Chapter 16
Jul 4, 2025
It starts with a single reply.
Grayson: What would you say if I was in your room right now?
I stare at the screen like it might bite me. My heart leaps into my throat. I reread the message, then again, as if it’ll change on the fourth time. My breath is shallow. My fingers hesitate.
And then I type slowly, deliberately.
Juliet: I wouldn’t say anything.
The dots appear instantly, and for a second, I swear I can feel him on the other end—smirking. Waiting. Unbothered by my panic.
Grayson: Good. I’d make you speak with your body anyway.
My stomach flips.
I clutch the phone tighter, cheeks flushed, legs drawn up beneath me. The room suddenly feels warmer, or maybe it’s me. I read his message again, slower this time. My chest rises and falls too quickly.
Juliet: You’re insane.
Grayson: For you? Probably.
Grayson: You’d be trembling under me, wouldn’t you?
Grayson: Hands above your head. Eyes wide. Pretending not to want it while dripping for me.
I squeeze my eyes shut, but the image is already there. Me, helpless under him. His hands pushing every boundary I’ve sworn to protect. The sound I make is barely human.
I don’t know why I reply. Maybe because I want to match his heat. Maybe because I want to know how far this thread can pull before it snaps.
Juliet: And you? Would you keep talking like that? Or actually do something?
The dots come up again—too fast, too eager.
Grayson: Both.
Grayson: I’d talk you through every second while your legs wrapped around me.
Grayson: I’d make you beg. Louder. Until your voice gave out.
I read it three times.
Then I curl my fingers into my sheets, trying to stay grounded. But it’s no use. Every word is a spark, and I’m a field of dry grass waiting to burn.
Juliet: You think I’d break that easily?
Grayson: You’d break.
Grayson: But you’d love it.
I don’t respond.
Not because I don’t have anything to say—but because I feel like I’m already halfway undone. I roll onto my stomach, hiding my face in the pillow like it’ll muffle the racing thoughts.
I need to stop. I know that. I’ve crossed enough lines already. But I don’t. I type faster.
Juliet: I want you to pull my hair.
Juliet: Say my name like it ruins you.
Juliet: Make me forget I ever promised to stay pure.
Silence.
My hands are shaking. Why did I send that? What if he thinks I’m pathetic? What if—
My screen lights up.
Grayson: You’re going to destroy me, Alden.
I let out a strangled laugh. Or maybe a sob. I can’t even tell anymore.
Juliet: Maybe I want to.
He doesn’t answer that. But I picture the way his jaw would clench. The way his eyes would darken. The way he’d grab me like he owned me.
And for a second, I wish he did.
Grayson: What do you want me to call you when it’s just us?
My fingers freeze. My throat tightens.
I know what he means. And I hate how fast the answer blooms in me, uninvited, but perfect.
Still, I hesitate. I delete. I retype. My pulse pounds like a drumbeat behind my eyes.
Juliet: Yours.
Three seconds. Then four. Then—
Grayson: Say it again.
Juliet: Yours.
Grayson: Again.
Juliet: I’m yours.
I can’t believe I said it.
But I also can’t believe how much I mean it.
The silence stretches, but it isn’t empty. It feels charged. Like something sacred just got carved out between us.
I close my eyes and exhale. This doesn’t feel like flirting anymore. It feels like a confession.
We don’t talk about school. Or friends. Or what happens next. Just us. Just this. The thread of wanting, stretched tight across distance and fear and shame.
We make a pact.
This? It’s ours. Private. Sacred. A digital thread tied between hearts too scared to say it out loud.
Grayson: No one else gets to see this side of you.
I stare at that message for a long time. My throat aches. My heart clenches.
He doesn’t ask. He doesn’t command. He just knows. Like somehow, even in the dark, he sees the parts of me I’ve never let anyone else touch.
And for once, I don’t feel like the girl trying to be perfect.
I feel real.
