Scarlet
The day was overcast, the sky a blanket of gray clouds, mirroring the unease I felt as I walked to the clearing in the woods. The note Damien had slipped onto my desk earlier was tucked into my jacket pocket, its words seared into my mind:
"Meet me tonight. The clearing near the river."
I couldn’t lie to myself anymore—I was nervous. And curious. And maybe, deep down, hopeful. I shouldn’t have entertained the idea in the first place but here I was.
The kiss lingered in my thoughts, no matter how hard I tried to push it away. Every time I thought about it, my chest tightened with confusion, anger, and something dangerously close to longing. Damien hadn’t mentioned it since it happened.
He hadn’t tried to talk about it or even acknowledge it directly. But his actions since that
