Skylar's POV

"What?"

Blake regarded me with a rather amused look. If I wasn't left so stunned at that moment, I might've leaned forward just to stick that piece of duct tape back over his mouth. "Assuming he's still your boyfriend?"

I swallowed and merely stared back at him. Caden, I thought.

"Caden," I whispered. I wasn't sure what else to say. I was still having a hard time convincing myself that this wasn't a nightmare. This was real. As real as my life could get sometimes.

"Funny. I was expecting some tears." He sounded as dry as someone could sound with their hands and feet tied securely to an old rotting chair.

I blinked and looked up at Blake, yet it still didn't make any sense. All of it. Seeing Blake here. Ending up between Caden's gang. Caden's gang. I hadn't even known there were fucking headquarters here. Could it be that Blake was trying to lie his way through my head?

No, I thought. He didn't look like he had anything to lose. Except for his life maybe.

All this time I'd thought Blake was on the run. Stalking me. Sending me threats. Caden, I remembered, had been fairly keen on reassuring me that it couldn't be Blake. Because Blake was here. Tied to a chair. Kidnapped.

Oh fuck.

"Why would he do that?" I finally found my voice.

Blake's eyes seemed pale even under the darkness, assessing me and everything around him. I didn't bother telling him that there was a fat zero chance he'd be able to get past those ropes. They looked plenty awful.

"How would I know?"

"He wouldn't have kept you here--"

"Against my will.'

"--without...without any reason." I finished and my gaze snapped behind him when I heard footsteps. They, however, faded equally fast. If Blake noticed them, he didn't bother saying anything about it.

"Ah, yes. Reasons." I think he rolled his eyes. "Reasons. Why don't you ask my dear old brother?"

That caused me to laugh, however weak it was. "What makes you think he'd tell me?" God, I thought. Why? Why couldn't there be a little bit of honesty between us? Between Caden and I? And why did I always have to find it this way? From Blake?

Blake scrunched up his nose in a sympathetic gesture, which clearly didn't work since he smirked.

"Well. Reasons, as you said." He pointed out.

I hated this. I hated that my head was pounding and I hated the way my heart had started racing so painfully. And I hated, hated this creepy dark cellar. I hated that I wasn't at home. I was starting to hate everything and especially Blake.

He was the one here tied to a chair yet he still looked like he had all the bleeding control over the world.

"Yes." I managed a nod, and as an underlying warning, I added, "Don't mess with me."

"Why in the world would I do that, Sky?" He was still smiling, that freak. "We're both equally trapped in here, aren't we?"

No, I wanted to say. But what did I know? Every time I thought I knew something, life knocked me on my ass and proved me wrong.

Perhaps it was that realisation that made me start freaking out a bit. Bristling, I pressed my back against the concrete wall behind me.

"I don't think he lied...why would he lie to me?" My voice came out strained and when I dragged my fingers through my hair, I realised they were shaking a little. Nerves. Fear. "I really believed him when he said he wasn't lying to me."

I heard Blake scoff. "I still can't see why you're with him. What is it, pray tell? The anger issues? Can't be the lies. Are you secretly a masochist, Skylar?"

I did realise Blake was trying to rile me up and I did pity him for being locked in here for God knows how long. But I was freaking out too, and that seemed enough for me to ignore Blake.

When I'd told Caden about those letters, I thought, he had been so convinced it wasn't Blake behind it.

Because he knew where Blake was.

"Oh," I murmured, ran my hands down my face and didn't even grimace at the tiny cuts I felt against my skin. It was a bit nauseating--the cold, the stale air, and the ongoing realization.

"So how are you planning to escape?" Blake broke the silence. I looked up and saw him regarding me with a knowing smirk. He nudged his chin towards the ceiling, probably where I'd fallen from. "Climb back up the chimney like Santa?"

Not funny, was what I meant to say. "Do I have to?" was what I asked instead.

He let out a small chuckle. "He's gonna come here, you know. Him or his men." Blake said. "To check up on me, of course. And then they're going to find you."

I stiffened.

"And I don't think he'd like to see you here." He added. "Even if that would be worth watching."

"I hate you, Blake," I whispered, feeling the corner of my eyes welling up. And then I gritted my teeth because I did not want to cry. Not here. Not at this moment.

