Chapter 13 – Cracks in the Glass
899 Words
Lena didn’t sleep that night.
Not because she was overthinking.
Okay—she was totally overthinking.
She’d kissed Jace Blackwood. In broad daylight. On school grounds. Well, near school grounds. And then rumors exploded like wildfire, she got death-stared by at least two of Jace’s ex-girlfriends, and to top it off, she couldn’t stop replaying the way he looked at her like she was something delicate and dangerous all at once.
She pulled her comforter tighter around her and glared at the ceiling.
“Stop smiling,” she whispered to herself. “You’re losing it.”
But she couldn’t stop. Her stomach did that annoying flutter thing every time she remembered how his voice dipped when he called her dangerous. Like the word belonged to her now.
She was so deep in her own swirl of thoughts that when her phone buzzed at 1:13 a.m., she jumped.
Jace: You up?
Lena blinked. Twice. Then three times.
No way.
She typed:
Lena: Seriously? It’s one in the morning.
Jace: Can’t sleep. Wanted to see you.
Lena: What do you want me to do? Crawl out the window?
Jace: I mean… if you’re offering.
Lena stared at her screen, her heart hammering way harder than it had any right to at such a ridiculous hour.
Was this crazy?
Yes.
Was she going to do it anyway?
Unfortunately, also yes.
Lena: Give me 10 minutes.
⸻
Jace was waiting in his car, parked two blocks down, headlights off, hoodie on. Like the world’s hottest fugitive.
Lena slipped into the passenger seat, hoodie pulled up over her head, adrenaline still thumping in her chest.
“You’re insane,” she said, shutting the door quietly.
“You’re the one who climbed out a window,” he shot back, but his smirk was warm. “I just asked.”
“Are we seriously doing this?”
Jace reached over and gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “You look good in rebellion, Carter.”
She rolled her eyes but couldn’t fight the grin that followed. “So why couldn’t you sleep?”
He started driving, slow through the quiet streets. “Couldn’t stop thinking.”
“About what?”
“You.” His answer was so casual, it almost knocked the breath out of her. “And how I’m probably screwing this up.”
She blinked. “Screwing what up?”
“This,” he said, gesturing between them. “Whatever this is. You’re not supposed to be my type. I’m definitely not your type. And yet…”
“And yet,” she echoed, voice soft.
They drove in silence for a moment, the night wrapping around them like a secret.
Jace finally pulled into a small, dark park on the edge of town. Just a patch of grass, a swing set, and one dim streetlamp that flickered like it was arguing with its own existence.
“This place is ancient,” Lena said.
“I used to come here when I needed to breathe,” he replied, turning off the engine. “Before things got messy.”
She watched him, really watched him. There were always layers with Jace. Smoke and fire and something underneath it all that made her want to know everything.
“What happened?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Jace leaned back against the seat, staring through the windshield like it showed a different life.
“My mom left when I was nine,” he said. “No note. No goodbye. Just… gone. My dad went from angry to drunk to gone too. Eventually it was just me and Ellie. I kept her fed. Kept the lights on. Barely. Didn’t have time for school, or rules, or giving a damn.”
Lena’s chest ached. “You shouldn’t have had to grow up that fast.”
“I didn’t have a choice.”
She reached over and touched his hand. Just gently. Enough to let him know she saw him. All of him.
“You still don’t believe you deserve good things, do you?” she asked.
He didn’t answer right away. Then: “Not really.”
She laced her fingers through his. “Well, tough. Because I’m here. And I’m not some prize you win or punishment you deserve. I’m just… me. And I want this. Us.”
Jace turned to her slowly. “Even if I’m a walking red flag?”
“You’re more like a caution sign with excellent hair,” she said, grinning. “But yeah. Even then.”
He leaned in, slow and deliberate this time, and kissed her again.
But this kiss was different.
It was gentle. Reverent. The kind of kiss that said thank you and I’m scared and please don’t leave all at once.
And Lena kissed him back with everything she had.
When they finally pulled away, breathless and flushed, Jace rested his forehead against hers.
“I think I’m in trouble,” he murmured.
Lena smiled. “Then you’re not alone.”
They stayed like that, wrapped in silence, in each other. Two kids in a broken park, at an ungodly hour, trying to piece together a little bit of peace.
And for the first time in a long time, Lena didn’t feel like the good girl running from who she was.
She felt like someone finding out who she could become—with him.
- Writer
