[december 19, 2004]
"hello?" y/n said once she hesitantly brought her phone to her ear.
"heyyy, y/n." kaden's voice crackled through the speaker, attempting to sound casual, maybe even lighthearted, but she could hear the tension laced in his words. he was a little uncomfortable—not as uncomfortable as her, though. she felt like she could barely breathe. her grip on the phone was tight, her fingers cold and trembling. she knew this was going to happen, that the moment she heard his voice again, it would all come rushing back—the memories, the fights, the pain, the regret. she swallowed hard, staring blankly at the ceiling as she curled her free hand into a fist before forcing herself to unclench it.
her fingers twitched, moving restlessly, trying to channel her anxious energy into something other than the sheer panic rising in her chest. she felt so stupid for calling, for even entertaining this, but now she was here, listening to him like no time had passed.
of course, time had passed. enough time for her to hate him. enough time for her to move on—or at least pretend to. but it didn't feel that way now.
y/n stayed quiet.
her breathing was uneven, barely audible through the silence, but she knew kaden could probably tell something was wrong. she could feel his patience hanging in the air, waiting for her to say something, but she couldn't bring herself to. her mind raced, her thoughts overlapping—'what am i supposed to say? why did i even call him?' she asked herself repeatedly, she regretted choosing this but it was to leave and she sure as hell couldn't tell him about her recent issues. she wouldn't, or rather: she couldn't—this wasn't his problem.
the texts, the threats, the way her stomach twisted in fear—it had nothing to do with him. it would be selfish to dump all of this on him so suddenly, especially when she had no idea what he would even do with the information. would he care? would he think she was lying? would he make it worse?
no, she couldn't risk that.
her calling him was like walking on eggshells, and she had to be so careful with her words. one wrong move, one misplaced sentence, and it could all spiral out of control. and right now, she couldn't handle that. one more thing going wrong— no matter how tiny— would be enough to shatter whatever fragile hold she had on herself.
so instead, she just let the silence stretch, waiting to see if he would fill it. waiting to see if he would break first. kaden noticed her silence immediately. of course he did. he knew her better than anyone—knew the way her mind worked, the way she hesitated when she was overwhelmed, the way her breathing changed when she was trying not to cry. and despite being the very reason she was in this state, he still sighed, feigning patience.
he had missed her voice, that much was true, but he wasn't the type to beg. no, he wasn't going to crawl and cry for her to come back to him. if anything, she should be the one groveling at his feet, pleading for him to protect her, to save her from whatever mess she'd gotten herself into. isn't that obvious?
the mere thought of her turning to someone else— of mike being the one she sought comfort from— made his blood boil. it made him sick, violent, restless with the kind of anger he barely kept in check. she belonged to him. she always had. and if she had even considered moving on with someone else, well...she'd learn soon enough that no one could love her the way he did. but he wasn't above a little manipulation. "y/n..." he started, his voice was soft. "what's wrong?"
to her, it probably sounded like he had just woken up—his tone groggy, heavy with exhaustion. she wasn't wrong. it was incredibly late for both of them and honestly, he was shocked she even dared to call him in the first place. maybe she was finally realizing that she needed him. on the other end, y/n struggled to find her words. "i, uh..." her voice cracked, barely above a whisper. her breathing was uneven, getting quicker by the second, and he knew— knew— she was fighting back tears. she was too proud to let them fall, too stubborn to cry where he could hear her. but she wanted to.
he could hear it in the way her voice wavered, could feel her hesitation bleeding through the silence. she was debating. debating whether to mute herself, whether to end the call, whether to tell him they could just talk in the morning—but she didn't dare mention any of these options all because she was scared of upsetting singlehandedly only man in her life to cause her so much grief & heartbreak.
you know what they say—history is doomed to repeat itself...a fool will always repeat his folly, a dog will always return to its vomit. no matter how much she ran, y/n knew kaden would always come back to her. or she would come back to him. it was an endless cycle, one that clawed at the edges of her sanity and it drove her to the brink of madness. she hated it, a great part of her hated him too...
but right now? she was completely vulnerable. just how he wanted her.
"...kaden." his name barely left her lips, the syllables dripping with hesitation, regret clinging to her like a bad taste she couldn't spit out. it felt like biting into something rotten, something that festered in the pit of her stomach and refused to leave. she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to ground herself, to steel herself, but it was useless. the pressure behind her eyes swelled, her throat tightening as the first wave of tears threatened to spill. 'no, not now. don't cry now,' she tried to tell herself. she forced herself to swallow the lump in her throat, her fingers tightening around her phone. "what did you..." she inhaled sharply, exhaling in a shaky breath. just get it over with. "...want to say?" silence followed, thick and heavy, and for a moment, she swore she could hear his smirk through the phone but she tried not to assume things, especially with that unknown number texting her so much.