He only laughed in response as if he couldn't care less. And I'd thought once how nice of a friend he was.

But I'd been wrong. Like most of the things I was always wrong about.

I closed my eyes and tipped my head back against the wall.

Trapped. Why did it always come down to this?

•••••

I don't understand how I fell asleep. Not amongst that stale, stuffy atmosphere of that cellar. I don't think I could've, not until I did. Fall asleep in the cellar, I mean. Either it was that, or keep panicking about things. I could've also looked around for an exit but I kept hearing footsteps and frankly, all of it--and Blake's presence alone--was nearing me to the very edge of bawling my eyes out.

I tried calling Nova. But my phone wasn't cooperating at all. I just about managed to notice the cracked screen before the very little light from my phone died down along with its battery. That was that, I guess.

And then I apparently fell asleep.

Because when I woke up, I wasn't in the cellar anymore. It all could've just been a nightmare, but then I sat up on the fairly large bed and realised that it wasn't my room either. Or my apartment. Or anywhere familiar.

I was in a fairly spacious room. Alone. And highly unfamiliar. Which might've been just as painfully creepy as being stranded in the forest or falling down to an underground cellar.

I winced as I sat up. Harsh rays of sun peeked through the curtains, unfamiliar curtains, and hit my eyes. For a few silent seconds, I just dreaded as I looked around.

My throat felt parched. My eyes felt heavy. And my stomach was in knots, so many anxious knots. Heaving a breath, I pushed the blanket aside and scrambled off of the bed. My clothes were intact, thank fuck, but my sweater, I now realised, was scraped in places.

I could only wonder how I myself looked at that moment. I felt like a mess. I probably looked like one too.

That's not what I cared about right then. Instead, I headed for the closed door, pulling on my discarded sneakers--that had been sitting at the foot of the bed--at the same time. Once I was done, I swallowed and wrapped my hand around the door knob. It didn't budge though. It was locked.

I was locked in here.

Full-fledged panic finally creeping in, I started tugging on the doorknob a little too frantically. I couldn't think straight. All I could think about was, yes, I'd been hit on the head by the creepy stalker that's been after me for weeks. Had been left stranded in the forest. Fallen through a bunch of leaves and found Blake, out of all the goddamn people, in an underground cellar. And now, I was locked in an unfamiliar bedroom.

All that had happened within the past twenty-four hours. A tiny stressed noise escaped past my lips.

When the door still didn't open, I rushed to the windows, pushing the curtains apart and checking the locks.

They weren't locked, which should've relieved me a little. But then I noticed that there seemed to be just trees and wildlife in view, all around the place I was in. A house, I think. It had seemed like a house when I'd spotted it last night.

Sick, that's how I felt. This was crazy.

I was about to have second thoughts about jumping down from these very windows, and check on my phone too, when I heard the door knob jiggling behind me.

I turned around just in time to see it turning, the door opening, as someone stepped inside. And then he looked over at me.

"Caden." My voice came out odd. I think it wasn't just my parched throat.

I saw the way his eyes widened a little, his gaze shifting behind me and then back at me. He slowly closed the door behind him. A soft click the only sound.

I felt my heart leaping in my throat.

"You...locked me in here." It did come out as an accusation, raw and confused. And I was confused. But more so than that, I was terrified. I wanted to go back home. I didn't want this silence. "You locked me in here."

Caden sighed. "I did."

"Why?" I demanded, wrapping my arms cautiously around myself.

A tiny furrow formed in between his brows and I knew, I knew he was contemplating whether to cross the distance between us or stay put.

"Because I knew you'd leave." He said. "And I need to explain."

"Explain what?"

"You know what, Sky." He sounded exasperated now. Not at me, I think. Not when he took a step towards me. I wouldn't know, though. There was so much I never knew when it came to him.

I kept my gaze rooted to his. "That you lied to me?" I asked, then added forcedly, "You lied to me."

"Sky." He shook his head, running his hands through his hair, brows pinched. And that was it. Just Sky.

"Why did you?" My voice lowered. "How long have you...have you been keeping Blake there? And why didn't you tell me?" What else? I wanted to ask. What else do you keep from me? Why do you?

"I didn't...I couldn't." He shook his head again. I couldn't tell you, I heard his words.

