Addicted to the enemy

Her mother’s death was no accident. Her past was full of shadows she could never escape. And now, on her first day at a new school, one stare from Damian Cole threatened to unravel the invisible life she worked so hard to build. “They said your mother’s death was an accident,” one nurse whispered in the hall. “An accident? Please,” another muttered. “Accidents don’t leave shadows in corridors.” Aria pulled her blanket tighter. She hated the whispers. She always heard them, even when they thought she couldn’t. The hospital had been her whole world. Machines. Charts. Hushed conversations. Always whispers. Dr. Adrian Cole was the only one who spoke to her without pity. “You don’t have to listen to them,” he told her once. “You’re not their story, Aria.” She looked at him, voice small but sharp. “Then whose story am I?” “You’re your own,” he answered. “And that’s enough.” But it never felt like enough. That night in her dorm room, her laptop screen glowed against her face. “Focus, Aria. Assignments, not distractions.” Her voice wavered as she clicked too quickly. A video filled the screen. Tangled bodies. Rough sounds. Her eyes widened. Her cheeks flushed hot. “Oh God.” She scrambled to close it but froze. Because suddenly it wasn’t strangers anymore. It was him. “Ethan,” she whispered, breath hitching. Her chest lurched. She slammed the laptop shut so hard it rattled the desk. “Not again. Please, not again.” But his memory clawed at her like poison she couldn’t spit out. His laugh. His lips. His lies. The way he made her believe in forever, then left her behind like she meant nothing. Heat and shame twisted inside her until she pressed her palms against her face. “I hate you. I hate that I still feel this.” Her body betrayed her. Her mind betrayed her. Ethan always did. Morning came too soon. Sunlight carved across her face, dragging her out of restless sleep. Aria stood in front of the mirror, staring at her reflection. Her fingers brushed along her jaw as if touching someone else’s skin. “New life. New school. Forget Ethan,” she whispered to herself, trying to will the lie into truth. Her hands trembled anyway. Campus was alive with chatter and laughter. Aria hugged her books to her chest, keeping her head low, her hair sliding forward like a shield. “Who’s the new girl?” someone whispered behind her. “She’s pretty,” another said. “She looks nervous,” a third voice added, giggling. Aria’s pace quickened. She muttered under her breath. “Ignore it. Just ignore it.” She pushed through the hallway, breathing easier only when she stepped inside the classroom. But the moment she entered, she felt it. A stare. Heavy. Burning. Her skin prickled. Slowly, against her better judgment, she looked up. Damian Cole. He sat like he owned the space, long fingers draped over the desk, posture relaxed but commanding. His eyes locked on hers instantly, cold and unblinking. No smile. No blink. Just that piercing focus, as if he had been waiting for her. Aria’s breath caught in her throat. “Why is he looking at me like that?” she whispered to herself. She dropped into a seat at the back of the class, relief washing over her for only a second. Then she heard it. Footsteps. A chair scraping against the floor. He sat right beside her. “Hi.” Her pen slipped in her fingers. Just one word, but her pulse spiked. “…Hi.” “You’re new.” She forced her voice steady. “Sharp observation.” He leaned closer, just enough that she caught a faint trace of expensive cologne, sharp and addictive. “Trying to stay invisible?” “That was the plan.” “Not working.” Her head snapped toward him. “Excuse me?” “You stand out,” he said simply, as if it were a fact carved into stone. His voice was low, certain, and infuriatingly calm. Before she could bite back, the lecturer stormed in, dropping a pile of papers onto the desk with a thud. Students went silent. Everyone except Damian. He didn’t move. Didn’t turn away. Aria bent closer to her notebook, whispering under her breath, “Why are you staring at me?” His answer was quiet, but it slid down her spine like a dangerous promise. “Like I already know you. Maybe because I do.” Her hand trembled, ink blotting across the page. She swallowed hard, heart slamming against her ribs. The lecture dragged on, but Aria barely caught a word. Every second, she felt his eyes burning into her, every second Ethan’s ghost slipped back into her mind. His kiss. His lies. His betrayal. “Never again,” she whispered to herself. “Never someone like him again.” But Damian Cole sat there, magnetic and unyielding, and her heart refused to obey. When class finally ended, she packed her bag slowly, hoping he’d leave first. He didn’t. “Always this quiet?” he asked, his voice cutting through the shuffle of students leaving. “Only around people who stare,” she shot back before she could stop herself. The corner of his mouth lifted, not quite a smile, more like a challenge. “Then I guess I’ll have to keep staring.” Her pulse jumped. “Don’t.” “Too late.” She shoved past him, sunlight spilling across her face as she stepped outside. The warmth did nothing to calm the storm raging inside her. “New life. New school. Forget Ethan. Stay invisible,” she whispered, gripping her bag tighter. But she already knew the truth. Invisible was no longer an option. Not with Damian Cole in her world. One stare, one word, and her carefully built walls were already cracking. And deep down, in the part of her that still remembered Ethan’s lies and scars, a terrifying thought took root. What if Damian Cole was worse?