meanwhile, in the attic, kaden's smirk widened. he could hear the way her voice wavered, the quiet sniffles she was trying so desperately to hide. it made his heart pound, filled his veins with something electric. he had to bite his tongue to keep from giggling, to keep from letting out the pure joy bubbling inside him, listening to her sweet, sultry voice, hearing her blabber in that desperate way—it was intoxicating. he could listen to her forever, talking to him, talking about him, even if it was through a phone.
but god, she sounded even better when she was breaking. so, he adjusted his grip on the phone, eyes flickering over the dark, cramped attic space around him. it was a little dusty, but that didn't matter. she was just a few rooms away from him completely unaware.
if he closed his eyes, he could pretend she was still his...his voice softened, gentle, like a kicked dog who was tossed the curb, begging for scraps "about us." his voice was quiet, gentle, painting himself as the victim, the one left behind. "...about us, y/n." her name dripped from his lips like honey, slow and thick, intoxicating in a way that made his pulse stutter but he tried to keep his feelings toward her under wraps. for now, at least.
back in y/n's spare room, she shifted uncomfortably in her bed, fingers trembling as she clutched her phone. she had hoped— prayed— that someone would have messaged her back by now. maybe nora, checking in to see how she was holding up. maybe mike, begrudgingly responding to her last text. even the unknown number— though god forbid— just to confirm she wasn't losing her mind. but there was nothing, nothing at all...
her screen remained painfully blank. no new notifications, no missed calls, no texts. it was suffocating. she tried not to let her thoughts spiral, but they did anyway, twisting and turning like snakes coiling around her chest. what if he could hear her? if he could see her messages, then surely it wasn't far-fetched to think he could listen in on her calls, right? was he watching her right now? her stomach twisted at the thought. her breathing grew shallow, uneven. she was slipping and fast.
her vision blurred with fresh tears, the weight of everything pressing down on her until she couldn't hold it in anymore. a choked sob ripped from her throat, then another, and another, until she was crying—loudly this time.
if kaden hadn't caught on before, he surely would now. "kaden..." she whimpered, her lower lip quivering violently, her entire body trembling. on the other end of the line, kaden immediately perked up, his fingers tightening around the phone. he opened his mouth, ready to say something, to dig his claws even deeper into her, but before he could—"i-i'm sorry," she quickly choked out. "but i really can't do this right now..." she said.
his jaw clenched. his grip on the phone tightened. "...why?" he asked, his voice delicate, almost gentle as if she hadn't just shattered whatever fragile conversation they were having.
his softness made y/n's heart ache even more. she felt like she was drowning in guilt. she knew she shouldn't care— she knew what kaden was like, what he did— but hearing him sound so hurt made her chest tighten painfully. she wiped at her tears with shaky hands.
"i'm...k-kinda dealing with my own problems right now..." it was the truth, but not the whole truth. she couldn't tell him everything. whoever was texting her— whoever was stalking her— she didn't want to risk escalating things by telling kaden too much. who knows what they'd do if she disobeyed them?
if they were watching her, tracking her messages, then she had to be careful. one wrong move, one wrong word, and this entire situation could spiral even further out of control. "what's wrong?" kaden spoke up, his voice was deceptively laced with concern, but the truth was, he just wanted to see. to test her. how far could he push? how much would she break? y/n clenched her jaw, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she curled in on herself, knees pressed tightly against her chest. her phone, slick with the sweat of her trembling hands, pressed against her ear as she let out a small, choked sob. "y/n, y/n..." kaden soothed, his voice a gentle hush, as if he were rocking a child to sleep. "shhh, it's okay...i'm right here. just breathe...breathe..." he told her, coaxing her into a false sense of security before he continued to prod. "what's happening? what's wrong...?"
her cries only grew louder, wracking her entire body with violent tremors. her breath came out in uneven gasps, her heart hammering against her ribcage. she hated this. she hated how easily she crumbled, how quickly he could dig his claws into her vulnerabilities.
kaden knew this. relished in it.
"y/n, please..." he tried again, a hint of impatience creeping into his voice. she bit down on her lower lip hard enough to taste copper, holding back a whimper as she shook her head against the pillow. all she could muster was a shaky hum in refusal. kaden went still.
that simple, aggravating sound—such a tiny, pathetic way to deny him. he wanted to shake her, to make her talk, but at the same time, there was something adorable about that little noise. he tried not to linger on it too much, he needed to focus...
"y/n," he said again, dragging out her name. "talk to me. tell me what's going on." she exhaled shakily.
then, finally—
"i...i can't tell you, kaden," she whispered, her voice barely above a breath. "i'm not allowed to, so stop...please, stop." she begged.
she sounded so scared. so helpless. it was delicious. kaden let a silence stretch between them before he asked the hardest question of all: "do you want me to come over?" y/n's breath caught in her throat, her body seizing up. she squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head, even though he couldn't see and once she reopened her eyes, she gave him a defeated answer.
