"ONE HOUSE FOUR MEN MY CHOICE"

THE PRICE

CHAPTER 5

I couldn’t breathe.

The note was still in my hand. _“CHEATER. YOU TRIED TO BUY TIME. NOW THE PRICE IS PAID.”_

Downstairs Maeve was still screaming and Dex was yelling words I didn’t even know he knew.

All four of them ran out of my room at the same time. I was right behind them, barefoot, heart in my throat.

The stairs felt like they were a mile long.

When we hit the living room, I saw it.

The glass coffee table was shattered. Shards everywhere.

And on the floor, in the middle of it all, was Dex.

Blood. So much blood. On his arm. On his shirt. On the floor.

Maeve was on her knees next to him, pressing her hands to his arm. "STAY WITH ME. STAY WITH ME. DON’T YOU DARE—"

"CALL AN AMBULANCE," Riven said. His voice didn’t shake. But his hands did when he dropped to the floor next to Dex.

"I ALREADY DID," Knox said. He was on the phone, pacing. "5 MINUTES. THEY’RE 5 MINUTES AWAY."

Zade was frozen. His guitar was on the floor, broken. "WHAT HAPPENED? WHAT THE f**k HAPPENED?"

"HE TRIPPED," Maeve sobbed. "WE HEARD THE GLASS AND HE RAN AND HE—OH GOD HE FELL INTO THE TABLE—"

It was a lie. And we all knew it.

Riven tore off his own shirt and tied it around Dex’s arm. "PRESS HERE. HARD."

Vale didn’t say anything. He just walked to the window. It was open. On the 2nd floor.

"HE DIDN’T FALL," Vale said quietly. "SOMEONE PUSHED HIM."

The room went silent.

I fell to my knees next to Dex. "I’M SO SORRY. I’M SO SORRY. THIS IS MY FAULT—"

"SHHH," Dex said. His face was pale but he was trying to smile. Blood on his teeth. "IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT, V. _YOU DIDN’T CHOOSE. THAT’S NOT CHEATING. THAT’S CALLED BEING STUCK BETWEEN 4 HOT DUDES._"

"DEX DON’T TALK," Maeve cried.

"LET ME TALK," Dex whispered. "IN CASE THIS IS MY OSCAR MOMENT."

Knox hung up the phone. "AMBULANCE IS HERE."

Two paramedics rushed in. Riven moved back but didn’t let go of Dex’s hand.

"WE’VE GOT HIM," one of them said. "HE’S GONNA BE OKAY."

They loaded him onto the stretcher. Maeve went with him. Before the doors closed, Dex looked at me.

"YOU STILL HAVE 26 DAYS, V. _DON’T WASTE THEM BEING SCARED._"

Then they were gone.

The house was empty.

I collapsed on the floor. The glass cut my knee but I didn’t feel it.

"This is my fault," I whispered. "I DIDN’T CHOOSE. AND HE GOT HURT."

"STOP," Knox said. He grabbed my shoulders and pulled me up. "THIS IS NOT YOUR FAULT. THIS IS THAT THING. THAT VOICE."

"THEN WHY DIDN’T IT TAKE ONE OF YOU?" I screamed. "WHY HIM?"

No one had an answer.

Zade picked up the broken guitar. His hands were shaking. "I CAN’T... I CAN’T DO THIS."

"YES YOU CAN," Riven said. "WE ALL CAN. BECAUSE THE ALTERNATIVE IS LETTING IT WIN."

Vale walked to me. He didn’t touch me. He just stood there.

"You didn’t choose," he said. "Because you don’t want anyone to get hurt. _That’s not cheating. That’s love._"

His words broke me.

I started crying. Hard. Ugly crying.

And before I could stop myself, I threw my arms around Vale.

He froze for half a second. Then his arms came around me. Tight.

"I’M SCARED," I sobbed into his shirt.

"I KNOW," he whispered. "ME TOO."

Knox watched us. His jaw was tight.

Zade watched too. He looked away.

Riven just closed his eyes.

After a minute I pulled back. Embarrassed.

"I’M SORRY," I whispered to Vale.

"Don’t be," he said.

We all went to the hospital.

Dex was in surgery. Maeve was in the waiting room, asleep in a chair.

We sat there for hours. Not talking. Just existing.

At 4 AM, the doctor came out. "HE’S STABLE. HE LOST A LOT OF BLOOD BUT HE’S GONNA BE FINE. HE CAN HAVE VISITORS IN THE MORNING."

I exhaled. For the first time in hours.

Knox drove us home in silence.

When we got back, it was 5:30 AM. The sun was coming up.

We all ended up in the kitchen. No one slept.

Zade was making coffee. Riven was cleaning glass. Knox was on his laptop, tracking every security camera.

Vale was sitting at the table. And there was a seat open next to him.

I sat down.

He didn’t look at me. He just pushed a cup of coffee toward me.

"THANK YOU," I whispered.

He nodded.

For a while we just sat there. Exhausted. Broken.

Then Knox closed his laptop. "I FOUND SOMETHING."

He turned the screen to us.

Security footage. 11:58 PM.

The balcony door to my room.

A shadow. Tall. Black clothes. It climbed in, dropped the rose, and climbed out.

Then 11:59 PM.

The same shadow. On the 2nd floor. Outside.

It reached through the open living room window and pushed Dex.

"IT WAS HERE," Knox said. "IN THE HOUSE."

"AND IT KNEW I WOULDN’T CHOOSE," I said. My voice was hollow.

Zade slammed his coffee mug down. "THEN WE MAKE IT CHOOSE US. _WE HUNT IT._"

Riven looked at me. "NO MORE SECRETS. NO MORE WAITING. FROM NOW ON, ONE OF US IS WITH YOU. 24/7."

"AGREED," Knox said.

"AGREED," Zade said.

"AGREED," Vale said.

All eyes turned to me.

"WHO?" I asked. "WHO STAYS WITH ME?"

No one answered.

And then my phone buzzed.

Unknown number.

_“DAY 4. NEW RULE. TONIGHT AT MIDNIGHT, YOU CHOOSE AGAIN. BUT THIS TIME... IF YOU PICK WRONG, ONE OF YOUR 4 HUSBANDS DIES.”_

Attached was a photo.

All four of them. Asleep in different parts of the house.

Taken last night.

_“PICK WISELY, VEYLA.”_

To be continued....