Page 30 of Lost to the Woods

The porch is quiet, steeped in the golden light, like the calm before something breaks. Only the cicadas are singing in the distance. The air clings, humid and thick, and the sun is just starting to dip low. We’re right on the edge of the woods, no neighbors in sight, nothing but dense trees and the fading heat of early summer. It’s actually kinda gorgeous out here.

Ghost leans against the railing, his back toward me, hands gripping the wood like he’s trying to ground himself—the white paint flaking off in brittle chips beneath his fingers.

For a moment, I just watch him. My skin prickles. There’s something eerie about the quiet… abouthim. I don’t know whether I want to step closer or bolt.

He turns around, broad shoulders tense, arms crossed over his chest. I can’t see his face through the mask, but I don’t have to.

He’s fucking livid.

“So,” he starts, deceptively calm. But his voice is rough, raw, already on the edge of something violent. “What happened on Valentine’s?”

I bite my lip, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. I don’t want to look at him. His presence presses against me like a storm about to break.

“I—” I choke up. “It got so serious so fast and I just… I wasn’t ready.”

Silence.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” His words are sharp enough to cut. “We’d been talking for over a year, Bunny. Don’t act dumb with me. You knew damn well we were never just friends.”

“I was in a relationship, Ghost. It’s not my fault you made it out to be more than it was in your head.”

“Be fucking for real.” His voice turns to ice.

I sigh. “Do we have to do this now? We’re out here with our friends. For work.”

“Yes, right now is the time.”

I swallow hard. “I thought we were just… you know… fooling around.”

Something snaps.

Ghost moves so fast I don’t register it until I’m pinned—his hands braced on either side of me, caging me against the porch railing. The wood digs into my back, but it’s nothing compared to the heat coming off him.

“Fooling around?” he echoes, voice low and dangerous.

I force myself to meet his gaze, but all I see is the reflection of the setting sun in his mask.

“Do I look like I’ve got time for that shit?” he growls. “For fuck’s sake, I’ll be thirty-one this fall. I wouldn’t waste a second on some chick across the country if I wanted tofool around.”

Guilt twists in my stomach. My breath catches. “But you knew I just got out of something serious,” I say quickly, trying to stop the spiral. “Andtoxic. I was in a vulnerable mind space, and seeing you at the New Year’s party was—”

“A great distraction,” he finishes with no emotion.

My heart drops. “Ghost, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Didn’t you?” His head tilts, like he’s weighing whether I’m even worth forgiving.

“I enjoyed talking to you. Very much. It was all real to me. But it was too much, too soon. When you asked me to come for the weekend, I said yes, but the more I thought about it… the less sure I was. I mean, we’re just wired differently. Look at you and look at me. It’s pretty comical.” I point between us. “And the whole distance thing… how would that even work long-term?”

I expect him to back off. To understand.

He doesn’t.

Instead, he lets out a slow, bitter laugh, shaking his head. “Oh, so that’s the problem?” His voice is more casual, but the venom is still there. “Well, I never fucking asked you to give up your super fancy influencer lifestyle to come live with me in the goddamn desert, did I?”

I flinch. “No, I know. But the long distanceisa real issue.”

Silence stretches between us—thick, suffocating.

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