"The time I thought that we would have, was taken from red to black." —Freya Ridings.

••

"Harmony." April waves a palm in front of my face, and when she gets no acknowledgment, she snaps her fingers. "Harmony!"

I jolt out of my thoughts. It happened again. I keep getting absentminded since yesterday, my head consistently floating back to the red stain on those sheets.

I turn my face to April, who is watching me worriedly. "Yes?"

Crossing her arms against her chest, she sits next to me on the bed. "Are you okay? You keep having this void look on your face whenever I am talking to you. One that looks exactly like this." She mimics the vacant look, pressing her lips together to visualize, and I laugh a little.

"No, seriously, Harmony, are you okay? You've been acting a little weird."

I sigh. "April...can I ask you something?"

"Of course." She repositions herself to face me attentively. "You always can."

"Can a person get drunk after drinking one small shot of liquor?"

She tilts her head, narrowing her eyes while she thinks about it. "Mm, is this person a lightweight?"

"Yeah, but it was like literally a quarter glass of alcohol."

"Maybe, if they aren't used to it." She shrugs, and my heart sinks further in my chest. I render a tight-lipped smile and drop my gaze.

"Okay," I mutter. "Thanks."

"Another possible way is if someone slipped a drug in the liquor." She adds, leaning back on her palms.

That sparks my interest, and I lift my head again. "Drug?"

"Yeah. College kids do that a lot, and they have some very effective ones that can knock you out in mere seconds." Then she smiles, shaking her head as if she recalls something. "James was drugged by one of his friends once, and he had no idea until he woke up the following morning. He was pissed."

She continues to chatter on about him while I am busy mentally interrogating my dilemma.

Could it be that Maddie slipped something in the drink? Because of the chaos that has been happening, I haven't properly sat down to analyze and weigh the odds. A huge part of me knows that I am not knowledgeable about alcohol, so I cannot tell if I genuinely got drunk after drinking the liquor. But somehow, I woke up in her room out of all places, so it makes me wonder if this was all a plan.

"Oh, sorry." April presses a hand against her chest, suddenly seeming embarrassed. "I must look like a smitten idiot smiling while thinking about goofy James."

I force a smile. "No, you don't, not at all."

That has to be the reason. It must be because Maddie did something to the liquor. But Kite? Would Kite be in on it? I find it hard to believe that my choosing Blaze over him would make him go to such shallow measures. If that should be the case then I would be relieved, but sadly I can't know for sure because the memories are still blurry.

When did my life become like this? A day ago, I thought things were finally turning around for me at this college, but I guess I jinxed my own happiness.

"Harmony." April waves her hand for the second time, and I sigh in apology.

"Sorry."

"See? You keep zoning out."

"I am sorry, April. I just have a lot on my mind."

She sighs. "Is this about Blaze?"

I part my lips to reply when my phone dings with a notification. "Give me a minute." I smile at her as I grab the device from the nightstand, quickly swiping it open.

My heart almost comes through my mouth when I see the photo sent to me from an unknown number.

It's a picture of me and Kite. Both of us are half-naked in bed, and I am soundly asleep while his arms are wrapped around me. His chin is perched against the top of my head, and his eyes are closed.

If that isn't enough to send me into a state of panic, the caption below the image is there to ensure it.

Oh. My. God.

My breathing quickens, my skin becoming pale, and April narrows her eyes at the weird look on my face. "You okay?"

I swallow and press my palm over the screen. I am going to have a heart attack. "Y-yes, I am..."

What is going on? Who sent this to me?

"You don't look fine at all. You look like you've just seen a ghost."

Ding!

A new message comes in, and I am fearful to look at it. However, the agitation is eating me alive, so I take a deep breath and remove my hand from the screen.

I am in utter relief when I realize it is just a message from Blaze.

❤

His text pacifies my anxiety a bit, and a smile breaks out on my face despite my heavy beating heart.

April's concern morphs into a broad grin as she coils a leg over the other. "I can bet my entire makeup collection that the person who just texted you is my 'hard work' of a cousin, Blaze Xander."

I look up at her with a shy smile. "Yeah...he wants me to come by later."

His message reminds me that I was supposed to visit the town's gynecologist and get an examination today, but the time is already 5:15 pm, so I guess I would have to postpone until tomorrow. I want to see Blaze this evening. I miss him more than anything.

"Well, get dressed in something cute and enjoy your night!" April gushes, and I chuckle. "Okay."

"If you come back to the dorm later, I won't be here; the girls and I will be out of town for the night." She says as she gets up and moves over to the closet.

"Alright, have fun."

I smile to myself. Hopefully seeing Blaze will give me some amount of distraction, although the guilt tends to be more taunting whenever I am in his presence. Regardless, I really can't stay away from him.

••

I opt for a pink summer dress and pair it with my beige cardigan. The image I got earlier is still on my mind, and it scares me as I get ready to head out to Blaze's room.

What if they send the picture to him? What if they use it to blackmail me? The thoughts are driving me mad, and it seems as though I had left earth a short while since I have no idea when I have arrived in front of his dorm door.

