Chapter Twenty Seven

Chapter Twenty Seven


Vivian pov

“So I was thinking,” Scott said, dragging my attention back to him. Only heaven knows how long ago I zoned out.

Sadly I wasn't intrigued by his words, I wasn't keen to listen to his every word like I was to Kade.

He wasn't Kade.

Like I didn't know.

“maybe Friday we could go out? Just something chill—like a movie, maybe?”

His voice was warm, inviting, and I could tell he meant it. His hopeful gaze rested gently on me, the way someone might look at a candle they’re trying not to blow out. He was kind, genuinely sweet and I hated that I couldn’t give him the kind of answer he wanted. He was good so why wasn't my stupid hormones reacting to him. Do they only become stupid around Kade.

"Vivan??"

I snapped back. "I...."

Before I could even speak, my phone vibrated in my palm.

Thank heavens

Reflexively, I glanced down at the screen. A single message glowed bright against the background of my lock screen.

~~Did he taste as good as I did?~~~

I stilled, my breath caught.

Time slowed.

The hallway, the lockers, the soft background buzz of voices and feet moving, everything faded. My throat tightened as my mind scrambled for air, for logic, for something to hold on to. But all I could do was stare at the message.

I didn’t need to ask who sent it. I knew.

Kade.

Who else would send something so provoking, so sharp edged, and intimate?

So disgusting?

I scanned the hallway instinctively, turning my head left, then right, searching.

But I couldn’t find him.

He wasn’t leaning against a wall with that cocky smirk. He wasn’t lurking in the shadows of the corridor like he sometimes did at home. There was no sign of him yet every part of me knew he was watching. He was close, invisible to my eye till he was there, watching me.

He had to be.

“Viv?” Scott’s voice yanked me out of my trance. “You okay?”

I blinked. Too fast. “i....huh...i yeah. Yeah, I...i’m fine.” My voice was thinner than I intended.

He peered at me with a small frown, noticing the tension in my face. “That message looked serious.”

I forced a shaky laugh, waving it off. “huh? Oh, it’s nothing. Just spam. Weird spam.”

That was a lie. One of many I seemed to be telling lately. Not like Kade

Kade’s words were still ringing in my mind, echoing through my ribs like distant thunder.

Did he taste as good as I did?

I had kissed Kade. More than once. It wasn’t a mistake. It wasn’t some one time slip.

And yet here I was, standing in front of Scott, safe, steady, genuine Scot pretending I hadn’t let someone as dirty as Kade take my breath, press his lips to mine like he owned them, like he owned me.

Which as I thought more, I come agree that he actually did.

I hated myself for liking it.

“Okay…” Scott nodded slowly, clearly unconvinced but too polite to push, thankfully. “Well, if it’s really nothing…”

He trailed off, and for a second we just stood there in a weird, heavy silence. He scratched the back of his neck, then looked up with a hopeful smile.

“Would you still want to go out with me Friday night?”

My heart clenched.

Scott wasn’t the problem. He was everything a girl was supposed to want. Normal. Safe. Good, not Kads.

But even with his warm eyes and gentle presence, my thoughts were still tangled in Kade’s touch. His voice. That message.

“Scott,” I said gently, “I would really like to… but I can’t. I’ve got something going on Friday night.”

Lies!

That made two in less than a minute.

But how could I say yes?

How could I pretend my mind wasn’t spinning with images of Kade, his stupid grin, his rough voice, the possessive gleam in his eye when he looked at me?

I watched as Scott’s hopeful expression wilted, just slightly. But he didn’t say anything cruel or defensive. He just nodded with a quiet, “No problem. Maybe another time.”

“Yeah,” I said, swallowing guilt. “Maybe.”

And then I turned away before he could see just how conflicted I really was.

I walked fast, trying to escape the shame curling in my chest. My boots clicked down the hallway, echoing louder than they should. Each step felt heavier than the last. When I finally slipped into class, I made a beeline to my usual seat at the back, corner window, near the wall, isolated.

I sank into the chair and pulled my phone out again.

The message was still there.

So simple. So smug. So disgusting. So fucking Kade.

\~~~Did he taste as good as I did?

I didn’t reply. I didn’t even open the message, technically. But I kept staring at it like it had something else to say.

I hated how fast he could make my chest squeeze. How fast he pulled me back into the chaos. It didn’t matter how far I ran, he had a grip on me, deep, somewhere between loathing and desire.

I should’ve blocked him. I should’ve deleted the app for good. But I hadn’t.

Because I couldn’t.

I knew what that meant. I wasn’t sure I wanted to face it.

The truth was, I didn’t want Kade to stop. I didn’t want him to let go.

Call me stupid and crazy but that was the truth, my truth.

I turned to glance out the window, half hoping and half fearing I might see him standing outside the school building, hoodie up, arms crossed, gaze pinned on the very classroom I sat in.

But there was no one there.

Still, I felt him.

It was like an itch beneath my skin. A burning that wouldn’t fade.

I wondered if he was still watching. If he was somewhere just out of sight, waiting for me to walk out those doors.

And God help me, I wanted to see him again. Even if just for a second.

Because with him, everything felt dangerous and wrong but good, it felt normal, it felt pleasant.

My thoughts swirled, spinning faster than I could catch them. I remembered his hands gripping my waist, his mouth against my neck, the heat that bloomed in my chest and stole the breath from my lungs.

That kiss, it hadn’t been gentle.

It had been claiming, he devoured me, every inch of me.

And worse, I let him.

Even now, I wanted more.

And wasn’t that the most messed up part?

The bell rang, jolting me back to the present.

Students shuffled in. The teacher dropped her papers on the desk and began calling names. But I didn’t hear any of it.

My mind was with Kade.

Somewhere.

Everywhere.

I pulled my phone into my lap under the desk, reopening the text.

I stared at it for another minute before I slowly typed one word.

\~~~Asshole.

Then deleted it.

What would be the point?

He’d know he got to me either way.

Instead, I locked the screen again, slipped the phone into my bag, and stared at the front of the classroom like I might actually absorb something today.

But I wouldn't. I couldn't.

I was caught in something I didn’t fully understand. A storm of feelings I never asked for. Scott offered me calm waters, and Kade was the hurricane.

And somehow, I was drawn to the chaos.

Maybe that made me stupid.

Maybe it made me broken.

But when someone touches you the way Kade did, sees through you like you are fucking transparent glass like he does then it’s not something you just walk away from.

No matter how hard you try.