Chapter 4: Sleepless Compromises

It wasn’t until after three in the morning that Natalie finally slipped back home.

Normally, I would’ve been out cold by then. My body was tuned to early alarms and late-night emails. But after everything that had happened, sleep was impossible. I lay there, staring at the water stains on the ceiling, trying to lose myself in their shapes, anything to keep the ache in my chest at bay.

Before she even made it inside, I heard the faint click of her key in the lock. I held my breath, every muscle tense—a mix of worry and exhaustion keeping me pinned to the bed.

When Natalie came in, I was on my back, eyes fixed on the ceiling. In the past, if she wasn’t home by nine, I’d have been blowing up her phone, scouring the streets. But now, my heart was cold. I let her keys jangle in the door and didn’t move.

Lost in my thoughts, I heard a noise at my bedroom door. She crept in, sneakers squeaking on the hardwood, tiptoeing like a kid who didn’t want to get caught.

I watched her stop at my closet, open the door gently, and start rummaging through the shelves. The sound of shifting hangers grated on my nerves.

“What are you looking for?”

I’d planned to pretend to be asleep, just to see what she was up to. But her clumsy searching was so loud in the still night that my irritation boiled over.

“Ah!” Natalie jumped, startled that I was awake. Her phone’s flashlight caught dust motes floating in the closet.

She hesitated, voice shaky: “I—I was just looking for my old textbooks from school, to review before repeating a year.”

I frowned. “Didn’t you already sell those at the garage sale? There’s not a single one left. I remember you saying you didn’t want to study anymore and wanted to run off to Florida with Dylan. When are you two leaving?”

Natalie stared at me, wide-eyed. “Wait—you’re just letting me go?”

I shook my head. “You’ll be eighteen in a week. Legally, you get to make your own mistakes.”

“So you’re not against me being with Dylan?”

“Of course not. I can’t stop you from chasing true love, can I?” My voice was flat, all the warmth drained out. As soon as I said it, the comments above Natalie’s head went wild. She looked at me, torn between relief and suspicion.

[What’s going on? The biggest villain in the whole story suddenly agrees to let the main couple be together?]

[You’re all too naive. How could he really agree? He’s just pretending to give in, taking a step back to advance later. He’ll show his true colors soon.]