Crimson Hollow

Chapter Five

I called Poppy the second I was settled under the heavy covers. She picked up before the first ring had even finished.

“Are you alive?” she screamed from the other side of the line.

A small smile tugged at my lips. “Barely.”

“Good. I was about to come find you.”

I could picture her doing exactly that, and my smile widened. “From where?”

“Your old house.”

I let out a soft laugh. “You’re crazy.”

“I know,” she agreed proudly.

For a long time, we just talked not about anything heavy, just the comforting normal stuff. She filled me in on what happened at school after I left, how Aida had almost cried when she heard I wasn’t coming back, and how Harry had already suggested moving our book club online.

I groaned.

“Harry is so predictable.”

“He said you’d want to keep it going,” Poppy explained gently.

“I do,” I admitted softly.

“Then do it.”

“I don’t know...” I really didn’t. I hated watching my hard work dissolve into nothing, but part of me wanted them to thrive without me holding them back.

“You don’t have to decide tonight.”

“Tell them I’m sorry,” I whispered.

“I will.”

“And tell them...” I paused, my throat tightening. “That I’m sad I won’t be coming back.”

Poppy went quiet. “I’ll tell them.”

Rustling sounded on her end, followed by a muffled, familiar voice in the background. I couldn't make out the words.

“Is that Zayn?”

A beat of hesitation. “Yeah.”

I frowned, shifting on the mattress. “Why are you with him?”

Another long pause. “He came over.”

“Oh.”

A strange knot formed in my stomach. Poppy and Zayn weren’t particularly friends, the only time they ever hung out was when I invited them both somewhere. I wanted to press her, but I forced the suspicion down.

“Can I talk to him?” I asked instead.

Poppy didn’t answer right away. “Sure.”

More rustling echoed through the speaker before Zayn’s voice came through the line. “Hey.”

Just hearing his voice made my chest ache with instant longing. “Hey,” I said softly.

Silence stretched between us, thick and uncomfortable.

“Are you okay?” I forced myself to ask.

“Yeah.”

“You sound tired.”

“I’m fine.” His tone was blunt, almost cold.

My frown deepened. “You keep saying that.”

He let out a heavy sigh. “Fawn, I don’t know what you want me to say.”

“I don’t know either.”

Another suffocating silence fell between us.

“I hope things work out for you,” he finally said. Something in his voice felt like a door slamming shut.

“Me too,” I whispered, fighting for a shred of hope. “But... we can figure something out, right?”

An agonizingly long pause followed.

“I’m going to let you go,” he said quietly.

“Okay.” I didn't have the strength to fight for someone who was already pulling away.

“Goodnight, Fawn.”

“Goodnight,” I managed, biting my lip hard to keep the tears from slipping out.

The call disconnected. I stared down at the dark screen.

So that was it? Just like that?

I shook my head, trying to rationalize it. Maybe he just needed time. I couldn't blame him, and honestly, that was the part that hurt the most.

I didn't have the energy to call Malissa now. I quickly typed out a text to

Poppy: Tell Malissa I arrived safe and I’ll call her tomorrow.

Before I could set my phone down, a soft knock sounded on my door, and Mum stepped inside. She held in her hands a glass of water.

“You’re still awake?”

“Yeah.”

Her eyes darted to my phone. “Poppy?”

“Yeah.”

She nodded, her gaze shifting to the nightstand. “Did you take your medication?”

I froze. “...No.”

Her expression instantly hardened. “I had a feeling.”

“I forgot.” I explained

“You’ve had an exhausting day, I understand that. But you cannot forget it.”

“I know.”

“Take it now” she ordered

I let out a resigned sigh. “Yes, Mum.”

She stood over me, watching intently as I unscrewed the cap, popped the pill into my mouth, and washed it down with a glass of water she had offered.

“There.”

“Good.” She turned toward the door.

“Mum?”

She stopped, looking back at me.

“Can I ask you something?” I hesitated, picking at the duvet. “What did Grandma mean earlier? When she asked if I was 'one of you'?”

Her posture went a bit rigid. “She meant family.”

I searched her face. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” I said it mostly to convince myself. It made sense, it had to make sense.

After tossing and turning for hours, sleep proved completely impossible. Giving up, I slipped out of bed and tiptoed toward the floor to ceiling window.

My room overlooked the garden, it looked even better from this view. I figured a few minutes outside wouldn’t hurt.

Disregarding Grandma’s clear warning, I crept out into the hallway, easing my feet down the grand staircase as silently as possible. I let out a breath of relief when I pushed open the terrace door and stepped into the cool night air unnoticed.

It was refreshing, but sharper than I expected, carrying with it a faint, earthy scent.

I ignored it. I stepped deeper into the garden. A sudden rustle echoed from the trimmed hedges to my left. I froze for a split second, I thought I caught the silhouette of a massive, shadowy black dog lurking behind the bushes.

But when I blinked and looked again, it was gone. My heart began beating faster. Maybe coming

outside in the middle of the night hadn’t been my brightest idea. Something about this felt wrong.

I was ready to go back inside when I heard the rustling again. I froze.

I stopped. Okay.

I took a step backwards. Then curiosity got the better of me. I slowly moved towards the hedge and looked behind it. I didn’t see the black dog.

Instead, I saw two pairs of dark eyes staring back at me

I went rigid with fear.

There were two guys standing there, both around my age, maybe a little older. They were both shirtless. One in particular caught my eye, his jaw was sharply defined, his hair as dark as the night around us, and his tanned skin caught faintly beneath the moonlight. His body was toned, almost unnaturally so.

He was too perfect. Too unreal.

But it wasn’t just his appearance that made me freeze. It was the feeling. Something inside me pulled toward him, a sudden, electric wave of heat that flared under my skin. Something I didn’t understand, yet felt strangely familiar. Like some part of my soul already recognized him.

Then his eyes met mine. He went completely still.

For a terrifying second, he simply stared at me, his chest heaving slightly as the breeze shifted between us. His expression changed in rapid beats, confusion, then disbelief, and finally something dark and dangerous that made my breath catch in my throat.

He took one slow, deliberate step toward me. The overwhelming intensity rolling off him made my instincts kick in, and I took an involuntary step back, my shoes sinking into the damp garden grass.

His dark eyes narrowed.

“What the hell are you?”

I blinked, paralyzed.

“Reed…”

The other guy beside him warned softly. He was blonde, with a lean, athletic build, and almost as tall as the dark haired guy.

The dark haired guy didn’t respond.

So Reed was his name, I noted.

His eyes remained locked onto mine, burning through the dark. He flared his nostrils, taking another deep, sharp breath of the night air. A muscle in his jaw ticked as his expression twisted into pure, primal frustration.

“Why does she smell like that?”