We Were Once Wallflowers Part: One - An Extreme Dark Bully Romance

Part 7 - The Choice - Scene 2 - Saturday

Originally written and posted on written on 4/5/2024 posted on 5/19/2024

Please Note: This first draft is subject to change upon official publication, including the addition of never-before-read scenes. If you enjoyed this chapter, please show your support by liking and following me for more smutty dark romance featuring all the controversial elements readers love—or love to hate.

Scene 2 – Saturday – 4/5/2024

Jane woke up as the sun was setting, the light quickly fading into darkness. She groaned, rolling onto her back, and stretched her arms overhead with a big yawn. How was she still so exhausted? Her eyes drifted to the clock: 5 pm. She really had sleped the day away.

Sitting up, she realized she hadn't checked the mail since her parents left. A short walk down the street would do her some good, the fresh air might help clear her head. She slipped on her shoes, not bothering to change out of her pajama pants and baggy shirt. Running her fingers through her hair to smooth it out, she grabbed her father's mail key and headed out.

Jane turned right, aiming for the bank of mailboxes near the end of the street. She circled the second metal tower, peering at each box in the dim light for number 7. Her parent usually picked up the mail on their way home from work. She knew it was box number seven. Moving to the front, she squinted under the streetlight to see the engraved numbers.

Her eyes locked on box number seven, near the bottom. She leaned down, sliding the key into the lock on the first try. Opening the door, she reached inside, pulling out a stuffed pile of ads, fliers, and envelops. She shuffled them awkwardly in her hands, but no matter how many times she pulled out, the mailbox seemed never-ending.

A car pulled up behind her. She glanced over her shoulder, not really seeing the car or its driver, but quickened her pace in case they were waiting. An envelope slipped from the stack, and as she bent down to pick it up, someone spoke behind her.

"Janey." Cooper's voice drew out her name like a sigh. Jane spun around, bolting upright, her eyes wide. "You didn't listen, Jane." His smile vanished, his face turning cold. "I'm very disappointed in you."

The mail slipped from Jane's hands as she pivoted and sprinting back toward her house, four doors down.

"You can't run forever, Janey." Cooper's laugher followed her all the way up the driveway, into the house, and to her bedroom. She locked the door behind her and wedged the desk chair underneath the handle.

Jane dove underneath the covers on her bed, hiding as if they could shield her from the monsters in the real world, just as they had when she was a little girl afraid of the dark. Slowly, the fight-or-flight stress wore down, and she began to think clearly. She bolted upright.

Shit.

She had left the keys hanging in the mailbox door–the keys with the spare house key on them. Would Cooper have gotten out of his car to retrieve them, or just left them there? What if he was on his way to go prick up Brittany or Tyler, maybe Ashley too, to pay her a late-night visit.

How could she be so stupid? Jane wanted to scream. She pulled the covers down and listened closely to the sounds of the house. There was nothing save for the low rumble of the TV in the living room. She held her breath, thinking she heard the front door open and footstep in the hallway. Was he standing outside her bedroom door? She stood, stepping closer to the door, straining to hear better. She chided herself, thinking she was just scared and being too paranoid. There was no way he'd come into her house like that.

Steeling herself, Jane dislodged the chair and opened the door, expecting Cooper to be standing on the other side with a hunting knife in hand and that wicked grin on his face.