I stared at him and I didn't know what I felt right then. I didn't know what I saw right then. There was Blake. Smirking at me. Pitying me. Hadn't he been right?

I nodded, pushing my hair behind my ears. "Fine. Explain this to me then."

He took another step closer and I took one to the side, towards the door. I held out a hand. "No just...just explain it to me first."

"Sky--"

"Can't you at least do that?" I nearly yelled and my eyes stung. My chest stung. "I'm trying...to understand, Caden."

He stayed right there but I saw the way he clenched his fists, looking down at them as if he couldn't even deal with looking at me. It was fairly horrible, the way he was closing up. Like he used to when I first met him. It was awful because weren't we past all that?

"I can't. I can't ruin this for you." He told me.

I got angry amidst the tearing up. Marching forward, I pointed a finger to his chest. His eyes flew up to meet mine. "You already are ruining this. If this is you trying to protect me, I don't need it! I don't want it!"

Something softened in the green of his eyes. Or maybe that was just wishful thinking.

"If I get hurt, I get hurt, Caden. You can't always protect me." My voice broke. "I don't want you to...to lie to me every single time."

I started to pull away but he didn't let me, tugging me close by my wrist, his grip anything but strong.

"I hadn't known you'd find out like this." His frown deepened. "Sky, if I'd have known..."

"You would've hidden it better?" I laughed.

He gave another tug on my wrist, his gaze flickering down. "Your hand's bleeding."

It was, I realised. Two wide red scratches on the back of my hand, raw and scraped. I jerked it out of his grasp.

"How will I ever trust you again?" I asked him, and my voice came out rather steely. "How will I know you're not lying about this or everything or--"

Caden inhaled sharply. "You're making a big deal out of this."

I was. Maybe I was. But I didn't want this. I didn't want the constant self-doubt.

"All I ever asked you was to be honest with me like I am with you." I gritted out. A tear slowly trickled down my chin and for a moment there, Caden was a blur in front of me. So close, yet he wasn't really ever there. "I tell you every single thing like the stupid fool I am, Caden! I trust you more than anyone--"

"Skylar." He whispered, cutting me off, and then there were his hands on either side of my face, wiping off my tears, holding me. "Sky. I trust you too. I promise. I do."

I sniffled. "But you had your reasons."

He didn't say anything. He didn't say anything at all to that.

"Reasons you don't know yourself." I finished it off for him.

"I told you it's complicated. I was just trying to keep you out of it."

"Don't bother." I snapped, pulling away. I had tried. But this was as far as he'd go before pulling all those guards up. That's what he always did. That's how he'll always be. "I'll keep out of it myself."

I headed for the door, but he stopped me, grabbing my arm this time. "Sky, for fuck's sake--"

"What?"

"Don't do this. Please."

"I don't even know what I'm doing." My throat squeezed. Warning or just sadness, I didn't know. I was so tired. "I need to leave. I need space."

His face fell in surprise. Then disbelief. "You don't."

"You think it's normal, Caden, but it's not!" I trembled. "I know it can be hard sometimes to trust me with stuff. Your stuff. I know I get irrational sometimes. But you keep lying...hiding. I don't want that. I don't...I don't want lies."

Was it? I wanted to ask. Was it a lie sometimes when he kissed me? Was it a lie sometimes when he said he trusted me? Was it a lie sometimes when he smiled at me?

My stomach twisted horribly.

Were there times when he needed someone, but he never told me just because he didn't want to make things complicated for me? Just because he found it hard to open up?

His eyes showed desperation when he stepped towards me. Anguish. Was it him or just the way I felt? I stepped back. "I know that, Sky. Just...give me another chance."

I swallowed, looking away, behind him, away from him, then back at him. Had it always been like this? The tiredness in his green eyes? The hidden shadows in them? Nightmares, I thought. I rarely ever saw him sleeping soundly when he was there beside me.

"I would. I just...don't know how." I whispered, staring. Give me something of yourself.

But he didn't.

"I need some space." The words tumbled out from my mouth. "From you, Caden."

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so sorry for the major late update! ik it wasn't very decent of me to keep you guys hanging like that. sorry sorry sorry i love you guys so much and i hope you all are having an amazing and healthy june Xx