CHAPTER 1
1028 Words
The first thing Megan Thompson noticed when she stepped back into Green Hill High School was the silence.
Not the normal kind.
The heavy kind.
The kind that followed someone who had almost died.
Conversations stopped when she walked through the hallway. Students who used to laugh and gossip now lowered their voices, pretending they weren't staring.
Some looked curious.
Some looked sympathetic.
Others looked afraid.
As if she had returned from somewhere dark that normal people never came back from.
Megan adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder and kept walking.
Her heartbeat felt louder than the lockers slamming around her.
This was supposed to be normal again.
School.
Classes.
Friends.
A life that didn't revolve around blood, gunshots, and nightmares.
But nothing about it felt normal.
Not anymore.
The scar beneath her collarbone throbbed faintly beneath her sweater.
The bullet wound had healed months ago.
The doctors said she was lucky.
Lucky the bullet had missed her heart.
Lucky she survived the surgery.
Lucky she woke up.
Lucky.
Megan didn’t feel lucky.
She felt… changed.
She stopped in front of her locker, twisting the dial slowly.
The metal door creaked open.
Inside were the same books she had left months ago.
The same notebook.
The same photograph of her and Evelyn Parker taped to the inside wall.
It looked like a life that belonged to someone else.
Someone innocent.
Someone who had never been kidnapped.
Someone who had never heard a gunshot meant for her.
Someone who had never watched Maria Jacobs smile while pulling a trigger.
Megan swallowed hard.
"Okay," she whispered to herself.
"You can do this."
A sudden warmth wrapped around her waist from behind.
"Megan."
Her body tensed before she even turned around.
But the voice was familiar.
Deep.
Protective.
Possessive.
Jason Carter.
His arms tightened around her instinctively, pulling her against him as if the world might steal her away again.
Megan exhaled slowly.
Jason always smelled the same—clean cologne mixed with something darker she could never name.
"You disappeared," he murmured into her hair.
"I was getting my books."
"You should've waited for me."
His tone wasn’t angry.
But it wasn't exactly casual either.
It was the tone Jason had started using after the shooting.
The one that said:
I’m watching you.
Megan turned in his arms.
Jason’s grey eyes scanned her face like he was checking for injuries.
He did this every time he saw her.
Every single time.
"I'm fine," Megan said softly.
Jason didn't answer immediately.
His fingers brushed lightly against the collar of her sweater, exactly where the scar was hidden.
His jaw tightened.
"You shouldn’t be here yet."
Megan frowned.
"It’s school, Jason."
"I know."
"Then why are you acting like I walked into a battlefield?"
Jason’s gaze moved slowly down the hallway.
Students quickly looked away when he glanced in their direction.
His reputation at Green Hill High had always been powerful.
But after what happened to Megan, it had turned into something else.
Something dangerous.
Because everyone knew what Jason had done after the attack.
The people involved with Maria had… disappeared.
No one proved anything.
But rumors spread.
Jason finally looked back at Megan.
"I just don’t like people staring at you."
Megan sighed.
"They're curious."
"They shouldn't be."
"You can't control the whole school."
Jason’s lips curved slightly.
"I could try."
Before Megan could respond, a familiar voice called out behind them.
"MEGAN!"
A second later Evelyn Parker crashed into her like a hurricane.
"Meg, oh my God, I missed you so much!"
Evelyn wrapped her arms around Megan so tightly it knocked the air out of her lungs.
Megan laughed softly.
"I'm okay, Eve."
Evelyn pulled back, her eyes already watery.
"You scared the hell out of me."
Jason crossed his arms slightly.
"You cried for two weeks."
Evelyn shot him a glare.
"Shut up."
Another figure approached them calmly.
Tall.
Relaxed.
Observant.
Axton Smith.
Jason’s best friend.
He gave Megan a small nod.
"Good to see you back."
Megan smiled faintly.
"Thanks."
Axton leaned casually against the lockers.
"You ready for the chaos?"
"What chaos?"
"Half the school thinks you're some kind of miracle."
Evelyn snorted.
"And the other half thinks you're cursed."
Megan blinked.
"That’s comforting."
Jason’s hand slid possessively into Megan’s.
His fingers tightened.
"Nobody touches her."
Axton smirked slightly.
"Relax."
Jason didn’t smile.
Because he wasn't joking.
The bell rang across the hallway.
Students began moving toward class.
Jason didn’t let go of Megan’s hand.
Not even slightly.
As they walked toward the classroom wing, Megan noticed something strange.
A boy standing near the staircase.
Tall.
Dark hair.
Sharp features.
He wasn’t talking to anyone.
He wasn’t checking his phone.
He wasn’t even pretending to be busy.
He was simply watching.
Watching her.
Their eyes met for a split second.
Something cold flickered behind his gaze.
Not curiosity.
Not sympathy.
Recognition.
As if he had been expecting her.
Megan felt a strange chill run down her spine.
Jason noticed her hesitation.
"What is it?"
Megan blinked and looked back.
"Nothing."
But when she glanced toward the staircase again—
The boy was gone.
Vanished into the crowd.
Jason frowned slightly.
"You sure?"
"Yeah."
But Megan wasn’t sure.
Not at all.
Because as she reached her classroom door, something caught her eye.
Something sticking out of her locker.
A single black rose.
Megan froze.
Jason followed her gaze.
His expression darkened instantly.
He pulled the rose out slowly.
Attached to the stem was a small folded card.
Jason opened it.
His jaw clenched.
"What does it say?" Megan asked quietly.
Jason hesitated.
Then handed it to her.
The message was written in clean, elegant handwriting.
Three simple words.
“Welcome back, survivor.”
Below the message was a symbol.
A serpent.
Coiled in a perfect circle.
Megan’s fingers trembled slightly.
Jason’s voice dropped dangerously low.
"Who did this?"
Megan slowly looked back toward the hallway.
Where the mysterious boy had been standing minutes earlier.
And suddenly…
She had the terrifying feeling that someone had been watching her long before she came back to school.
And that her survival…
Had not been an accident.
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