Twisted Chances

14. Nia (edited)

"Damn all these exams!" I snap, slamming my pen down in frustration.

Tomorrow I've got an entire week of tests waiting to swallow me whole, and yet... I can't remember half of what I studied. No matter how many times I try, the words on the page keep dissolving into thoughts of him.

Niko.

I used to love studying. It was the only thing that kept me sane, the only thing that made me feel useful in a world where I never seemed to shine. While everyone else had talents, I had books. Knowledge. Pages that never judged me, never compared me to my brother.

When I was younger, I used to dream of studying forever, building my entire life around it. But now? Now even studying betrays me. Because Niko is everywhere—woven into every margin of my notes, pressing against every page, invading every thought.

And the worst part? I don't even mind.

My brother Eithan... he's always been the perfect one. Top of the class, unstoppable in sports, and now running a company that people can't stop praising. He shines so brightly that I was always left in the shadows. And yet, I never hated him for it—I was proud. I still am. He loves me, and I know I matter to him. But still... I've always wanted something to be mine. Something that proved I wasn't invisible.

Maybe that's why I hold on too tightly. To Camilla, to Amy, to anyone I claim as mine. I guard them fiercely, obsessively, because if they're mine, then I exist.

And Niko? Niko isn't just "anyone." He's everything.

So when I see those pictures of him with Brittany, smiling, posting, going out together... I want to scream. To tear those photos apart piece by piece until nothing is left. My therapist would say that's the old me creeping back in, the version of myself I swore I'd buried. The one who gets possessive. The one who obsesses. The one who doesn't let go.

But maybe that's the version I need to be again. Because Niko isn't just anyone. He's mine. And mine means forever.

I glance at the clock and nearly choke.
"What the—It's already 9 p.m.?!"

Two hours. Gone. Not a single paragraph studied. Nia Harper, the girl who never lost focus even when she was with Henry, now wrecked by the thought of a boy.

But Niko isn't just a boy. He's the boy. My puffin. The one who once loved me first, who must still have some of that love buried inside him. All I have to do is water it—nurture it—until it blooms again.

I feel the heat rise to my cheeks as my thoughts slip. That night floods back—his mouth, his tongue, the way I fell apart under him. My thighs press together instinctively, and I bite down on a moan. God, I want him. I want him inside me, filling me, ruining me.

My hands start to move, reaching for the waistband of the ridiculous unicorn pajama pants Mom bought me. "I wish you were here, Niko," I whisper to the empty room, my breath catching.

And then—my phone rings.

I freeze. My heart nearly leaps out of my chest when I see his name lighting up the screen.

Niko. Calling me. Now.

As if he knows. As if he can feel me craving him.

Shit.

I scramble to adjust myself, clear my throat, make sure my voice doesn't give me away before I answer.

"Hi, up all night?" His voice slides through the phone, low and heavy.

My pulse stutters. He sounds... different. Like he's fighting something too.

And I panic. Words tumble out of me in one rushed breath: "Yep, lately I've been less focused on studies and spacing out about things I need to do but don't have time for, so I'm pulling an all-nighter. What about you?"

Why did I say all that? God, I sound like a nervous high schooler.

"Woah, it must've been tough. I'm also putting in an all-nighter to finish my work." His voice is strained, uneven. Did he drink?

"Guess that makes two of us," I laugh awkwardly, hating myself instantly for how fake it sounds.

The silence stretches, and I feel it slipping. So I rush out: "I have to study more so bye for now, Niko... agh, this is so tiresome. Good thing you never became a doctor, you know." I laugh again, too quickly, too nervously.

And then he hangs up. Fast.

The ache in my chest surprises me—sadness, sharp and sudden. But there's relief too, because at least I didn't embarrass myself further.

Still... the craving doesn't go away. If anything, it burns hotter now.

I grit my teeth, flipping open my book again, trying to focus. But the words blur into the same thought, over and over:

Niko is mine.

And soon, he'll remember that too.