Chapter 3 The line between us
878 Words
The house felt different the next morning, as if a thick fog had settled in every corner, weighing down the light. I moved through the halls like a shadow, every sound magnified. When I reached the kitchen, Dante was already there, perched on a barstool, as if he’d been waiting for me. His presence was a storm I couldn’t name—calm on the surface, but dark beneath. I reached for a glass, but my hand trembled, and he noticed—his eyes narrowing just slightly. “Why are you so afraid?” he asked, as if he could see right through me.
I swallowed, my voice barely a whisper. “I’m not afraid.” But even as I said it, the phone on the counter rang, and when I picked up, it was Jay again. “Ava, I’m worried. Did something happen last night?” I glanced at Dante, his jaw clenched, and suddenly I realized: he wasn’t just watching me—he was waiting for me to break. And I didn’t know if I would—or if I already hadI quickly turned away from Dante, gripping the phone tighter against my ear as if Jay’s voice could somehow pull me back to reality.
“Nothing happened,” I lied softly.
There was a pause on the other end. “Ava… you sound weird.”
My stomach twisted. Before I could answer, Dante stood from the barstool. Slow. Calm. Dangerous.
The sound of his footsteps against the marble floor echoed through the kitchen, each one heavier than the last. I felt him stop beside me, close enough for me to catch the faint scent of smoke and expensive cologne clinging to him.
“Who is Jay?” he asked quietly.
I looked up at him, startled by how cold his voice had become. Not loud. Not angry. Somehow, that made it worse.
“He’s my best friend.”
Dante’s jaw tightened almost instantly.
“A guy?”
I hesitated for half a second too long.
And he noticed.
Something dark flickered behind his eyes before he leaned against the counter beside me, one hand resting near mine. Trapping me there without even touching me.
On the phone, Jay kept talking. “Ava? You there?”
But my attention stayed fixed on Dante.
His gaze dropped to my lips for the briefest moment before lifting back to my eyes again. Possessive. Unreadable.
“Tell him you’re busy,” he murmured.
My pulse stumbled.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
The kitchen suddenly felt too small. Too warm. I should’ve moved away. I should’ve told him no. But there was something terrifying about the way he looked at me, like he genuinely couldn’t stand the idea of someone else having my attention.
“Ava?” Jay’s voice came again, confused now.
I swallowed hard. “I—I’ll call you later.”
The moment the call ended, silence rushed in between us.
Dante reached for the glass beside me, his fingers brushing mine for only a second, but it was enough to send heat racing up my arm.
“You shouldn’t let people get too attached to you,” he said softly.
I frowned. “Why?”
His eyes locked onto mine again.
“Because they start believing they can keep you.”I set the phone down, but my pulse was a frantic drumbeat in my ears. Dante’s gaze lingered, heavy, as if he could see right into me. He didn’t raise his voice, but each word sliced through the air. “You belong to me now, Ava.” My skin went cold, and for a moment, I couldn’t breathe. I took a step back, my fingers brushing the counter, desperate to find stability, but he didn’t let me go. He leaned closer, his voice barely above a whisper, and all at once, the air between us ignited with a terror I couldn’t shake.Dante’s hand rested against the counter beside mine, trapping me between him and the cold marble. My breath caught as he leaned closer, his eyes fixed on me with a dangerous kind of focus that made my chest tighten.
“You keep looking at me like you’re afraid,” he murmured.
“Maybe I am.”
A faint smile touched his lips, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
The silence between us stretched painfully thin. I could hear the rain beginning outside again, soft against the windows, but inside the kitchen everything felt too still. Too charged.
Then his fingers brushed a loose strand of hair away from my face.
The touch was gentle.
That was the terrifying part.
I froze instantly, my pulse racing as his gaze searched mine, almost like he was trying to figure out how much control he really had over me already.
“You should stay away from people like me, Ava,” he said quietly.
But he didn’t move away.
If anything, he stepped closer.
And somehow, that felt worse.
I swallowed hard, my back pressing lightly against the counter. “Then why won’t you leave me alone?”
For the first time, something raw flickered across his face. Not anger. Not coldness.
Possession.
“Because,” he said softly, “I don’t think I can.
- Writer
