A picture in lingerie
1385 Words
KYLE
I held her tightly, hiding her in my arms. She was shivering against my skin, tears streaming down her eyes like jewels, and her lips kept chanting the same thing over and over again… I didn't want to kill him.
“Tessa, look at me,” I whispered.
Her lashes slowly lifted, but her eyes remained hollow, stripped of their usual spark.
To anyone else, they might have looked empty.
But I saw what lay beneath them. A hurt buried so deep it had carved its way through her, leaving behind the remnants of a past that had broken her in ways she still carried.
Her nails almost scratched my skin as panic started to stir within her. She was not herself.
“It was self-defense…”
“I didn't kill anyone!” She stumbled back, dropping to her knees. Her face was drained of color, and her hands rubbing her shoulders aggressively.
Without a moment's hesitation, I crossed the distance between us and dropped to my knees beside her. Then, carefully, almost instinctively, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into a gentle embrace.
“You didn't do anything wrong, okay?”
Slowly, she rested her head against my chest, surrendering to the silence between us. It was as if she had decided to set down a piece of the burden she’d been carrying alone.
Her eyes drifted shut, and I felt her relax ever so slightly against me. She believed my words.
And in that fragile, silent moment, with her heartbeat merging softly with mine, she slowly fell asleep. When I looked at the window, it was already dawn. She was awake the whole night.
I stayed on the floor beside her, my back resting against the side of the bed. The room was quiet except for the soft rhythm of her breathing.
Sleep never came. Instead, I pulled out my phone from the pocket of my pants.
For a long moment, I stared at the screen, debating whether I should do it. Whether digging into Tessa Vance's past was crossing a line. Then curiosity won.
My thumb moved across the screen.
Search. Tessa Vance.
The glow from the phone illuminated the darkness around me. Article after article appeared. Headlines. Photos. Speculation.
And then one headline made my blood run cold. My fingers tightened around the phone.
“She was in prison?” The words escaped before I could stop them.
The article painted a horrifying picture. Tessa killed him in self-defense when he tried to attack her after the award ceremony. But she had no evidence to prove it was self-defense and was sentenced to five years.
I stared at the screen for a long time.
Then I looked over at the woman sleeping beside me. At the tired face resting peacefully against the pillow. At the faint crease between her brows that remained even in sleep. The girl who looked broken every time someone mentioned her past.
The Tessa I knew was stubborn. Sharp-tongued. Reckless. Infuriating.
But a killer?
No. My instincts rejected it immediately.
If Tessa Vance could really kill, I’d have been dead by now.
The phone lowered slowly into my lap.
“What exactly happened to you, Tessa Vance?” I whispered, moving my lips closer to her ear.
***
TESSA
When my eyes opened, I was in Kyle's arms. He was sleeping next to me, his scent wrapped around me like a warm blanket.
A shiver ran down my spine. *Did I again do something?*
My sleeping problem was getting worse.
Inhaling a soft breath, I smoothly freed myself from his arms, crawling over to the door. I quickly changed into my dress from last night and sneaked out. The Reapers were asleep, outside was just dead silence.
I didn't wake anyone. I just left.
Later that day, I asked Maya to handle the café and went to hospital alone. I was afraid I’d expose my past through my nightmares.
Mrs. Yuri, my doctor, exhaled a long sigh. “Tessa, I can give you sleeping pills for now. But you need to let go of the trauma that's been bothering you. If not, you'll always suffer. Sleeping pills are temporary solution.”
“I-I don't know what to do…”
She held my palm. “You said the sleeping problems occurred ever since you parted ways with your ex-boyfriend. You loved him too much. No doubt. Maybe find someone new?”
My stomach twisted.
The thought of love was sickening.
“I don't want to love again. I just can't.”
“Love is not always scary. There might be someone better out there. Okay… How about you find a man who gives you comfort?” New love might heal the old scars.”
“Is there someone?” She twitched her brows.
“Ehm…”
Before I could answer, the door creaked open.
The sound was soft, but it cut through the room sharply enough to steal my attention. I turned toward the entrance and froze.
Kyle Maxwell was standing at the doorway.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, rising to my feet. I assumed he was stalking me.
“You two know each other?” Mrs. Yuri spoke, raising a brow at Kyle before fixing her inquisitive gaze on me.
The corner of his lips curled. “Do we know each other, glasses?” The tone was flirty, and provoking at the same time.
I frowned, avoiding eye contact with him.
He let out a soft chuckle. “She's my landlord.”
“The one you said always find ways to argue with you?” Mrs. Yuri mumbled.
The moment I shot Kyle a glare, he immediately rubbed the back of his forehead, silently trying to signal Mrs. Yuri to stop talking. Unfortunately for him, she completely missed the message.
“What else did you say?” She asked, furrowing her brows as she tried to recall the conversation. “There was something else, wasn't there?”
Kyle's expression tightened.
He's been bitching about me behind my back.
Mrs. Yuri, however, remained blissfully unaware of his attempts to keep her quiet.
“Aunt, stop it,” he finally whispered.
“Aunt?” My eyes widened.
“She's my mom's sister.” Kyle leaned against a wall, picking up a Rubik's cube from the table.
“Mrs. Yuri, I-I should go now.”
“Okay. Take my number. Call me whenever your condition is getting worse.” She placed her white card on the glass table.
“Thank you.”
As I reached for the card, my gaze drifted toward Kyle. He looked completely unbothered by the conversation, lazily turning a Rubik’s Cube in his hands.
I walked out of the room as fast as I could. Deep down, I felt exposed. I didn't want anyone to find out about my condition, especially Kyle.
As I came back from the hospital, Maya insisted we go shopping.
One store turned into three.
Three turned into five.
And somehow, completely by accident, we ended up buying a few sets of new lingerie.
Back home, I was sorting through the shopping bags when my phone buzzed.
{Maya: Send me some gorgeous pics in your new lingerie.} She had sent hers earlier.
I rolled my eyes.
{Me: Lol… You're insane.}
A second notification appeared almost immediately.
{Kyle: Just so you know, I wasn't stalking you. I was there to meet my aunt.}
{Tessa: How did you get my number?}
{Kyle: Piece of cake.}
I stared at the message. Then I ignored it.
Shaking my head, I put my phone aside and snapped a quick photo for Maya. Nothing dramatic, just proof that I'd actually tried on one of the lingerie she'd convinced me to buy.
I hit send. Then I changed back into my nightdress.
A minute later, my phone buzzed again.
{Maya: I'm waiting, Tessa.}
I frowned. “Waiting for what?”
Confused, I opened my chat list. My thumb froze. My stomach dropped.
Slowly, very slowly, I looked at the number attached to the last image I had sent.
Not Maya.
Kyle Maxwell.
For a solid three seconds, my brain stopped functioning. Then panic hit.
“What the hell!?” I nearly dropped my phone.
Just then… Seen appeared beneath the photo.
- Writer
