When I woke up the next morning, it took a few blissfully blank seconds before the memories clawed their way back. And then—like ice water dumped down my spine—it all came flooding in.
I told him I loved him. And he threw me out.
No hesitation. No softness. Just that same hollow look in his eyes. "With me, there's no happy ending. Save yourself now. Fall out of love with me."
It was a knife to the heart. No—worse. A knife would've been clean. Quick. But this... this was a slow bleed. The kind of pain that seeps into your bones and sits there, quietly rotting everything from the inside out.
I got ready on autopilot, my mind a blur. Every movement felt mechanical—wash, brush, dress—until I stood at the door of my apartment, hand on the knob, breath caught in my chest. For a moment I debated turning back, calling in sick, crawling back into bed and letting the ache drown me.
But I didn't.
I opened the door and stepped into the hallway. My heart involuntarily lurched as I passed Liam's door. I forced my eyes straight ahead, refusing to look.
Refusing to care.
The ride into work was slower than usual. Traffic was backed up for miles due to an accident, and every second crawling forward gave me more time to overthink. By the time I stepped out of the cab in front of Capture, my head was buzzing louder than the city around me.
As soon as the elevator doors slid open onto our floor, Gwen was there, waiting like a cheerful ambush.
"Did you hear?" she asked, eyes wide with excitement.
"About...?"
"We got an espresso machine in the break room!" she announced like we'd won the lottery.
"Oh. Yum." I forced a smile, trying to match her enthusiasm but falling short.
"I'll show you how to use it at lunch," she grinned, before turning toward her office.
"Looking forward to it," I called after her.
The second I was behind my desk, I sank into my chair and let out a long breath. Finally—no Liam, no Harry. Just silence. My thoughts were still loud, but at least they weren't competing with anyone else's.
I pulled out my phone, already knowing who I needed to call. The one person who would never make me feel crazy—even when I was completely losing it.
I dialed.
"Hello?" came Casey's groggy voice after a few rings.
I winced, glancing at the clock. Time zones. Shit. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to wake you."
There was a rustle, then her voice again, more alert. "It's fine. I'm up now. What's going on?"
"I just... I needed to hear your voice. And I need you to tell me I'm not insane."
"I can absolutely do that," she said through a yawn. "Start from the beginning."
I hesitated for half a second, then ripped off the Band-Aid. "I told Liam I love him."
Silence.
"Seriously?"
"Yes. Seriously. I told him I love him... and he basically shoved me out the door."
"Oh my God. He just kicked you out? Like—no 'let's talk about this,' just—bam, goodbye?"
"It was the middle of the night. We were talking about his dad. His past. And it just came out—I didn't plan it."
YOU ARE READING
Capture
Fanfiction[COMPLETED] You can't run forever, eventually you'll be captured. A dark past he's spent years running from threatens to swallow him whole after a simple knock on her door.
