Breaking Point
670 Words
Chapter Fourteen
Breaking Point
DANNI’S POV
It started small.
A shift in the air.
The way Em flinched every time I said Rixon’s name.
The way her smile got tighter when Cole’s name slipped into the conversation.
Like every word was another c***k in the wall she was desperately trying to hold up.
But now?
Now the wall has shattered.
And it was my fault.
Because I asked.
"Em."
I watched her shoulders stiffen from my hospital bed.
"Who else came? While I was out?"
Her head turned, slow and sharp.
Eyes too bright, jaw clenched so tight I could see the muscle tick.
"Why does it matter?"
Her voice was too casual. Too flat. The kind that meant danger.
I swallowed; my throat still raw.
"Because I remember things. Pieces. And no one’s giving me straight answers."
Em laughed — a harsh, brittle sound that scraped against my skin.
"Maybe that’s for the best, Danni."
My chest tightened.
"Em—"
She spun around then, eyes blazing.
"What? You want me to spell it out? Fine."
She threw her hands in the air.
"Rixon came. Cole came. They all came. And they all left their marks while you were lying here, fighting to survive."
Her voice cracked on, "survive."
Tears flashed in her eyes, but she blinked them away.
"You almost died, Danni. And now you’re what? Playing detective? Trying to piece together who kissed you, who held your hand, who whispered sweet nothings while you were unconscious?"
Her voice broke again, rough and raw.
"God, do you even hear how messed up that is?"
The words hit like slaps.
Because yeah — it was messy.
But I couldn’t stop. I needed to know.
My hands fisted in the blanket.
"I didn’t ask for this, Em. I didn’t ask for them—"
"But they came anyway," she snapped, cutting me off.
"Because they’re both still circling you like your gravity, and they can’t help themselves. And you—"
She choked on a sob.
"You’re gonna get pulled under again, and I can’t—"
Her voice broke completely this time, and her hands flew to her face like she could hide the cracks splitting her wide open.
Silence slammed into the room.
Heavy.
Breathless.
Em stood there, shaking, tears leaking through her fingers.
And all I could do was stare, heart pounding so loud I couldn’t hear anything else.
When she finally dropped her hands, her face was wrecked — blotchy and raw and furious all at once.
"I almost lost you, Danni," she whispered. "Do you get that? I almost had to stand there and tell your little brother his sister wasn’t coming home. And while I was losing my mind, they—"
She swallowed hard.
"They were here. Trying to stake claims. Like you were some prize to fight over while you were fighting to breathe."
Her words twisted in my chest.
Because they weren’t fair.
But they weren’t wrong either.
I blinked hard, throat burning.
"Em, I’m not—"
"I know you’re not," she cut in, voice softer now but still shaking.
"But you’re you. And you’re always gonna be the girl they fall for. And I’m the one watching you drown while pretending I’m not scared"
Her lips trembled.
"I’m just the one who has to pick up the pieces when they break you again."
That cut deeper than anything else.
Because it wasn’t just fear in her eyes.
It was love.
Messy, desperate, best friend love.
The kind that hurts because it cares too much.
Tears blurred my vision.
"I’m not trying to break again," I whispered.
Em let out a choked laugh, wiping her face with her sleeve.
"Yeah, well. I wish I believed that."
Silence fell again, heavy and raw.
She looked at me for a long beat, eyes shimmering but harder now.
"Figure out what you want, Danni. Before they tear you apart again."
Then she turned and walked out.
And this time, she didn’t look back.
- Writer
