Page 46 of Property of Chux

I exhale, turning my head toward Kelly. “I don’t know.”

She studies me for a moment, as if weighing her words. “You’re thinking about it, though.”

I swallow hard. “Yeah.”

She nudges me with her elbow. “Then that means something.”

I press my lips together, staring at the ceiling again. It does mean something. It means Damian isn’t just some guy I’m messing around with to pass the time. It means this isn’t just about sex or protection or convenience.

It means I’m already too deep, already picturing a life I never would have let myself want before.

And that should terrify me.

But instead, it makes me wonder how much further I’ll fall.

I sit up on the bed, drawing my knees to my chest as my mind drifts, the weight of everything settling over me like a heavy blanket.

Kelly watches me, her teasing fading into something softer, more serious. “You’re thinking about Stan, aren’t you?” she asks. I gave her the run down without getting into too many details such as Damian holding a gun on him. “Can they keep him safe too?”

My grandfather has always been the one person in my life I could count on. The one person who saw me when no one else did. But now? I don’t know where we stand.

I swallow hard, staring at the wall. “I just… I don’t know what to do, Kel. I spent my whole life believing that no matter how bad things got, he’d always find a way to fix it.” My voice cracks slightly, and I hate it, but the truth is suffocating. “Now I think I was just fooling myself. He was looking at for me for as long as it kept him alive too.”

Kelly reaches out, covering my hand with hers. “Ally?—”

I shake my head. “I don’t even blame him. It’s not his fault. He’s done so much for me, protected me in ways I probably don’t even know about.” I let out a shaky breath. “I just thought… maybe he could save me one more time.”

Kelly studies me for a second, then reaches into her pocket and pulls out something small and familiar.

My phone.

I blink, my chest tightening. “You have it?”

“I asked Riot because I text you. He said it might be in Chux bike. We found it.” She nods, pressing it into my hand. “You should call him.”

I stare at the phone like it’s going to burn me.

“I don’t know what to say,” I admit.

Kelly gives me a pointed look. “How about, ‘Hey, Stan the Man I’m alive but I might be in deep shit, and I kind of need you to tell me everything’s gonna be okay’?”

I huff a small, humorless laugh. “Yeah. Something like that.”

Kelly shifts beside me, leaning her shoulder against mine. “You don’t have to do it alone. I’m right here.”

That’s all the reassurance I need. My fingers shake slightly as I unlock the phone and scroll through my contacts until I find the name that’s been burned into my heart since I was a little girl.Konstantin.

I hit call before I can second-guess myself.

It rings once. Twice.

Then he answers.

“Ally.” His voice is quiet but heavy, like he already knows.

I grip the phone tighter. “Hey, Dedushka.”

There’s a long pause. “I was hoping you wouldn’t call.”

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