’t stop thinking about it... about her. About her everything.

Her scent. Her skin. The sound she made when I backed her into the wall and made her forget her name. It had replayed in my head every time since.

I thought she felt it too.

I knew she felt it.

And now she’s out here..hugging him?

I wasn’t just angry.

I was boiling in anger.

Just when I thought I trampled my anger, he Kay his hsvs in her, tucking bet hair Steve away. The last strand of patience I had snapped into fucking sheds

.

I stepped forward. Quick, hard steps, ready to turn this school ground into his grave yard. Someone was gonna die in a few minutes and that someone is Mr. Lover boy there.

Before I could cross the street, someone called my name.

“Kade?”

I froze like a guilty criminal.

Fuck!.

I didn’t need to turn to know who it was.

Finn.

He jogged up beside me, dressed for class, earbuds still dangling from his collar.

“What the hell are you doing here?” he asked, voice laced with confusion.

I tried to answer, but my throat was dry. He stared at me like I was an alien, and I couldn’t blame him. I had never once shown up at his school, not even when we were closer. This wasn’t something I did.

This wasn't me.

Double fuck

“I came to see you.” I lied

His eyes narrowed. “Me?”

“Yeah,” I said, clearing my throat. “Didn’t think you’d be outside this early, but I figured maybe we could grab breakfast. Catch up.”

Finn stared at me like I was speaking a foreign language.

“You’ve never once offered to get breakfast with me. Ever.”

I shrugged, trying to play it cool. “Things change.”

He blinked, still clearly not buying it. “Since when do you show up to a high school uninvited? What, you miss me or something?”

"Are you in or out??."  I said a little harsh. It was enough that I couldn't tear someone apart I didn't want an unpaid inspector poking his nose into my business

Finn chuckled and shook his head, but I could tell he wasn’t done being suspicious. I followed his gaze as it drifted behind me, toward the school’s entrance.

Vivian and Scott were gone.

Relief and disappointment tangled in my chest.

He didn’t see them. Thank God.

“uhhh..?”

There was a long pause, before he spoke again. "You know,” he said, adjusting his backpack, “you’re acting really weird lately.”

I forced a smirk. “I’m always weird.” must he be this annoying??.

He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but this is different. You’ve been... tense.”

I didn’t answer. I couldn’t.

Because if I opened my mouth, the truth might fall out or a lie that was way worse.

I had crossed a line with Vivian. I wasn’t supposed to want her. And I sure as hell wasn’t supposed to need her. But here I was......losing my grip, spinning out, watching her slip through my fingers like smoke.

And I hated it.

I hated her for making me feel like this.

But even more, I hated myself.

We walked toward the building, Finn talking about some group project he was stuck with. I nodded along, pretending to listen, but my mind was stuck on one image: her smile.

The one she gave him.

That boy didn’t deserve her.

Hell, maybe I didn’t either. But at least I understood her.

Vivian wasn’t light and softness like she pretended to be with him. She was fire. Fractured. Complicated. And I wanted every part of her.

I wanted the girl who flinched when someone touched her too gently. The one who hid pain behind eye rolls. The one who had secrets she didn’t know how to say out loud.

She was mine, all mine.

Even if she didn’t know it yet.

We passed the lockers and there she was again, leaning against the metal, laughing at something Scott said. His hand was on her arm now. Too familiar. Too comfortable.

Our eyes met.

For a second, everything froze.

She stiffened.

Just barely.

But I saw it.

I saw the flicker of recognition. The flicker of guilt.

And then nothing.

She turned back to him, like I wasn’t even there.

And that’s when I knew.

She was pretending.

Pretending she didn’t want me. Pretending she could erase what happened between us with a hug and a smile.

I clenched my jaw a

nd kept walking.

Let her play innocent.

Let her think she could forget.

But I’d remind her.

Every fucking day.

That you don’t just walk away from a fire like this. She was mine and mine alone.