The Butterfly Effect

Chapter 12

**TW: DRUGGING/RAPE/KIDNAPPING**
Amir

It's been a week since Nova left me.
A week since she chose Daisuke.The thorn in my side. The barrier to everything I've worked for.

She thinks she's safe now—thinks she's moved on, wrapped up in his pathetic smile and soft words. She thinks I've let her go, well she's wrong.

I've been watching.Careful. Patient.
Hungry.

Every other day, they stroll into the library after school like it's some sacred ritual. She laughs too easily around him, leans in too close. The way she looks at him—that used to be me.

But tonight..Tonight will be different.

The sky was ink-black, the parking lot dim and half-empty. I sat low in my car, tucked between shadows and silence. Just close enough to see her. Far enough to vanish.

My grip tightened around the steering wheel as I spotted her walking out—alone. Her silhouette under the flickering streetlight. Vulnerable. Beautiful.

Seconds later, Daisuke followed. She said something to him and turned back to the library. He hesitated, then walked off toward his car.

This was it.

My pulse kicked up, steady and electric. I slid from my seat like a shadow peeling from the wall.

She always unlocked her car from the top of the steps. A nervous habit. One I could use.

The lights blinked.
Click. Unlocked. Open.

I crouched low and slipped into the backseat, the door whispering shut behind me. The dark swallowed me whole.

I waited.One minute.Two.

Then I hear Footsteps on gravel. Leaves crunching.

Then—the driver's door opened.

She slid into the seat, unaware of my presence, reaching for the wheel.

My hand snapped over her mouth, the cloth pressing hard.

Her body jerked. A muffled scream. Wild thrashing.

"Shhh..." I whispered, low and trembling. "It's okay. Just breathe."

Her kicks slowed. Her body went limp.
I held her for a moment. Savoring the stillness.

This was her fault.
This was what she drove me to.

I moved fast, tying zip ties around her wrists and ankles, the passenger seat pushed down to hide her. I rolled the car out of the lot with the headlights off, my heart beating in perfect rhythm with the silence.

I pull into the driveway of the old abandoned house I use to stash my drugs.

Inside, I laid her on the bed. Her skin was pale against the dark sheets. Just like I pictured.

But something was... wrong.

She moved. Stirred.

Then her eyes opened.

For a breath, all was quiet.
Then—her scream ripped through the air.

I lunged, hand over her mouth. Her eyes—wide, wild, betrayed.

"Shhh," I cooed. "It's me, baby. It's okay. I told you this wasn't over."

Her body trembled. She sobbed against my palm, tears streaking her cheeks.

Still—she fought.
Still—she defied me.

"Don't you see?" I whispered, leaning in close. "You're mine. You've always been mine."

She turned her face away like I was poison. Her shoulders shook.

And something sharp and sudden twisted in my chest.

Was it guilt? No,It was rage.

Rage that she would rather cry than be with me.
Rage that she still wanted him.

I stood over her, watching her cry into the sheets.

She thinks this is the worst it can get.

She has no idea what I was going to do next.