The Pact Of Five

THE SHOWER

CHAPTER 5

Timeline: 26 Days Until 18

“Leave me alone.”

I slammed the bathroom door hard and twisted the lock until it clicked loud and clear, the sound echoing off the tile and glass. My hands were shaking. My whole body felt tight, like a string pulled too thin, ready to snap at any second. They were everywhere. Outside my door, in my head, in my room when I wasn’t looking. I needed one place that was mine. One place they couldn’t follow.

I turned the shower on full blast. Hot water steamed up the glass, fogging the world away. I stepped under the spray and let it hit my shoulders, hard and stinging, washing away the tension, the smell of them, the feeling of eyes on my skin. I closed my eyes and tipped my head back, water running down my face, and for a minute—just one minute—I could breathe.

I didn’t hear the door open.

The sound of the water drowned out every soft, careful movement. The click of the lock didn’t reach my ears. The creak of the floorboards vanished under the rush of steam. It wasn’t until the air shifted—suddenly heavier, warmer, thick with that familiar scent of pine and wild musk—that I knew I wasn’t alone.

My eyes flew open.

Through the fogged glass, a shape stood. Broad shoulders, tall, still. Filling the whole frame of the shower door.

I froze, water dripping down my back, my heart slamming so hard it hurt. “Get out.”

He didn’t move. Didn’t speak. Just stood there, watching me through the mist, like he was drinking in every inch he could see.

“Micah—go. Now.” My voice shook, half-anger, half-terror, and something else that made my stomach twist.

He pulled the door open slow, steam rolling out around him. His pale blue eyes locked on mine, burning bright in the hazy light. His shirt was gone, boots still on, water already beading on his skin. “I knocked. You didn’t answer.”

“I was in the shower! That doesn’t mean come in!” I grabbed for the towel, clutching it to my chest, my face burning hot enough to match the water. “Lock it. Lock it from the outside. How did you even—”

“Your brother’s house.” His voice was low, rough, like he was struggling to keep it steady. “We helped build it. We know every lock. Every window. Every way in.”

“That’s not the point! This is mine. This is private.” I backed up until my shoulder hit the cold tile, nowhere left to go. “Get out, Micah. Please.”

He stepped inside, the water splashing his jeans, and stopped just an arm’s length away. Close enough that I could feel the heat rolling off him, close enough that I could see the way his hands clenched into fists at his sides, like he was fighting every instinct he had. “I should go. I know I should. But I stood outside your door for two hours. And all I could think about was you in here. Wet. Alone. And I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t stay away.”

“You’re breaking the pact.” The words came out breathless, barely a whisper.

“I know.” His gaze dropped to my shoulders, my collarbone, the place where the towel slipped just a little. He dragged his eyes back up to mine, jaw set so tight the muscle jumped. “I’m already out. If anyone finds out—if anyone sees me like this—I walk away. For good. And God, I don’t want to walk away. But I couldn’t not come.”

“Why?” I whispered, my fingers white around the towel. “Why now?”

“Because you looked at me tonight.” He took one step closer, and the air got so thin I could barely breathe. “When you found the note. When you asked who wrote it. You looked at me like you saw me. Not just one of five. Not just my brother’s friend. Me. And I haven’t stopped thinking about it since.”

He lifted a hand, slow, like he was approaching something that might run, and brushed a wet strand of hair away from my face. His fingers were warm, steady, and when they brushed my cheek, I didn’t pull back. I couldn’t. “Twenty-six days. And I’m already losing. Every time I’m near you, I lose a little more control. Every time you look at me, I want to drop to my knees and swear I’m yours. Only yours.”

“Micah…” My voice broke.

“I won’t touch you.” He pulled his hand back fast, like he’d been burned, and turned his face away, staring hard at the wall. “Not like this. Not until you can look me in the eye and tell me you want it. But I couldn’t just… leave you in here. Not when I knew you were crying.”

My breath caught. “I wasn’t crying.”

“You were.” He looked back at me, soft and sure. “I heard it in your voice when you told me to go away. I know what you sound like when you’re holding it in. I’ve known since you were twelve and scraped your knee and tried not to let anyone see you cry. I know you.”

The truth of it hit me hard. He did know me. All the little things no one else noticed—the way I twisted my fingers when I was nervous, the way I bit the inside of my cheek when I was holding back tears, the way I always turned the shower hotter than anyone else could stand. He’d been watching. Not just lately. For years.

“This isn’t right.” I said it, but I didn’t move away. “You’re not supposed to be here.”

“I know.” He leaned back against the glass, crossing his arms, putting space between us like he was forcing himself to do it. “And if any of the others knew I was here like this? They’d tear the house apart. Knox would beat me within an inch of my life. Cole would never speak to me again. And they’d be right. Because I’m cheating. I’m getting a look none of them have earned yet.”

“Then why do it?”

“Because I’m selfish.” He met my eyes again, raw and honest. “And because I need you to know—whoever you choose. Whatever happens. I’m not just here because of the pact. I’m here because I’ve been in love with you since before you were old enough to know what love meant. And I’m not leaving. Not for them. Not for the rules. Not for anything.”

He pushed off the glass and reached for the towel hanging on the rack outside, holding it out to me without stepping closer, without letting his eyes wander anywhere they shouldn’t. “I’ll turn around. Dry off. And then I’ll go. And I won’t come in again. Not until you ask me to. I swear it.”

He turned his back to me, broad shoulders tense, hands clenched at his sides, staring straight at the closed door like it was the hardest thing he’d ever done. I stood there for a long moment, water still running, steam curling around us, my heart racing so fast it felt like it might burst. I took the towel from his outstretched hand, my fingers brushing his, and he flinched like he’d been struck.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

He nodded once, still not looking at me. “Twenty-six days. Be careful. And lock the door. Properly. Because next time I might not be the one who comes through.”

He walked out then, quiet and fast, the door clicking shut behind him. I stood there in the empty bathroom, water still running, the towel pressed to my chest, my skin burning where his fingers had brushed mine. He’d broken every rule. Risked everything. Just to be near me. And he’d left without taking a single thing he wasn’t given.

I turned the water off and stood there in the silence, steam fading, the air growing cool. I thought about what he’d said—that he loved me, that he’d loved me for years, that he’d risked being the one to walk away just to tell me. And then I thought about the others—Cole, Jax, Zane, Knox—standing outside my door, waiting, counting down the seconds until they could all come in.

If Micah was willing to break the pact for me… what would the others do when the clock ran out?

CHAPTER 5 ENDS