Here is Chapter 15 of Beneath the Same Roof — a two-part escalation that weaves in the emotional heat between Ava and Julian, and pulls them deeper into the tension of being watched. The photo changed everything. Now, it's not just about feelings — it's survival
Chapter 15 – What They See, What We Hide
POV: Ava
The photo sat on my screen like a bullet.
Blurry but clear enough.
Me, slipping out of Julian's room late at night. Hoodie barely covering my thighs. Hair messy. Lips swollen.
No angle could excuse it.
No caption necessary.
Whoever sent it didn't need words.
They had proof.
I sat frozen on my bed, hands shaking, screen glowing cold in the dark.
My stomach turned.
I texted Julian one word:
Now.
He was at my door in less than sixty seconds.
Didn't knock. Just slipped inside like he'd done it a hundred times.
I showed him the phone. He swore low under his breath.
"This is getting worse," I whispered.
"They're escalating."
Julian paced, running both hands through his hair.
"This isn't just about scaring us now," he said. "This is leverage."
"Blackmail?"
"Or exposure. Same result. We lose."
I stood, heart pounding. "Then we fight back."
His eyes snapped to mine. "You mean—"
"We find out who it is. We stop hiding. We win."
---
That night, we came up with a plan.
Julian was sure it was Tyler.
It made sense. Tyler had the access. The motive. He was always nearby. Always watching.
Julian would test him. Push a little. Drop a fake detail and see if it got used.
I would confront him if it didn't work.
I was done being afraid.
---
Two days later
Julian cornered Tyler in the parking lot.
He was casual about it — just a conversation near Julian's car, leaning against the hood. Laughing a little too loud, a little too staged.
I watched from a distance.
Later, when we met in the library, he told me.
"I told him we were hooking up in my car," Julian said. "I was cocky about it. Gross. If it's him, he won't be able to resist using it."
"And if it's not?"
He hesitated. "Then we're back at square one."
---
But that night, no message came.
The next day, nothing either.
And on the third day, something happened.
Tyler cornered me.
"You've changed," he said, leaning on my locker like it was his right to invade my space. "You don't talk anymore. Not even to me."
I stared at him. "You stopped being someone I wanted to talk to."
He gave a cold laugh. "Or maybe you're too busy sneaking into your stepbrother's room."
My blood ran cold.
He knew.
I swallowed. "You've got a lot of nerve."
He leaned in close. "You've got a lot to lose."
My hand clenched into a fist.
"What do you want?" I hissed.
He shrugged. "Nothing. Yet."
That night, I couldn't hold it in.
Julian and I sat in his room again, door locked, music low.
I told him everything.
What Tyler said. How he looked at me. Like he was toying with us.
"He wants to control it," Julian said darkly. "Wants the power."
"Then we take it back."
He stood, pacing, breathing hard. "How?"
"We stop pretending we're ashamed."
His eyes locked on mine.
"Go public?" he said, like it was nuclear.
"No," I whispered. "But stop letting people own our story. Stop letting them use our silence as a weapon."
Julian stepped toward me.
"Do you realize what you're saying?"
I nodded.
"I love you," I whispered.
He stopped breathing.
His chest rose and fell, slowly.
Then he cupped my face like I was the only thing anchoring him to the earth.
"I love you," he said hoarsely. "I've loved you since the first time you took my hoodie and pretended it wasn't because you missed me."
And then he kissed me.
Hard.
Like confession. Like war. Like surrender.
---
Clothes hit the floor fast this time.
But the way he touched me was still reverent.
Slow, burning, intimate.
He laid me down on his bed and kissed every inch of skin like it was sacred.
My back arched into him.
His voice in my ear was rough and raw. "No one gets to take this from us. No one."
When he slid inside me, it wasn't like the first time.
It was deeper. Fiercer. More desperate.
A claiming.
A promise.
---
After, we stayed tangled in the heat of each other.
My fingers on his chest. His lips brushing my temple.
We were no longer hiding from the fire.
We were in it.
🖤 End of Chapter Hook:
The next morning, a new photo arrives.
This time, it's not of Ava. Not of Julian.
It's the two of them — together.
In bed. Asleep. Arms wrapped. Naked.
Taken from outside the bedroom window.
The caption reads:
"I warned you."
And underneath, a threat:
$5,000 by Friday. Or everyone sees this.