Chapter Five: The Space Between Us
I woke with sunlight in my eyes and the weight of a choice sitting on my chest.
The necklace Alex gave me still hung loosely around my neck. I had fallen asleep with it on. Worn it into my dreams.
Jason's voice still lingered in my head.
"I'd burn the whole damn town down before I broke a promise to you."
I didn't know what to do with that.
So I got up. Brushed my teeth. Pulled my hair back. Ate a slice of toast I couldn't taste. I watched Lila and Liam chase each other around the couch and wondered when my world had become a ticking clock I couldn't stop.
Mid-morning
Maisie picked me up in her mom's dented Prius.
"Your energy is giving major post-confession-vibes," she said as soon as I buckled in.
I raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"You've got the glow," she teased. "What happened? And don't say nothing. Because your aura is louder than my Spotify."
I hesitated.
Then: "They called me. Last night."
Maisie slammed her hand on the steering wheel. "Which one?!"
"Jason."
"OHHH MY GOD. Okay, okay—go slow. Was it deep? Emotional? Breathy and full of emotional damage?"
"Yes," I said softly. "All of it."
Maisie stopped the car at a red light and turned to me completely. "You're falling for both of them."
"I don't want to."
"But you are."
"I don't know what this is."
She didn't speak for a while. Just nodded.
Then she smiled, a little softer this time. "Don't be afraid to let something be good, Dalynn. Even if it scares you."
Early Afternoon – The Storm Enters
We were walking past The Haven—a boutique café where girls in too much lip gloss liked to pretend they were older than they were—when she appeared.
Taya.
Tall. Tan. Glossy lips and jeans so tight they probably required emergency scissors. She stood by her convertible with a to-go coffee in one hand and a judgmental look in the other.
She spotted me before I saw her.
And she smiled.
Like a snake preparing to swallow something small.
"Well, well," she said, sauntering over. "You're the new girl, huh?"
I blinked. "Yeah. I guess."
"I'm Taya," she said, flicking her hair. "You know... I used to spend a lot of time with Jason and Alex."
Maisie muttered under her breath, "Here we go."
I tried to keep my voice steady. "Nice to meet you."
She smiled wider, but it didn't reach her eyes. "They're... intense, right? Especially when they're both focused on you. That attention feels good at first. But trust me—it gets confusing. And messy."
She leaned in, her perfume too strong and her voice like velvet and venom.
"Don't fall too hard, sweetheart. They always circle back to what's familiar."
Then she turned, swaying back to her car like the scene had been scripted for her ego.
Maisie gaped. "Okay, so do we love her or punch her?"
I said nothing.
But my fingers were curled so tightly into my jacket pocket that my knuckles ached.
Late Afternoon – The Field
The grass was high and gold in the sun. The air smelled like coming rain.
And there they were.
Jason on the bleachers.
Alex at the rail.
Waiting.
It hit me harder now—after Taya.
After the doubt.
After the way she looked at me like I was just a phase in their pattern.
But when Jason stood, and Alex stepped forward with that quiet look in his eyes, everything else fell away.
I still asked. I had to.
"Who was she to you?"
Jason's jaw tightened. "No one that matters."
Alex's voice was gentler. "It wasn't like this."
"And what is this?" I whispered.
Jason stepped forward. "Something new."
Alex nodded. "Something worth being better for."
They both offered their hands.
And this time, I didn't hesitate.
I stepped into the space between them.
---
Chapter Five (finale): Fire Between Fingers
Their hands were still open.
Waiting.
Jason's was calloused and steady. The kind of hand that could break things or protect them.
Alex's was warm and patient. The kind of hand that could hold you through a storm.
I looked at both.
Then I took a step closer… but didn't touch either.
"I feel like I'm standing on a wire," I said, voice barely a breath. "Between two fires. And if I move the wrong way... I'll fall into both."
Jason's brow furrowed. "We'd catch you."
Alex's voice was low. "We wouldn't let you fall."
I shook my head. "That's the thing. You want me to fall."
They didn't deny it.
Jason stepped forward, his voice husky. "You think we don't lie awake at night thinking about you?"
Alex's eyes darkened. "Every breath you take near us feels like temptation."
I felt it too.
The heat.
The ache.
The overwhelming desire to belong to something that wasn't mine—but felt like it was meant to be.
And I wanted to give in.
God, I did.
But instead, I let my fingers brush just barely across Jason's wrist… then drift over to Alex's palm.
Just enough to make them want.
And then I stepped back.
"No one owns me," I whispered. "Not even if I want to be taken."
Jason's jaw flexed.
Alex's chest rose with a sharp inhale.
And I smiled—sweet, shy, infuriating.
"I'll see you around," I said.
Then turned and walked away, the weight of their stunned silence like thunder behind me.
---
As I reached the edge of the field, I heard Jason curse under his breath.
And Alex?
He only said one word.
"Damn."
---
Chapter Five (final ending): Jealous Girls Don't Whisper
The grass rustled under my boots as I turned away, walking slowly but deliberately toward the edge of the field.
I didn't want them to see my face.
Not when it cracked like this.
Not when the hurt rose up before I could push it down.
But it came anyway—hot, raw, sharp.
I stopped.
Didn't turn around.
Didn't look at them.
I just raised my voice—sharp as a blade.
"Oh—and tell your little Taya she can keep her iced coffee and recycled lip gloss. You boys may share everything, but I'm not one of your old playthings."
Silence.
The kind that clings to skin.
Then—
Jason's voice, low and stunned. "Dalynn…"
But I didn't wait.
"I don't care how many girls came before me," I added, louder now, voice cracking in the middle. "I'm not here to be next. I'd rather be nothing at all."
I started walking again, faster this time.
And still—they didn't follow.
They just stood there.
Speechless.
Breathless.
Wrecked.
And I hated how much I wanted them to chase me.
---
---