The lines between us

CHAPTER 13_FALLOUT

The approval email came faster than I expected.

Dorm transfer approved. Temporary relocation pending.

I stared at the screen in the registrar’s office, heart pounding. Relief flickered—brief, fragile. I hadn’t escaped yet, but I’d cracked the door open.

That was when I felt it.

That familiar pressure at the base of my spine. The awareness that came before Isa ever spoke.

I turned.

She stood at the far end of the hallway, arms folded, posture relaxed. Watching me like she had all the time in the world.

So she knew.

I didn’t wait for her to approach. I walked past her instead, shoulder brushing hers on purpose.

“Lee,” she said calmly. Too calmly.

I kept going.

Her footsteps followed. Unhurried. Confident.

“You filed paperwork,” she continued. “You didn’t even warn me.”

I stopped. Turned. “I don’t owe you anything.”

Her eyes flickered—not anger. Calculation.

“So it’s true,” she said quietly. “You really did talk to him.”

There it was. Not accusation. Confirmation.

“You told me not to,” I said. “That should’ve been my first clue.”

Something sharp crossed her face—gone just as quickly.

“You always do this,” she said. “You listen to outsiders. You let them poison things before you understand them.”

“I understand enough,” I shot back. “And I’m done being in the middle of whatever this is.”

Her jaw tightened. “You think moving rooms fixes that?”

“I think it gives me air.”

For the first time since I’d met Isa, she stepped closer without touching me—and stopped herself.

“That won’t last,” she said softly. “You know that.”

I didn’t respond.

Behind her, Aaron appeared at the end of the corridor, talking to someone from engineering. He noticed us. Slowed. Didn’t approach.

Good.

Isa noticed him too.

Her mouth curved—not pleased, not angry. Possessive.

“He doesn’t get to have you,” she said quietly. “Not after everything.”

“I’m not something to have,” I snapped.

She leaned in just enough for me to hear her next words.

“You say that now.”

I stepped back. My chest burned—not with desire this time, but with something colder. Clearer.

“I’m leaving the room tonight,” I said. “Naomi already knows.”

That did it.

Her composure cracked—just a fracture, but real.

“You’re choosing sides,” she said.

“No,” I replied. “I’m choosing myself.”

For a moment, she looked like she might say something cruel.

Instead, she smiled.

“That’s fine,” she said. “Run. Pretend this ends cleanly.”

She stepped away from me, turning back down the hall.

“But don’t confuse distance with freedom, Lee,” she added over her shoulder. “You already crossed the line.”

I stood there long after she disappeared.

My phone buzzed again.

Not Isa.

Naomi:

Where are you? We need to talk. Now.

I exhaled slowly.

Things weren’t slowing down.

They were shifting.

And somehow, that felt more dangerous.