Afterlight (Fanfiction) ✓

chapter forty-six

Chloe

PRINCESS. Chloe.

There aren't enough words in the world to hold the weight of what I want to tell you, and there's nothing I wouldn't give to say it directly to you. But I'm afraid. Afraid of losing the small thread of connection that remains between us, so I'll say it here, like this, hoping you'll feel the truth in every word.

I'm sorry, Chloe. Sorry for Brad. Sorry for the pain you're carrying, the kind that carves deep because your love was just as deep. I know what he meant to you. I know how fiercely you love your family, how you've always sacrificed pieces of yourself to keep others whole. It's why you endured the shadows for so long, why you stayed hidden when every part of you deserved to shine.

We didn't get to talk properly before you left, and that silence feels like a wound I can't heal. I can swear to you that I wasn't the one who killed him—that my hands are clean of his blood, that my brother, who I've severed from my life, is the architect of this pain. But words like these are fragile things in the face of loss, and I can't blame you if you doubt them. I can't blame you for anything, princess. But it doesn't stop the ache that's been hollowing me out since that night, the agony that lingers in every moment you're not here.

I love you, Chloe. In a way that is raw, unshakable, eternal. From my soul to my heart, from every corner of who I am—I love you. You are my beginning, my middle, my end. You are my first love, my best friend, the center of my world. And no matter where you are, you will always be my life.

I'm sorry I've put you in this position. Sorry for everything that happened. Sorry that the person you hate the most shares my blood. I carry that burden every day, and it will always be mine to bear. But I swear to you, Chloe, I will make this right. No matter what it takes.

Until that day, I need you to be safe. Be careful in California. Take it easy, even when the world demands otherwise. And if nothing else, know this—I love you, Chloe Romano. I love you with everything I am and everything I will ever be.

Always,
Your Justin

*   *   *

When I locked eyes with the person I once thought was my first love, memories surged forward unbidden. The first letter Justin had sent me—soft words wrapped in lies—seared itself into my mind. Because as twisted as it was, Justin was my first love. My true first love. Even if it had been a game to him.

The weight of it all pressed down on me, turning my head into a ten-ton bowling ball. My heart hammered in my chest, drowning out every sound except the relentless beat. My fingers twitched at my sides, torn between the need to throw those letters away and the cruel whispers of my heart telling me to hold on to them. The war inside me was maddening. I wanted to tear my heart out of my chest, to banish the weakness it seemed to hold over me.

"Raven," I forced the word out, tasting the disbelief on my tongue. Of course he would show up. Of course he'd still be here, lurking like a shadow in this place where the gang gathered, where I was supposed to belong now.

He smirked, a dark chuckle rumbling from his chest as he stalked toward me. His confidence oozed from every step, and when he reached for my hand, his touch burned like frostbite. "I must admit," he drawled, his tone laced with mockery, "I sort of missed you."

I wrenched my hand out of his grip, glaring up at him. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"What?" His grin widened, sharp and dangerous. "I can't be a gentleman?" His laugh was low, taunting. "What's wrong, Chloe? Did you really think you could avoid me forever?"