Something In The Way-SYLUS X MC X ZAYNE

II: REMEMBER ME

The air in the room was stifling. The faint scent of cedar lingered, mingling with the metallic tang of blood and memories I didn't want to confront. My chest felt too tight, the weight of everything pressing down on me like I was suffocating in slow motion. I needed air, space—anything to escape the swirling chaos of thoughts threatening to drown me.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed, every motion sending a sharp ache through my body. My bare feet touched the cool wooden floor, grounding me for just a moment before my head spun. I staggered to my feet, gripping the edge of the bed for balance as nausea rolled through me. My breathing was shallow, uneven, and I forced myself forward, step by step, until I reached the heavy door to the bedroom.

I locked it.

The sharp click of the lock was the only sound in the room, and it rang louder than I intended. I leaned my forehead against the door, closing my eyes and letting out a shaky breath. I couldn't face them. Not yet. Not Zayne with his calm explanations that only made my chest ache more, or Sylus with his maddening arrogance and unreadable smirks. They were too much—this was too much.

My knees buckled, and I slid down the door, my legs folding beneath me. My head fell into my hands, and I let the tears come. They fell hot and fast, burning trails down my cheeks as I gasped for air that wouldn't come. It felt like everything was unraveling, like every thread I'd worked so hard to hold together was snapping one by one.

Caleb was alive.

The thought hit me like a hammer, and my sobs deepened. He was alive, and he had become my enemy. How? Why? The Caleb I had mourned, the Caleb I'd loved like family, was gone, replaced by someone I didn't recognize. My mind spiraled, flashes of his face—his cold, calculating gaze, the way he'd spoken to me like I was nothing—piercing through the haze of grief.

And then there was my grandmother.

I clutched my chest, my fingers tangling in the fabric of my shirt as a fresh wave of anguish tore through me. Her face came to me so vividly, her soft smile, the way she always smelled faintly of lavender and tea. She had been my everything, the one piece of stability in a life that had always felt so precarious. And now she was gone.

Her death was my fault.

The thought clawed at me, ripping me open from the inside. If I hadn't been who—what—I was, she wouldn't have died. If I hadn't been connected to this madness, to Caleb, to Sylus, she would still be alive. My parents, too. Their deaths, their sacrifices, everything—it was all tied to me. I was a walking curse, and everyone I loved paid the price.

The tears came harder now, choking sobs that shook my entire body. I pressed a hand to my mouth, trying to muffle the sounds, but it was no use. The pain was too raw, too overwhelming, and I couldn't hold it back. My shoulders heaved as I cried, my nails digging into the fabric of my shirt as I tried to keep myself from falling apart completely.

I stayed like that for what felt like hours, the weight of everything crushing me until there was nothing left but exhaustion. My throat was raw, my chest aching, and my head felt heavy as I finally pushed myself to my feet. My legs wobbled, but I steadied myself against the wall, my hand brushing over a switch.

A button.

I pressed it, unsure of what it did, and the sound of soft mechanical whirring filled the room. Slowly, the grand blinds on the far wall began to lift, revealing floor-to-ceiling windows. The view beyond them was breathtaking—a vast forest stretching as far as the eye could see, its emerald canopy shimmering in the golden light of the late afternoon. The sky was a wash of soft blues and oranges, the kind of serene beauty that felt at odds with the turmoil raging inside me.