"no." she whispered.
kaden hummed in thought, his fingers impatiently tapping against his knee as he tried to think of ways to steer this conversation to what he wanted—to see her again, to truly be in her presence instead of just watching her from afar. "well, can't one of your friends come by?" he continued.
y/n hesitated. "no..." she muttered.
his brow furrowed. "why not?"
her throat tightened, knowing full well what admitting what she had to say meant. but she couldn't lie. what good would it do now? "...because i'm not home..." she finally confessed.
"where are you then?"
y/n swallowed thickly. she felt like she was dangling over the edge of a cliff, giving away too much, but she couldn't stop herself from telling kaden. "woodbury..." she mumbled.
"woodbury?" kaden repeated like he was genuinely surprised. "why the hell are you in woodbury, y/n?" his tone dipped into something gruff like he was annoyed by the idea.
she hesitated. "because...a few work friends wanted to have a little vacation. you know, with it being the holidays and all..." she explained. kaden hummed like he was thinking it over.
"so you do have people with you."
y/n sat up straighter, heart pounding. she already knew what he was going to assume— like he did when they were dating, needing to know every detail of where she was and where she was going— so she cut him off before he could do any of that. "they're not here," she rushed out, wiping her damp cheeks with her sleeve. "they probably won't be here until morning..." the words hit her hard the second she spoke them aloud. she really was alone, wasn't she? her breath hitched, and before she could even try to hold it back, a fresh wave of sobs wracked her body. her shoulders shook, her entire body trembling from the stress pressing down on her chest. "i don't—" her voice cracked. "i don't feel safe, kaden." she wasn't sure why she told him that. maybe she wanted him to understand, to see how terrified she was, to hear it in her voice.
but kaden already knew.
"call the cops, y/n." he said bluntly, he was calling her bluff since he knew that his ex never did well in stressful situations. she didn't fight. she didn't confront. she ran and never dared to look back to face the consequences.
"i can't..." she choked out, gripping the phone like it was her last lifeline.
a beat of silence passed before kaden let out a long, drawn-out sigh. "then what do you want me to do, y/n?" his voice was softer now, but she could feel the weight of his question pressing down on her. what did she want from him? what was she supposed to say?
y/n knew kaden couldn't call the cops for her. he didn't even know the address of where she was staying, and even if she told him, it wasn't his responsibility. she was an adult. she needed to make her own decisions.
but that didn't change the fact that she was stuck. she was at a loss for options, grasping at straws, trying to figure out what to do next when every road led to a dead end. her voice wavered as she spoke, raw with fear. "kaden, i-i don't know what to do." she sniffled, her hands shaking as she pressed the phone against her ear. "the only people i trust are too far away, and they're not answering. they have their own problems to deal with, and i d-don't know if they'd even believe me if i told them what's going on..." her breath came out uneven. "whoever's doing this...if i go knocking on a neighbor's door, if i try to run, they're just..."
y/n didn't need to finish her sentence.
there was a pause, just long enough for her mind to spiral even more.
"y/n, i can't do much from here," kaden finally said, his voice softer than before. "you're sure you don't want me to come over?" he repeated himself.
she stayed quiet, chewing on her lip. every part of her was screaming no, no, no. but what other choice did she have? her friends were hours away. her phone was eerily silent. the messages from that number weren't stopping. she couldn't call the cops. she couldn't leave the house. she couldn't trust anyone else. kaden was her only option. "...i guess," she finally whispered, despite every fiber of her being screaming at her to say no.
but the words were out, and she couldn't take them back. there was a brief silence before all the gentleness in kaden's voice dissipated. "send me the address, y/n." he deadpanned. her fingers twitched against her phone. she hesitated for just a second too long. "i'll be there soon, alright?" he said anything he could to give her some sort of reassurance. his words sent a shiver down her spine, though she wasn't sure if it was relief or something else.
"okay..." she sniffled before she finally typed out the address, her thumbs moving slower than usual as if giving herself one last chance to reconsider. but she still hit send.
the message delivered instantly.
at the sight of her compliance, it took every fiber in kaden's being not to call her a good girl. he let out a shaky breath before forcing out his next words, "try to get some rest, okay?" he continued. "i'll be there soon."
"...okay."
and then the call ended.
y/n let the phone slip from her fingers, falling onto the mattress beside her. she curled up beneath the blankets, pulling them over her face as if they could shield her from the gnawing unease in her chest. her body trembled with leftover adrenaline, her breath coming out uneven. even if kaden wasn't a good person— even if she knew what kind of person he was— he was the only one she could call. the only one who wouldn't leave her alone.
there had to be some pros to this, right? for example, kaden wasn't scrawny like mike. he was strong. he was built. she'd feel safer knowing she wasn't completely alone in this house, knowing that someone like kaden could protect her if things got worse.
that was really the only good thing she could think of...but she was desperate and at this point, y/n just hoped that she wouldn't regret this decision.