The Quiet Between Us

Chapter 5-Sides Unseen

Zoe

My dorm room glows with late afternoon light, soft and golden. I’m supposed to be studying—books open, highlighter in hand—but I’m not really here. Not fully. I’m floating somewhere between page margins and thoughts of her.

Then my laptop chimes.

Incoming Video Call — Mom, Dad & Lena

I smile before I even answer. “Hey!”

“Zoe-bear!” my mom squeals through the screen, making me laugh. Lena pops up behind her, sticking out her tongue. Dad waves, all warmth and quiet pride.

God, I’ve missed them.

We talk for a while—my classes, food, laundry, life. Lena begs me to come home during break. I promise I’ll try. And for a little while, everything feels soft and safe, like home is still just a heartbeat away.

When the call ends, I hold a pillow close to my chest, lingering in the quiet that follows.

My world is made of light. Of family. Of warmth.

But lately… a shadow keeps slipping through the edges.

Blake.

The girl who barely speaks. The one who doesn’t smile, doesn’t flinch. She lingers in my thoughts like a song I can’t stop humming.

And I don’t know why.

Or maybe I do.

---

Blake

The moon’s high above us, silver and cold. The tires of the black SUV crunch over the gravel road. I zip my jacket higher and glance once at Jax beside me.

He doesn’t speak. He never has to.

The mission’s clean. A low-level breach. Weapons smuggled where they shouldn’t be. My father sent us to fix it.

We always fix it.

I check my gear, roll my shoulders. I’m ready. I always am.

“You good?” Jax asks, like he already knows the answer.

I nod. “Yeah.”

We move like ghosts—swift, silent, deadly. By the time it’s done, three men are unconscious, one bleeding and begging under my boot.

He shouldn’t be here. None of them should.

This is what I was trained for. Raised for.

I don’t blink. I don’t hesitate.

But in the stillness, her face flashes behind my eyes—Zoe, with her curls and questions and warmth.

I shove it down.

Now isn’t the time.

---

Zoe

I wander outside for air. Campus is too loud, and my thoughts feel heavy tonight. I follow the back path behind the library, where the lights are dim and the world slows down.

Then I see her.

Black SUV. All-black clothes. Blake.

She doesn’t see me at first. Her knuckles are bloodied. There’s a smear on her cheek. "There’s someone beside her—tall, quiet, dangerous. I don’t recognize him. His voice is low, sharp, almost too calm."

, murmuring something too low to catch.

I stop breathing.

She turns.

Our eyes lock.

My heart lurches.

There’s something different in her eyes—something sharp and cold and unreadable.

But there’s also something else.

A flicker.

She walks toward me slowly, each step measured, deliberate.

“I told you, sunshine,” she says, her voice low, almost tired. “Don’t follow shadows.”

And then she’s gone.

Just like that.

---

Zoe

I curl up on my bed, hugging my knees, laptop closed beside me. But my thoughts… they’re still out there. Still wrapped around the girl with blood on her hands and a warning in her voice.

I open my phone.

Blake (unsent)

> Are you okay?

I type it.

Delete it.

Type it again.

But I don’t send it.

Instead, I whisper to the dark, “Who are you really?”

And why can’t I look away?

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