The Devil You Know
982 Words
Chapter 14: The Devil You Know
The morning after their kiss didn’t feel like a dream.
It felt like a warning.
Lily walked through campus, every step louder than the last, her mind caught between the taste of Blake’s lips and the danger in his voice.
I’m going to burn their kingdom to the ground.
She didn’t know what scared her more—what Blake was capable of, or how much she wanted to follow him into the fire.
She was halfway across the quad when a hand grabbed her arm.
She tensed instantly.
“Nate.”
He looked like hell—like someone had kicked him awake and he hadn't slept since. His tie was askew, hair disheveled, and his jaw clenched too tight to be casual.
“I’ve been trying to talk to you,” he said, voice low.
“I blocked your number for a reason.”
Nate’s grip tightened for a second before he forced a smile. “Can we just… go somewhere and talk? Five minutes. Please.”
She hesitated.
Everything in her told her no.
But she needed to hear it—from his own mouth.
“Fine,” she said. “Five minutes. That’s it.”
He led her to the back of the library where the noise of the world faded into stone walls and dusty shelves. It was too quiet, too hidden.
“Why here?” she asked warily.
Nate shrugged. “Privacy.”
She crossed her arms. “Say what you need to say.”
“I messed up,” he started. “I know that. I got scared when I saw you pulling away, and I handled it wrong. But Blake—he’s not who you think he is.”
She scoffed. “And you are?”
“I’ve always looked out for you,” he insisted. “I care about you.”
“Controlling me isn’t caring.”
Nate’s jaw twitched. “You’re not thinking straight. He’s got you wrapped around his twisted little finger—”
“No,” she cut in. “For once, I’m thinking clearly. I’m done letting you dictate how I feel.”
Something snapped in his eyes then. Something she hadn’t seen before.
Pure, ugly entitlement.
“You think you’re better off with him?” he hissed. “He’s using you. Just like he used the last girl.”
Lily froze. “What?”
“He didn’t tell you about her, did he?” Nate leaned in. “Her name was Sienna. He got her expelled. Destroyed her. And he’ll do the same to you.”
She blinked, heart pounding. “Why would he do that?”
Nate smirked. “Because it’s what he does. He breaks things. He likes control.”
The words hit too close to home.
Was Blake any better than Nate?
She backed up. “You’re lying.”
“Am I?” Nate stepped closer. “You think you’re special to him? You’re just his next project. And when he’s done, he’ll move on like you were nothing.”
Her voice cracked. “You don’t know anything.”
But the seed was already planted.
Nate saw the flicker in her eyes—and pushed.
“He’s dangerous, Lily. And if you stay close to him, you’ll get hurt. Maybe worse.”
Lily ran.
Out of the library, out into the wind, her breath ragged and her pulse in her throat.
Sienna. Expelled. Destroyed.
Is it true?
She didn’t want to believe Nate. But the shadows in Blake’s eyes… they weren’t imagined.
They were real.
She found Blake in the art studio, standing over a canvas splattered with angry reds and pitch-black swirls.
He turned when she walked in—and knew immediately.
“What did he say?”
Lily hesitated. “He told me about a girl. Sienna.”
Blake’s expression didn’t change—but his entire body tensed.
“Is it true?” she asked quietly.
He looked down. “Some of it.”
“Then tell me the rest.”
He walked over to the window, jaw tight, fists clenched at his sides. “Sienna was my ex. She was smart. Sweet. A little wild. She got mixed up with Nate’s crowd—fast cars, parties, fake smiles. She saw something she wasn’t supposed to and tried to report it.”
“What did she see?”
Blake met her eyes. “Nate’s father. With a girl. She was barely sixteen. It was all hush-hush. Bribery. Blackmail. Sienna tried to go to campus authorities, and suddenly, she was ‘unstable.’ They painted her as obsessive, dangerous. Expelled her.”
Lily felt sick. “And you?”
“I tried to help her. But it wasn’t enough.”
His voice cracked on that last word. Enough.
“You think I hurt her?” he asked, quietly now. “I loved her. But I couldn’t save her.”
Lily stepped forward. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I knew what it would sound like,” he said bitterly. “And I didn’t want your pity.”
“I don’t pity you,” she whispered. “But you scare me sometimes.”
He looked at her with something fragile in his eyes. “Then we’re even. Because you terrify me too.”
The space between them closed like gravity.
And this time, their kiss wasn’t about lust.
It was about truth.
About everything they couldn’t say out loud.
His lips were rough, but his hands were trembling.
Her touch was soft, but her heart was roaring.
And when he pulled away, his voice was ragged. “Promise me you won’t go back to him.”
“I won’t.”
“Because I swear to God, Lily… if he touches you again, I’ll ruin him.”
She met his gaze, steady and sure. “You won’t have to.”
- Writer
