Mia stayed curled on the floor of her room for what felt like hours, the sheet still tangled around her naked body like a pathetic shield. The house had gone deathly quiet after the front door slammed, but the chaos still roared inside her head—Jake’s furious roar, Sarah’s broken scream, the sickening crack of fist meeting flesh, Ethan’s bloodied face.
Tears came in waves, hot and unstoppable. She pressed her forehead to the carpet, sobs wracking her chest until her throat burned raw. This wasn’t the thrill of stolen kisses or the rush of making Ethan lose control anymore. This was real destruction. Sarah’s tear-streaked face flashed behind her eyelids, the way her voice had cracked when she said “I loved you.” Jake’s eyes—full of betrayal and disappointment instead of the protective warm
