chapter 9 Fault lines
928 Words
The week passed in a blur of tension, stolen glances, and words that hovered on the edge of being spoken but never quite escaped. Olivia felt as though she was walking through invisible fire—every step careful, every emotion heightened. She was caught between two very different gravitational pulls: the familiar warmth and quiet intensity she felt around Ethan, and the effortless magnetism Ryan carried like second skin.
Ryan had become the new topic of conversation around campus almost overnight.
Handsome. Mysterious. Polite.
The kind of person who fit easily into every space, who spoke with calm confidence and listened like he already knew the answers. People liked him instinctively. Olivia included—whether she wanted to admit it or not.
Ethan noticed.
He didn’t say anything, but his body betrayed him. The tightening of his jaw when Ryan entered a room. The way his gaze followed Olivia like a silent warning, sharp and protective. It was as if he was bracing himself for something he couldn’t stop.
One afternoon, Olivia and Ryan sat beneath the wide stone steps of the library, the late sun casting long shadows across the ground. Students passed by, but for a moment, it felt like the world had narrowed to just the two of them.
They talked about small things at first—classes, professors, random campus drama. And then, without realizing it, Olivia laughed. Really laughed. The sound surprised her. It had been weeks since it came so easily.
Ryan leaned back on his hands, watching her with an expression she couldn’t quite read. “You have a beautiful laugh,” he said quietly.
She felt heat rise to her cheeks. “You’re just saying that.”
“I don’t say things I don’t mean,” he replied, his voice calm, certain.
Something about the way he looked at her made her pulse quicken. It wasn’t flirtation alone—it was attention, focused and unwavering, as if he were studying her.
She looked away, suddenly self-conscious. “You’re strange, Ryan.”
A faint smile curved his lips. “You’ve no idea.”
The words lingered longer than they should have.
That night, Ethan couldn’t sleep.
Every time he closed his eyes, he saw them together—Olivia smiling, Ryan leaning in too close, his hand brushing her arm like it belonged there. The image burned behind his eyes until the pressure in his chest became unbearable.
He pulled on a hoodie and left his dorm without thinking.
The night air was sharp, filled with the chirping of crickets and the distant roll of thunder. The campus was quiet, but his thoughts were anything but. He knew where Ryan would be.
The old fountain near the library.
Ryan stood there, leaning against the marble edge, phone glowing faintly in his hand. He looked up as Ethan approached, already smiling—as if he’d been expecting him.
“Stay away from her,” Ethan said, his voice low and dangerous.
Ryan didn’t flinch. He slipped his phone into his pocket. “Olivia? I don’t think you get to make that call.”
Ethan stepped closer. “I’m not joking.”
“I know,” Ryan replied softly. “That’s what makes this fun.”
For a moment, they stood face-to-face—two storms colliding, the air between them thick with tension.
Ryan tilted his head. “Tell me something, Ethan. Why do you keep pushing her away if you care so much?”
Ethan froze.
Ryan’s smile widened, sharp and knowing. “See? You can’t even answer that. You’re too scared she’ll find out who you really are.”
Ethan’s eyes darkened. “You don’t know anything about me.”
“Oh,” Ryan said quietly, stepping closer. “I know more than you think.”
The silence stretched, heavy and electric.
“You play the protector,” Ryan continued. “But protectors always fall first.”
Ethan’s hand twitched, anger coursing through him. “If you ever hurt her—”
Ryan cut him off, voice dropping to a whisper. “You’ll what? Tell her the truth?”
The words struck deep. Ethan’s control cracked, just for a second—and Ryan saw it.
He smirked. “Didn’t think so.”
Ryan turned and walked away, his soft laughter echoing through the courtyard long after he disappeared.
The next morning, Olivia noticed immediately.
Ethan didn’t sit beside her in class. He didn’t look her way. When their eyes finally met, his gaze was colder than she’d ever seen it.
After class, she caught up with him in the hallway. “Ethan, what’s going on? Why are you avoiding me?”
He stopped, hesitating like he was fighting a battle inside himself. “You should stay away from Ryan.”
She blinked. “What? Why?”
“He’s not who you think he is.”
She crossed her arms. “You sound jealous.”
“Maybe I am,” he admitted, his voice cracking just slightly. “But it’s not that simple.”
“Then make it simple,” Olivia said, stepping closer. “Tell me what’s wrong. Tell me what you’re hiding.”
For a moment, he looked at her like she was the only thing holding him together. Then he turned away.
“I can’t,” he whispered. “Not yet.”
As he walked off, Olivia stood frozen, her heart pounding with questions she was no longer sure she wanted answered.
Whatever was happening between them—whatever secrets Ethan was keeping—it was already tearing them apart.
- Writer
