🌙 Chapter 12 –Â
I didn't sleep that night.
Not because of the music still thumping from the club down the street, but because every time I closed my eyes, Jace was there.
The way he looked at me like I was the only thing worth coming back for.
The way his voice cracked when he said loving me scared him.
And the worst part?
I wanted to believe him.
By morning, I was a mess of tangled sheets, cold coffee, and unanswered texts from Mia asking for every single detail about last night.
I typed back one sentence:
"It's complicated."
At school, I thought I was safe.
Jace didn't even go here anymore.
He'd left months ago—another reminder of how fast people could disappear.
But I was wrong.
When I opened my locker, a folded note slipped out. My name, scrawled in his messy handwriting, sat in the center.
I hesitated before opening it.
Meet me at the bleachers after last period. I'm not giving up on us. — J
My heart did that annoying flip it always did when he was involved.
I hated that it still remembered him.
The day dragged on.
Every class felt like a countdown.
By the time the final bell rang, I told myself I wouldn't go. That I'd be smart and let the past stay buried.
But somehow, my feet didn't listen.
He was already there, leaning against the bleacher railing like he had all the time in the world.
"You came," he said, smiling in that dangerous, familiar way.
"I shouldn't have."
"Probably not," he agreed. "But you did."
"Jace, what do you want from me?"
He stepped forward until we were a breath apart. "Everything. The same thing I've always wanted."
And for one second, I forgot every reason I had to stay away.
One second was all it took.