Chapter 004
1245 Words
Chapter 4
Wren
I checked everywhere.
Under the desk. Beside it. On the floor. Behind the nearby cabinets.
Nothing.
The envelope had vanished into thin air.
I had put it right there. Right on the coordinator's desk. How could it disappear in less than five minutes?
Panic began creeping into my chest.
Fuck.
This didn't make any sense.
Something wasn't right.
I needed to leave.
Now.
So I hurried out of the administration office and started walking down the hallway. The further I got from that desk, the more uneasy I felt. It was ridiculous, but with every step, I had the strange sensation that someone was nearby. Watching me. Following me. The empty school suddenly felt a lot less empty. The hallways stretched endlessly before me, dark and eerily quiet, illuminated only by a few dim lights that cast long shadows across the floor. I had never stayed this late after school before, and for the first time, I realized just how creepy the building became once everyone was gone.
My heartbeat picked up. Then it doubled.
By the time I reached the main hallway, panic had completely taken over. I didn't know what was happening, but every instinct in my body was screaming at me to run. So I did. I broke into a sprint, my footsteps echoing loudly through the deserted corridors as I rushed toward the exit. My breathing became uneven, and my pulse pounded so hard in my ears that I could barely hear anything else.
Then suddenly, something yanked on the back of my hoodie.
A gasp escaped me as my body jerked backward. Before I could even process what was happening, I felt myself being pulled off balance. Strong hands grabbed me, and the next thing I knew, my back slammed against a row of lockers with a painful thud. The impact rattled through my entire body. My breath caught in my throat as I found myself trapped, my arms pinned at my sides and no room to move.
I looked up.
And my eyes widened.
Of all people...
Why was he here?
Why was he in school at this hour?
For a moment, I simply stared at him in disbelief.
He stared right back.
A slow smirk spread across his face, and something about it instantly sent a chill down my spine. His eyes looked darker than usual in the dim lighting, almost black, and there was a strange intensity in them that made my stomach twist. The smile on his face wasn't friendly. It wasn't amused.
It was predatory.
The kind of smile a hunter wore after finally catching something it had been chasing.
The longer I looked at him, the more unhinged he seemed. The way he stood over me. The way he had cornered me. It was unsettling.
Then again, anyone hanging around an empty school after hours would seem unsettling to me right now.
I immediately tried to jerk away from him, twisting my body and attempting to shove him back. It didn't work. I was completely trapped. My back was pressed against the lockers, his hands pinning my elbows against the metal while his body blocked every possible escape route. Every time I tried to move, he simply tightened his hold, making it impossible for me to get free.
"Caught you, little birdie." His voice was low, amused, and entirely too pleased with himself.
He stepped even closer, deliberately invading every inch of my personal space. He was taller than me by a ridiculous amount, forcing me to tilt my head back to meet his gaze. He was still wearing his hockey jersey, the fabric slightly wrinkled from practice, and his black hair was a complete mess, as if he'd been running his hands through it all evening.
And yet, despite his disheveled appearance, he looked entirely in control.
That smile never left his face. If anything, it grew wider.
My jaw tightened as I violently jerked against his hold, trying to get free. "Have you lost your mind? Let me go!" I snapped, struggling even harder.
And he smiled. In fact, Knox Callaway laughed. Actually laughed.
The sound echoed through the empty hallway as he watched me fight against his grip like I was putting on some kind of entertaining show for him.
I had barely spoken to Knox throughout the year, but maybe the rumors were true after all.
The stories. The warnings. The whispers about how unhinged he could be.
Maybe he really was a psycho. Or at the very least, he enjoyed acting like one.
Either way, I refused to be intimidated by him.
"Little birdie lose her way tonight?" he asked, his voice smooth and deep.
There it was again. That stupid nickname.
And the worst part? He sounded amused. Like he was genuinely enjoying this.
Knox Callaway had transferred to our school a little over a year ago and had somehow managed to turn the entire hockey program upside down. He was the current captain of the team, the school's star player, and Axel Hart's number one rival.
The two of them hated each other.
"I am serious, Knox. This isn't funny."
Something in my tone must have finally gotten through to him. Because his smile faded. And a second later, his hands dropped away from my arms.
The sudden freedom almost caught me off guard. I immediately stepped away from him, rubbing my sore elbows.
"Crazy asshole," I muttered under my breath. Then I turned and started walking away.
This had been my first real interaction with Knox during our entire senior year.
And honestly? I believed every rumor now. Every single one. Not that he had ever made much effort to hide his reputation. But hearing stories and experiencing him firsthand were two very different things.
I had only known him as the intimidating hockey captain everyone talked about. Now I knew exactly why people looked at him the way they did.
I was halfway down the hallway when his voice stopped me.
"Funny."
I froze.
"Funny is what you wrote in this note."
His voice was low. Dangerously low. My entire body went rigid. Slowly, I turned around. And my eyes widened.
Knox was holding an envelope in his hand.
My envelope.
The same envelope I had left on the coordinator's desk. The same envelope that had mysteriously disappeared.
For a second, I could only stare at it. Then my gaze lifted to him.
No. No way.
Knox Callaway had taken it.
The realization made my stomach drop.
"Why do you have that?" I demanded, immediately marching back toward him.
Knox merely smirked. A slow, infuriating smirk. God, I wanted to wipe it off his face.
He looked down at me with obvious amusement. The jerk was ridiculously tall.
"No, little birdie," he said lazily, lifting the envelope slightly. "The real question is why you were leaving scandalous evidence against your boyfriend on the coordinator's desk."
Knox took a slow step forward. Then another. Until he was standing far too close.
Again.
His face dipped toward mine, his eyes locked on my expression as though he was searching for every secret I was trying to hide.
"Trouble in paradise?" he asked. The corner of his mouth lifted.
That smug smile was back. And somehow, with his face only inches from mine and that envelope dangling between his fingers, he looked far more dangerous than he had when he'd pinned me against the lockers.
- Writer
