~~ Chapter Seven ~~
746 Words
After the SUV incident, nothing happened.
No calls.
No questions.
No one following her.
At first, Janessa stayed alert. Every dark vehicle made her stomach tighten. Every unknown number made her hesitate.
But days passed.
Silence.
And slowly, she convinced herself it had been nothing.
Three days later, Janessa was sitting under the old oak tree near the science building when Enzo approached.
He didn’t smile this time.
“Can we talk?” he asked quietly.
She studied him for a moment, then nodded.
He sat beside her, leaving just enough space to be respectful but close enough that the air between them felt charged.
“I’m sorry,” he said. No hesitation. No excuses. “About the project. About not stepping up. About letting things fall apart.”
Janessa blinked, surprised by the directness.
“I should’ve handled it better,” he continued. “You trusted me. I didn’t show up the way I should have.”
She looked down at her hands. “It wasn’t just the project.”
“I know.”
Silence settled between them, but this time it wasn’t sharp. It was fragile.
“I don’t like not knowing where I stand,” Janessa said softly. “With people. With you.”
Enzo swallowed. There was so much he couldn’t say.
“You matter,” he said instead. “More than you think.”
Her heart betrayed her and softened.
He hesitated before asking, “Those guys… the ones who stopped you near campus. What exactly did they say?”
Janessa’s expression shifted. “How did you.....”
“I heard,” he replied carefully. “Are you okay?”
“They just asked if I knew you,” she said.
“Then they left. They haven’t bothered me since.”
Enzo nodded slowly, tension easing from his shoulders.
Good.
It worked.
Before he could ask anything else
“Oh. Am I interrupting?”
Winter’s voice slid between them like a blade.
She stood a few feet away, smiling too sweetly.
Janessa straightened. “We were just finishing.”
Winter stepped closer anyway. “I didn’t mean to intrude. I just wanted to make sure everything’s okay between you two.”
“It is,” Enzo said firmly.
Janessa glanced at him, surprised at the certainty in his tone.
Winter’s smile didn’t fade, but something flickered behind it.
“Well,” she said lightly, “that’s good. We all need stability, right?”
Janessa stood. “I have somewhere to be.”
She walked away calmer than before, but still guarded.
Enzo watched her go, something protective settling in his chest.
Winter watched him watching her.
That night, Enzo’s phone rang.
Unknown number.
He stared at it before answering.
“Hello?”
“You’re welcome.”
Enzo froze. “Who is this?”
A low chuckle came through the speaker. “Let’s just say… I’m the reason those men stopped asking about your girl.”
Enzo’s jaw tightened. “What did you do?”
“What needed to be done.”
Silence.
“You should be thanking me,” the voice continued. “If they dug any deeper, your university life would’ve ended quickly.”
Enzo’s pulse slowed dangerously.
“What do you want?” he asked.
“Nothing right now,” the man replied smoothly. “But you owe me.”
Enzo’s grip tightened around the phone.
“I don’t owe anyone,” he said coldly.
Another soft laugh.
“You do now.”
The line went dead.
Enzo lowered the phone slowly.
He had walked away from that world.
But someone had just dragged him back in without even showing their face.
And this time, it wasn’t about money.
It was about leverage.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD