The lines between us

CHAPTER 18_ FRACTURED

The knock on my door was sharp, insistent, impossible to ignore.

“I saw you with that girl,” Isa’s voice hissed before I even fully opened the door. “Laughing… smiling… enjoying yourself.”

I froze, arms tightening across my chest. “Enjoying myself? That’s your problem?”

Her eyes blazed, storm-dark and unrelenting. “Don’t act like you don’t know why I’m mad! I saw you—just the two of you. Alone.”

“I don’t know what you want me to say,” I said, jaw tight, trying to keep my voice even. “We’re talking. That’s it. There’s nothing more.”

She didn’t respond. Instead, she barged into my room, slamming the door behind her. The air immediately thickened between us, heat pressing against my skin.

“I can’t stand it!” Isa snapped, voice low, vibrating with raw frustration. “Watching you… smiling at someone else. It’s mine. I want it to be mine!”

“And what about Aaron?” I shot back, heart hammering. “Why are you with him? He’s your friend—or more? What’s going on there?!”

Her eyes flickered, just for a second, and I knew I’d hit a nerve. “That’s… it’s complicated,” she spat, stepping closer, too close, so close I could feel her every breath. “It doesn’t matter. You don’t get to question me. Not now.”

I stepped back, my voice rising. “It does matter! Why do you keep him around? Why are you… with him, Isa?”

“Enough!” she snapped, frustration and longing twisting together so sharply it made me flinch. Her hands gripped my shoulders, hard, as if trying to pin me in place. “You think you know what’s going on. You think I owe you explanations!”

I shook her off, hands pushing against her forcefully. “I don’t owe you anything—but I also don’t owe you silence! You can’t just—”

Before I could finish, she pressed her lips to mine. Hard, urgent, desperate. I froze, caught off-guard—but only for a heartbeat.

Then I pushed her away, shoving her firmly. “What the hell, Isa?!” I shouted, heart pounding, rage and shock mixing. “You don’t get to kiss me! You have no right!”

She stumbled back slightly, lips parted, eyes wide with frustration. “I… I couldn’t… I couldn’t stop myself,” she muttered, voice rough. “Seeing you with her… I… I can’t—”

“You can’t what? Use me to fix your jealousy?!” I yelled, my chest heaving. “You don’t get to drag me into whatever this is between you and Aaron! You don’t get to act like I’m some part of your… game!”

Her jaw clenched. “I’m not—fine. Maybe I am. Maybe I just… I just don’t want you with anyone else.”

“And I’m not yours!” I shouted back, voice cracking, raw. “I’m not Aaron’s. I’m not anyone’s! You don’t get to decide where I go or who I talk to, Isa! That’s not yours to control!”

Her eyes darkened, stormy, but her voice softened just slightly. “Lisa… I…”

I shook my head, cutting her off. “Don’t. Don’t call me that. You never call me that. Only she—only Elara—does. And I’m not yours to claim. Not now, not ever.”

Isa faltered, like she was about to argue, but the fire in her eyes didn’t die—it just flickered with something darker, more possessive. She opened her mouth, and for a long second, we just stared, the air electric, tense, and thick with everything left unsaid.

Finally, she pulled back, hands brushing my arms lightly, almost pleading. “I didn’t mean—”

“Don’t mean?” I scoffed, my voice sharp, trembling slightly. “You kissed me. You stepped into my room without asking. You don’t get to act like this is nothing! And you’re still with Aaron!”

Her face fell, and for the first time I saw real vulnerability. “It’s not what it looks like,” she whispered. “There’s… there’s nothing going on between us, you know that. But I can’t help… my feelings. Seeing you with anyone else…”

I shook my head, chest heaving, voice low but firm. “You need to figure yourself out. I’m not a pawn. I’m not part of whatever you’ve got going with him. And I don’t want to be in the middle of that.”

She blinked, lips trembling slightly, frustration and desire warring across her face. “I just… I don’t want to lose you,” she admitted finally, voice barely above a whisper.

I stepped back fully, finally letting the distance between us breathe. “Maybe you should worry about yourself, Isa,” I said, chest still tight, eyes steady. “Because I’m not going anywhere just to make you feel better about your jealousy.”

Her hands fell to her sides, jaw tight, and she let out a long, ragged breath. “You’re impossible,” she muttered, almost to herself.

“I know,” I said, voice soft but unwavering. “And don’t forget it.”

The room was silent for a long moment except for our breathing, each of us caught in the aftermath of the storm we’d just created.