Episode 2 — The Ride She Shouldn’t Have Taken
708 Words
Rain hammered harder against the school gate like it was angry at the world.
Amara stood frozen, her uniform already slightly soaked at the edges, her heart beating too fast for someone who had just been ordered by Jason Blackwood to get on his bike.
The same Jason Blackwood everyone avoided.
The same Jason who didn’t speak twice.
The same Jason who just said her full name like he had known her for years.
She stepped back a little.
“I said I don’t know you,” she repeated, voice shaky but firm.
Jason tilted his head slightly, still sitting on the motorcycle like he owned the rain itself. His dark hoodie clung lightly to his frame, droplets sliding off his helmet.
“You don’t need to know me,” he said coldly. “Just get on.”
Amara swallowed hard. “And if I don’t?”
A pause.
Then Jason’s eyes lifted slowly to hers.
That look… wasn’t anger.
It was something worse.
Control.
“You will,” he said simply.
Silence stretched between them.
The kind that made her skin prickle.
Behind her, students were already watching from under the school shed, whispering like fire had just been lit in dry grass.
“That’s Jason and Amara…”
“She’s talking to him?”
“She’s crazy…”
Chloe suddenly appeared beside her, grabbing her arm.
“Amara, are you mad?! That’s Jason Blackwood! Get away from him!”
But Amara didn’t move.
Because something about this moment felt… different.
Like it wasn’t random.
Like it was planned.
Jason slightly revved the bike.
The sound cut through her thoughts.
“I don’t have all day,” he said.
Amara exhaled shakily, then slowly stepped forward.
“Amara no—” Chloe tried again.
But Amara stopped her.
“I’ll be fine,” she whispered, though she wasn’t even sure she believed it.
She climbed onto the motorcycle.
The moment her hands hesitantly touched the edge of his jacket, Jason stiffened for a split second.
Just one.
Then it was gone.
“Hold on,” he said flatly.
“I don’t trust you,” Amara muttered under her breath.
Jason gave a low, almost silent chuckle.
“Good.”
Before she could ask what he meant—
He sped off.
The world blurred.
Rain, buildings, students, noise—all disappeared behind them.
Only speed remained.
Amara clutched his jacket tightly as the bike turned sharply into a quieter road.
“Where are we going?!” she shouted over the wind.
No answer.
“Jason!”
Still nothing.
Her heart pounded harder.
Then suddenly, the bike slowed.
They stopped in front of an old, half-abandoned building near the edge of town—far from school, far from safety, far from anything familiar.
Jason got off first.
Amara hesitated but climbed down carefully.
“What is this place?” she asked.
Jason removed his helmet slowly.
His hair was slightly damp, dark strands falling over his forehead. His eyes met hers again—this time closer, heavier.
A silence passed.
Then he said something that made her stomach drop.
“You shouldn’t have come to CrestHill High.”
Amara frowned. “What are you talking about?”
Jason stepped closer.
One step.
Then another.
Until she instinctively stepped back.
But he didn’t stop.
“You were never supposed to be involved in this,” he said quietly.
“Involved in what?” her voice cracked slightly.
Jason stared at her for a long moment.
Then, softly—
“You were supposed to stay away from me.”
A cold chill ran through her spine.
Before she could respond—
A loud sound echoed from inside the building.
Metal shifting.
Footsteps.
Voices.
Jason’s expression changed instantly.
The cold, unreadable boy from school was gone.
Now… he looked alert.
Dangerous.
Protective.
He grabbed her wrist.
“Run,” he said.
Amara’s eyes widened.
“What—?”
But before she could finish—
The door of the building slammed open.
And someone whispered from the shadows…
“So this is her?”
Jason tightened his grip on her wrist.
And for the first time…
Amara realized—
This wasn’t a ride home.
It was a beginning she could never escape.
- Writer
