Fire Burning

Hearts

The sunlight bleeding through my curtains was too bright.
Too raw.
It made my head pound and my stomach twist like I’d been out drinking all night, even though I hadn’t touched a single drop.

I rolled onto my side, burying my face into the pillow, trying to shut it all out.
But it didn’t work.
The memories flooded in anyway.

Ari’s hands on my skin.
Jeremy’s mouth on my throat.
The wild rush of dancing and losing myself — and then the sharp snap back to reality.
Riley’s face.
Riley’s blood.

I squeezed my eyes shut harder.

It wasn’t supposed to feel like this.
It was supposed to feel good.
Free.

Instead, it felt... heavy.

Broken.

I shoved the covers off and swung my legs over the side of the bed, my bare feet hitting the cool floorboards.

My phone buzzed on the nightstand.

I grabbed it, heart leaping stupidly —
but it wasn’t Ari.
It wasn’t Jeremy.

It was silent.
Empty.

I bit the inside of my cheek, tasting copper, as I stared at the blank screen.

And before I could overthink it, before guilt or pride could stop me — I pulled up Riley’s contact and typed a message.

Me: Hey... are you okay?

I stared at it for a second, thumb hovering over the send button.

Then I hit it.
Watched it whoosh into the void.

Seconds ticked by.

One.
Two.
Three.

Then my phone buzzed.

Riley: Hey. Yeah. I'm okay. Thanks for checking.

A knot in my chest loosened — just a little.

Me: I'm sorry about last night. That shouldn’t have happened.

Another beat.

Riley: It’s not your fault. You didn’t hurt me.

I swallowed hard.

Me: Do you wanna hang out today? I owe you.

There was a long pause this time, and for a second I thought maybe he would say no — maybe he was still too angry, too humiliated.

But then:

Riley: I’d like that. You free in a bit?

I smiled before I could stop myself.

Me: Yeah. Just tell me where.

---

The coffee in my hands was starting to go cold, but I barely noticed.

I sat at a small corner table, tucked away from the handful of other customers in the coffee shop.
The lighting was soft and low, the kind that made everything look a little dreamier — or a little more dangerous.

The door swung open, and Riley stepped inside.

He spotted me immediately, his brown eyes lighting up like he couldn’t quite believe I was really here.

He hesitated for a second near the entrance — like he was deciding if he should come over — and then, with a quick breath, crossed the room toward me.

"Hey," he said, a little awkward, like he wasn’t sure if he should smile or apologize first.

I smiled up at him, heart fluttering weirdly. "Hey."