Page 24 of Before Dawn

I chuckled, trying to ease the tension. “Relax, Reyes. Plenty of game left—anything can happen.”

“Bullshit,” Dillon scoffed. “He’s just a sore loser.”

Arnoldo let out a frustrated sigh. “Joder esto,7” he muttered, raking a hand through his hair.

What a group of friends I had. And the funniest part? This would’ve been even more chaotic if Ronan and Lucio were here.

Warning

The following chapter contains heavy mentions of mental health/physical health issues. Please refer to the content warning list to be reminded of any potential triggers. Your well-being is important to me, so please take care of yourself while reading.

Chapter Six

Abigail-Ann

“The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.”

~ Nat King Cole

Failure is not an option.

The words looped in my mind, tight as a noose. I had chosen this path, and my future depended on passing this exam. It was either a 3.8 or higher GPA, or nothing. But as I sat surrounded by the chaos of textbooks, half-eaten bags of barbecue Lays, and scattered notes, it was hard to believe.

The storm of my final exam loomed heavily, and the marketing and finance course was tearing me apart. My mind, though, refused to cooperate, drifting far from the papers and formulas spread out before me.

Joshua’s name flashed on my phone screen again:Text me back, I miss you.More pleas for attention I kept ignoring. It wasn’t guilt that kept mefrom replying. It was exhausting. The kind that settled in my bones after years of feeling unseen, unheard. It was as if he thought I was a switch he could turn on and off whenever it suited him.

I stared at the screen, my thumb hovering over the reply button before shaking my head and tossing my phone aside. I wasn’t going to do a back-and-forth with him again.

I wasn’t supposed to be thinking about Mikkel. But he had a way of slipping in anyway. His face, his laugh, his voice—everything played on a loop in my head.

What was it about him that made me want to see him again?Maybe it was the way he looked at me, as if he truly saw me, or his deep, rumbling laugh that felt like sunlight breaking through my storms. Or maybe it was how his words brought out a smile—not polite or forced, but one that felt like it was meant to stay.

I sighed and ran a hand over my face, trying to shake him off.God, just focus on something else.But even as I tried to block the thoughts, they lingered, like the smell of fresh rain on a summer night—impossible to forget.

Did he think of me too?That question, so simple but so frustrating, buzzed in my mind. Did he replay our encounters the same way I did? Were his thoughts just as tangled? I felt myself getting lost in the idea of him, and it was maddening. Especially when I had Joshua’s texts sitting there, unanswered, taunting me.

This felt so wrong, so complicated—but I couldn’t seem to stop myself.

What kind of person did that make me? Daydreaming about some sexy stranger I’d spoken to only thrice while ignoring my “boyfriend’s” attempts to get my attention? The logical side of me screamed to snap out of it, to stop letting my thoughts drift. Joshua and I had been together for almost six years, and while the spark was as dead as a doornail, we still hadn’t ended things—not yet. But here I was, fantasizing about someone else—and it felt so good.

Maybe this was the beginning of something I didn’t even understand.I really need a distraction.

But oh wait, I was supposed to be studying.

Focus, Abigail.

With a heavy sigh, I glanced at my notes filled with market analysis and investment strategies as they blurred together. Highlighting key phrases to ground myself, I spent the rest of the night trying to master the course.

At least, that’s what I told myself.

I awoke to the sound of Azzy crowing the lyrics of “Uh Oh” by Tate McRae. My head throbbed, my body heavy with exhaustion, but the relentless singing gave me no choice but to pry my eyes open. Rubbing the sleep away, I forced myself out of bed, dragged my feet to the bathroom, and brushed my teeth before making my way to the kitchen—where Azzy’s voice only seemed to grow louder by the second.

“Morning, Azzy,” I mumbled around a yawn. “You’re suspiciously happy. Should I be worried?”

She twirled around, beaming. “Good morning! Did I wake you? I’m leaving in ten minutes, and no, you don’t need to worry.”

I chuckled, reaching for a bottle of water. “Your crowing is quite the alarm.”

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