Chapter 3 – Strings He Never Cut Loose

The days after our meeting at the abandoned gym felt like a strange dream I couldn't wake from.

Raven didn't come back to class.

Not the next day, not the day after that.

I told myself I shouldn't care.

I barely knew him. I had no right to feel this way.

But I kept checking the back seat in class anyway. Kept listening for that slow rhythm of his fingers tapping. Kept catching myself looking at the hallway like he'd just appear from the shadows.

He didn't.

Instead, whispers filled the school.

Someone said a boy from another campus was found unconscious in an alley near the gym. Some said it was a gang fight. Some said drugs. Others claimed it was something darker—something the teachers didn't want to talk about.

But I knew better.

Whatever happened, Raven was part of it.

That night, I couldn't stay still. My body felt restless, my thoughts circling around him like moths to a flame. I couldn't focus on anything not my assignments, not my dinner, not even my reflection in the mirror.

All I could think about was the sound of his voice when he said my name.

"You're the only one I don't want to ruin."

But he was already ruining me in the most delicious way.

At midnight, I got a message.

Unknown number.

"Meet me at the rooftop. Don't tell anyone."

My pulse spiked.

It could only be him.

I threw on my jacket and snuck out through the window. The cold wind bit my skin, but the excitement under my flesh burned hotter than anything else.

When I reached the rooftop, he was already there.

Leaning against the railing, cigarette in hand, city lights flickering in his eyes like dying stars.

"You came," he said, without turning.

"You didn't expect me to?"

"I hoped you wouldn't."

That hurt more than I expected.

"But you still asked me to come," I said, stepping closer.

He glanced at me sideways. "Yeah. That's the problem."

We sat on the rooftop's edge, legs dangling into the night.

For a while, neither of us spoke.

And then he asked, "Do you know what it's like to be born broken?"

I turned to him. "No one's born broken."

He gave a dry laugh. "You're too soft to understand. That's why I shouldn't be near you."

"But you are," I said.

He looked at me again. This time longer, deeper.

"I don't know how to stop."

A gust of wind passed. He closed his eyes for a moment, letting it brush through his messy black hair.

"I didn't hurt that boy," he continued. "Not this time. But I wanted to."

I swallowed. "Why?"

"Because he touched me."

His voice was colder now. Sharper.

"He put his hands where he shouldn't have. Said things he shouldn't say. Thought I wouldn't fight back."

My hands clenched on my lap.

Raven stared ahead. "I could've killed him. I really could've. And you know what's messed up?"

"What?"

"I'm not even sure if I regret that I didn't."

I didn't know what to say. But I didn't move away either.

Instead, I whispered, "You're not evil."

"You don't know me."

"Then let me."

He looked at me again this time like he was trying to solve a puzzle he didn't want to finish.

---

Suddenly, he reached out and took my hand.

His fingers were cold, rough, scarred.

But they held mine so gently it felt like a contradiction.

"Why are you here, really?" he asked. "People like you should be running from me."

"Maybe I'm broken too," I said softly.

His grip tightened.

Then he leaned in closer than he ever had before. His face was inches from mine, his breath warm on my skin.

"If you stay," he whispered, "I can't promise I won't drag you into the dark with me."

"Then drag me," I breathed.

That's when he kissed me.

It wasn't soft or tender.

It was wild, desperate, like he was starving for something he didn't even understand.

And I kissed him back.

When we finally pulled away, his forehead rested against mine.

"I shouldn't have done that," he murmured.

"But you did."

His lips curled slightly. "Yeah. And now I want to do it again."

"You can," I said.

"No," he replied, pulling back. "Not now."

Something shifted in his face guilt, fear, something buried so deep even he couldn't name it.

"You should go."

"Why?"

"Because if you stay longer, I might not let you leave."

That scared me more than it should have.

But I stood up anyway. Not because I wanted to leave, but because I knew… he was serious.

And something about that made me fall even harder.

When I reached my room that night, I couldn't stop thinking about him.

His kiss.

His scars.

His pain.

And how I was now tangled in strings he never cut loose.

Even if I tried to escape, it was already too late.

I wasn't just drawn to Raven anymore I was tethered.

And I had a feeling that whatever was coming… would ruin us both.

But maybe I wanted to be ruined.

Especially if it was by him.