Ava didn’t sleep that night.
She lay awake, staring at the ceiling, heart still hammering from the confrontation with Asher. His words clung to her skin, seeping into the cracks she thought she’d fortified against him.
“You don’t really want me to stop.”
She hated that he got under her skin. Hated that he knew exactly what buttons to press. And most of all, she hated that part of her liked it.
No.
She refused to let him win.
The next morning, she walked into school with her head high, shoulders squared, determination burning in her chest. She wasn’t going to give Asher the satisfaction of seeing her break.
But of course, he was waiting.
Leaning against the lockers, arms crossed, watching her like a predator eyeing its prey.
A slow, knowing smirk curved his lips.
Ava ignored him.
