CHAPTER 8: Stay
747 Words
Everything went quiet.
Too quiet.
The chaos from moments ago felt distant now, like it had happened in another world.
But my hands were still shaking.
My heart was still racing.
And the image of what I had just seen… wouldn’t leave my mind.
Ethan.
The way he moved.
The way he fought.
The way he protected me.
I stood frozen in the hallway, trying to breathe, trying to think—but nothing felt steady.
“Hey.”
His voice.
Softer now.
Closer.
I looked up.
He was walking toward me again, but slower this time. Careful. Like he didn’t want to scare me.
But it was too late.
“You’re hurt,” I whispered, noticing the blood on his sleeve.
“It’s not mine,” he replied.
That didn’t make me feel better.
“You could’ve gotten hurt,” I said, my voice trembling.
“But I didn’t.”
“That doesn’t change anything!”
The emotion hit me all at once.
Fear.
Anger.
Confusion.
“You said I was safe here!” I continued, my voice rising. “You said they couldn’t get to me!”
“They didn’t,” he said calmly.
“They got inside the house!”
His jaw tightened slightly.
“They got close,” he corrected.
I shook my head, stepping back. “This is insane… I can’t do this.”
“Do what?”
“This—this life! This danger! I didn’t sign up for any of this!”
“I know.”
“Then let me go!” I shouted. “I’d rather take my chances out there than live like this!”
The moment the words left my mouth—
Something changed.
Not in me.
In him.
The calm expression disappeared.
And for the first time…
I saw fear in Ethan’s eyes.
Real fear.
“No,” he said.
Not cold.
Not controlling.
Desperate.
I froze.
“What…?”
“I said no,” he repeated, his voice lower now.
“You don’t understand—”
“Then make me understand!” I snapped.
“Why can’t I leave?!”
Silence.
Heavy.
Painful.
Then he stepped closer.
Slowly.
“Because I almost lost you,” he said.
My breath caught.
“What?”
“When they came in…” his voice dropped slightly, “they were closer than I expected.”
I stared at him, confused.
“I miscalculated,” he continued. “And that put you in danger.”
“So fix it by letting me go—”
“No,” he cut in sharply.
His eyes locked onto mine.
“I fix it by not making that mistake again.”
Something about the way he said it…
It wasn’t control.
It was guilt.
And something else.
Something deeper.
“You’re not a mistake,” he added quietly.
The words hit me harder than I expected.
“I never said I was.”
“You didn’t have to.”
Silence fell between us again.
But this time…
It wasn’t filled with anger.
It was filled with something fragile.
Something new.
“I was scared,” I admitted finally, my voice barely above a whisper.
“I know.”
“I thought…” I hesitated, swallowing hard. “I thought they were going to take me.”
“They won’t.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do.”
The certainty in his voice made my heart skip again.
“How?”
“Because I won’t let them.”
My chest tightened.
“Ethan…”
It was the first time I said his name without anger.
Without resistance.
Just… uncertainty.
His expression softened slightly.
“Stay,” he said quietly.
Not a command.
Not an order.
A request.
“I’ll keep you safe.”
I looked at him.
Really looked at him.
At the boy who terrified me.
Protected me.
Confused me.
All at once.
“I don’t trust you,” I said honestly.
“I know.”
“But…” I hesitated.
My heart was beating too fast.
“But I don’t feel safe without you either.”
The words surprised both of us.
A small silence followed.
Then, slowly…
He nodded.
“That’s enough for now.”
For now.
Not forever.
Just… a beginning.
And somehow…
That felt like the most dangerous part of all.
Because the more I stayed…
The harder it would be to leave.
And deep down—
I was starting to realize…
I might not want to.
- Writer
