Hostage to you | B.E

the 30th

A/N: hahaha you knew it was coming didn't you 
Alt chapter name would be guilty consience
I love you guysss 💗

Billie's POV

It starts raining around noon.

Not storming, not dramatic—just steady and cold. Gray, foggy LA rain that sticks to the windows like fingerprints and makes the whole house feel like a held breath. I'm wearing her hoodie, the black one that smells like her deodorant and whatever shampoo she steals from my shower. It's stupid how much I miss her when she's only been gone a few hours.

She said coffee.
She didn't say with Liv.
She definitely didn't say my ex-girlfriend Liv.

But I know. Because I saw the name flash across her phone this morning when it buzzed on the nightstand, and she picked it up too fast. And I didn't say anything. Because I didn't want to seem crazy.
Even though I am.
At least when it comes to her.

I've got music playing but it doesn't matter. I'm not hearing it. I keep looking at the time. 1:12. 1:27. 1:45.

She should've been back. She said just coffee.
Just a catch-up.
Just—

My chest feels tight. My legs won't stay still. I pace the living room with my hands shoved in her hoodie pocket and try not to think about her ex saying something sweet. Something nostalgic. Something only they know.

I hate that there's a version of her that doesn't belong to me.

When I hear the front door click, I nearly trip rushing to meet it.

She steps inside, soaked from the knees down. Rain clinging to her hairline. She peels off her hoodie and shakes out her arms like a dog. Her mouth opens like she's going to say something casual. Like she's not just been somewhere that isn't here. With someone who isn't me.

I cut her off.

"You smell different."

Her brows knit. "Huh?"

"Perfume. Not yours."

She blinks. "I... yeah. I was near—"

"Liv?"

She freezes.

I take one step forward, rain still tapping the roof like an angry thought that won't shut up. "You didn't tell me you were seeing her."

"I didn't think I needed to."

"You did."

My voice cracks in a way that surprises even me.

She sets her keys down. "Billie—"

"No." I shake my head. "You don't get to walk in here smelling like someone I know used to kiss you and expect me not to notice."

I watch the way her jaw tenses. "It was coffee."

"I don't care if it was chess club," I snap. "She touched you, didn't she?"

Raven's eyes narrow. "Does it matter?"

I move fast. She doesn't flinch. My hand finds the hem of her shirt and fists it, not to hurt—just to anchor.

"I don't like sharing," I say. "And I sure as hell don't like knowing someone else got even five minutes of your time when you could've been here. With me. In my hoodie. In my arms."

She exhales hard. "You're being intense."

"Yeah. I am intense," I say. "I'm not gonna play it cool about you. I don't know how to."

My hand travels up her chest to her jaw. "You don't even realize what you do to me, do you?"

She swallows.