Chapter 9 - Dangerous Proximity
917 Words
Anna barely felt the cold as she walked down the empty street, Damien’s words hammering at the walls she had spent years reinforcing. You were drugged that night.
No. That couldn’t be right. If it were true, then everything—everything she had believed, everything she had accepted—was built on a lie.
She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to steady her breath, but the night air felt suffocating. The distant hum of the city barely registered. Her mind was stuck in a loop, fragments of that night flashing in her head. The party. The lights. The music. A drink placed in her hand. A feeling of dizziness. And then—
Nothing.
She had always assumed it was the alcohol. That she had blacked out because she had been careless. Because she had let her so-called friends pressure her into drinking more than she could handle.
But what if that wasn’t the truth?
Her stomach twisted violently. She reached a nearby alley, bracing herself against the cold brick wall as she tried to calm the nausea creeping up her throat. She squeezed her eyes shut. Don’t do this. Don’t fall apart now.
Footsteps echoed behind her.
She stiffened, every muscle locking up as she turned her head slightly.
A tall shadow loomed at the alley’s entrance.
Anna’s pulse spiked. Her first thought was Damien, but as the figure stepped under the flickering streetlight, her blood ran cold.
It wasn’t him.
It was Allen.
Her breath hitched. The last time she had seen her ex-boyfriend was in a courtroom, smirking as he testified against her. Now, years later, he stood in front of her, wearing an expensive coat, his dark eyes gleaming with something unreadable.
“Long time, no see,” Allen drawled, stepping closer.
Anna instinctively backed up, her hands curling into fists. “What the hell are you doing here?”
His smirk deepened. “That’s no way to greet an old friend.”
She swallowed back the bile rising in her throat. “We were never friends.”
Allen let out a mock sigh, shaking his head. “Still holding a grudge? I thought prison would’ve given you time to let go of all that anger.”
The audacity of his words made her hands shake. You ruined my life, she wanted to scream. But she refused to let him see how much power he still had over her.
Instead, she forced her voice to remain steady. “What do you want?”
Allen’s eyes darkened slightly, and for the first time, his playful act faltered. “You should be careful, Anna. Digging up the past never ends well.”
Her heart pounded. “That sounds like a threat.”
He smiled, but there was no warmth in it. “Just looking out for you.”
Anna clenched her jaw, every fiber of her being screaming at her to run. But she wouldn’t give him that satisfaction.
“You don’t get to ‘look out’ for me,” she spat. “Not after what you did.”
Allen took another step forward, but before he could close the distance, a car pulled up at the curb.
Damien.
He got out, his sharp gaze locking onto the scene in front of him. Anna had never been so relieved to see him in her life.
Allen’s smirk returned, but this time, it was more amused than threatening. “Well, if it isn’t the shadow,” he mused, slipping his hands into his pockets. “Didn’t realize you had a babysitter, Anna.”
Damien’s expression was ice-cold as he stepped closer, positioning himself slightly in front of Anna. “Walk away,” he said, his voice quiet but lethal.
Allen chuckled. “Touchy. I was just catching up with an old friend.”
Damien didn’t move, didn’t blink. “I won’t say it again.”
A tense silence stretched between them. Then, Allen tilted his head, giving Anna one last look. “Be careful, sweetheart. Some things are better left forgotten.”
With that, he turned and strolled off, disappearing into the night like a ghost.
Anna exhaled shakily, the weight of what just happened crashing down on her. She pressed a hand to her forehead, trying to will away the headache forming behind her eyes.
Damien’s voice cut through the haze. “Are you okay?”
She let out a bitter laugh, lowering her hand. “Do I look okay?”
He didn’t answer, just studied her with those piercing blue eyes. “What did he say to you?”
Anna hesitated. She didn’t want to tell him. She didn’t want to give him another reason to dig into something that could destroy them both.
But when she met his gaze, she saw something she hadn’t expected.
Concern.
Real, unguarded concern.
She swallowed. “He told me to stop digging.”
Damien’s jaw ticked. “That’s not happening.”
Anna let out a sharp breath. “Damien—”
“I’m serious.” His voice was firm. “If he’s nervous, it means we’re getting close to something.”
Anna clenched her fists. “Or it means we’re about to get crushed.”
Damien stepped closer, his presence solid, grounding. “Then let’s make sure we hit first.”
She should have been terrified by that statement. Should have walked away.
But for the first time in a long time, she didn’t feel like she was fighting alone.
And that scared her more than anything.
- Writer