I don't want anything to ruin our time together, so I try to push the negative thoughts aside until later. I take a deep breath before knocking. I still get nervous whenever we spend time together. It is something I will never get used to.

In no time, he opens it with a lopsided smile on his face. He's shirtless with just his thin silver necklace hanging from his neck, and the six pecs outlined in his stomach makes my cheeks tinge to a bright red.

I have never taken the time to absorb him without his shirt before; the sight is mind-blowing. I can make out the faint scar on his chest from his mom burning him with a hot fork as a kid, and the tattoo along his waists reminds me that he's a broken soul. He has been through so much, and the secret I am hiding from him will only sink him further.

How could I do this to him? I have no idea what happened that night, but it is still my fault. If I had just stayed away from Maddie, I wouldn't be in this position. The position to hurt him.

If I end up losing him, I deserve it.

"You're doing it again." He smirks while he leans against the doorframe with crossed arms.

I shift nervously. "Doing what?"

"That look, like your mind isn't here."

I give him a tight-lipped smile. "It's nothing...I just missed you. Haven't seen you all day."

"That's my line. You didn't eat lunch in the Caf, and I get the impression that you've been avoiding me."

I shake my head. "I am not."

He bites his lip and lifts his chin, nodding his head. "Mm, right. Come on in, you owe me a huge hug for being distant."

I chuckle as I step past him. "Okay...I can't protest against that."

He closes the door upon my entry, and as soon as I turn around to face him, he circles his arms around my waist and pulls me into him. Before I can interpret what is happening, his lips are pressing against mine in a rough kiss. My eyes widen at the superiority emanating from him, but then I slowly relax against him, succumbing to his bondage as he holds the back of my head to keep us connected.

His kiss is so strong and fiery that I can hardly breathe. I am unable to match his hunger, so I kiss him back at a pace of my own and hope it is enough.

The scent of his mouth is the minty smell that I have grown to adore. It is obvious he just brushed his teeth and possibly had just taken a shower too since he smells fresh and immaculate.

His arms tighten around my body, and he's stepping forward while kissing me. I have no choice but to move back until I am now sitting on his bed, our mouths still dancing together. His eager, and mine unable to keep up.

He moves along my cheek to get to my neck, and my lips separate in desire as I tilt my head. He expertly suckles on my skin, causing my eyes to roll to the back of my head at how good it feels.

But then the thought comes back to ruin the moment. The same insecurity I felt when he attempted to touch me yesterday. It returns with twice the intensity it had, and fear begins to kick in.

I lift my head to the ceiling, sucking in a breath. "B-Blaze, um, d-didn't you say we were going to watch a movie...?"

He doesn't respond to me, but I can't tell if he didn't hear the question or he is just choosing to ignore it. He presses his body into mine until I am forced to lay onto my back while his wet lips roam their way down my cleavage. He pushes his middle against me, and I feel his hard-on prodding against the inside of my leg.

Oh, God. We should stop now because if something did happen with Kite and we go any further, Blaze will know. I don't want to hurt him. I really don't want to hurt him.

"Blaze..." I breathe heavily. "I...think we should..."

His mouth leaves my chest as he comes up to look me in the eyes. "You think we should what, green eyes?"

His hand is now touching my thigh, and I push back the rising arousal. I need to keep my composure; I need to keep my head on straight.

"Let's just watch a movie," I plea, and his brows furrow.

"You want to tell me why?"

My eyes sting with tears of guilt, but I suck them up. "I...I just think..."

"You've always wanted us to have sex, right? Isn't that what you wanted us to do some time ago? Isn't that what I am willing to give to you right now, Harmony?"

"I just...I just feel like—"

As if he didn't hear a word I just said, his hand is now attempting to slip inside my underwear, and hastily I reach a hand under my dress to grab his.

He looks at me with a creased forehead, and I shake my head, fighting back the tears. "Please...don't Blaze."

He narrows his eyes and lowers his head for a second before he lifts it again to meet my watery eyes. "Tell me why."

I can't hold back the tears anymore as they spill out at the corner of my eyes.

His jaw clenches and his face morphs into the scariest expression I have ever seen. "I said tell me why, Harmony."

I pull a breath in and shake my head. "I can't. I can't right now Blaze...just...let's just do something else instead..."

"Fuck." He dips his head for the second time, cursing under his breath before he finally looks back up. His gaze is immensely infuriated that I wish I could curl up into a ball and roll away, off the edge of the earth if possible.

"Well, I guess I just got my answer then."

I glare at him in confusion. "H-huh?"

"Since you don't want to say it, let me say it instead." He begins, and I feel my heart leaps.

He glares at me, and I see how the muscles in his face tighten.

"It's because You. Fucked. Kite."

My eyes widen at each word, and it's like I just got pierce in the heart with three firm bullets.

The room crumbles down on me, and Blaze searches my eyes with fury in his. "Isn't that it, Harmony Skye?"

•

✨🖤ILY!