Breaking the ice

Jaxon

I didn't know what I was thinking when I decided to come to Grace's dorm. The more I replayed our last conversation, the more I felt like something was wrong—something she wasn't telling me. She'd broken up with me out of nowhere, and it didn't make sense. She couldn't just throw everything we had away without a reason, not without a fight.

So, I had to know what happened. I had to hear it from her.

I had barely made it to her dorm building when I noticed something out of place—a shadow in the window. My stomach clenched, my mind racing as I quickened my pace, urgency fueling my steps. I didn't know what it was, but something was off.

I got to the door and hesitated for only a second before I knocked, my heart pounding in my chest.

And then, everything went wrong.

The door opened just enough for me to see Grace standing there, her eyes wide with panic. She looked terrified—terrified in a way I'd never seen before. I barely registered the man standing behind her, his presence imposing, his eyes cold and calculated.

My body tensed as I looked from Grace to him, trying to make sense of what was happening. That man—he looked so familiar. Too familiar.

It was her father.

And the second I saw the gun in his hand, everything inside me went cold.

"Grace?" My voice came out rough, filled with concern and confusion. I tried to step forward, but she immediately put a hand on the door, blocking me.

"Jaxon," she whispered urgently, her voice shaking. "Please, go. You need to go."

My heart dropped. The fear in her voice was enough to make my blood run cold. I didn't know what was happening, but I knew one thing—I wasn't leaving without her.

I stood my ground, eyes locking with her father. The gun in his hand, steady and unwavering, made my stomach turn. I could see the cold calculation in his eyes, the control he was trying to assert, and I felt a surge of anger I hadn't known I was capable of.

"Put the gun down," I demanded, my voice low but firm. "This isn't the way to handle this."

Her father's expression didn't change, but I could see his fingers tightening around the handle of the gun, and my heart skipped a beat. The sight of the gun aimed in Grace's direction was like a physical punch to the gut.

"Stay out of this, Jaxon," he said, his voice calm, but there was a dangerous edge to it. "This is between me and my daughter."

"No," I said, my voice rising with the kind of force I wasn't used to. "It's not. You don't get to control her like this. Let her go, now."

My chest tightened, and every part of me screamed at me to do something, anything to make sure Grace was safe. But her father wasn't backing down, and neither was I.

I took a step forward, not thinking, just reacting. "Let her go," I repeated, my tone unwavering. "I'm not going anywhere without her."

Grace's eyes flickered toward me, full of fear, full of pleading. "Jaxon, you don't understand," she whispered. "You don't know what he's capable of."

But I didn't care. The only thing that mattered in that moment was her, and I wasn't going to leave without her—no matter what it took.

"You don't get it, Jaxon," her father said, his voice growing colder. "You're just a kid. You think you can protect her? You think you can stop me? You don't even know who you're dealing with."

I felt my anger bubble up again, more intense than I ever thought possible. "I don't care who you are," I said, stepping closer. "You're not taking her from me. Not without a fight."

Grace took a shaky breath, trying to keep it together. "Jaxon, please," she pleaded, her voice barely above a whisper. "You don't have to do this. You don't have to make this worse."

But I couldn't stop now. I couldn't walk away while her father held a gun to her like she was nothing. I wasn't going to let him get away with this.

"I'm not leaving," I said, my voice stronger now, unwavering. I could feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins as I locked eyes with her father, refusing to back down. "You don't scare me."

He smirked at me, almost as if he found my defiance amusing. "You should be scared, Jaxon," he said, voice dripping with condescension. "You have no idea what kind of power I have."

"I don't care about your power," I shot back. "What matters is her. And I'm not letting you take her away from me. So you can either step aside, or we're going to have a problem."

His eyes flickered to Grace, then back at me. The tension in the room was suffocating, and I could see it in his face—he was weighing his options, trying to decide whether or not to escalate things.

But he didn't make a move.

I didn't know what had changed in him—maybe it was the way I stood my ground, maybe it was something else—but in that moment, he seemed to consider something. His grip on the gun loosened just slightly, and I could feel a small glimmer of hope flicker inside me.

Maybe, just maybe, this was going to be okay.

But before I could even process the thought, he spoke again, his voice colder than ever.

"You're not going to win this, Jaxon," he said, the edge of finality in his voice. "She's mine, and I'm taking her back with me, whether you like it or not."

I didn't know what was going to happen next, but one thing was for sure—I wasn't backing down. Not this time. Not ever.