Chasing the storm

Chapter 31: No Rest for the Broken

(Sienna's POV )

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I should have known better than to believe we were safe.

Not really.

Not with this storm.

Not with these people.

Not with him.

The motel walls were shaking, the wind outside growing more violent, and the air inside? Suffocating.

Everyone was tense. On edge.

And I was stuck right in the middle of it.

---

Ava was still fuming.

Oliver? Brooding.

Caleb was messing with the bandages on his arm, pretending not to care.

Mia sat quietly in the corner, rubbing at the cut on her wrist.

And Rowan?

Sitting beside me like he wasn't the most restless person in this damn room.

He kept shifting. Watching. Thinking.

Like he was ready to do something reckless.

Again.

---

A Motel That Won't Last

Mia sighed. "How long do we stay here?"

No one answered.

Because the truth?

We didn't know.

"We can't stay forever," Caleb muttered.

Rowan scoffed. "No shit."

I shot him a look. "Could you, just once, not be an ass?"

He smirked. "I could. But then you'd miss me."

I opened my mouth to argue—

Then the ceiling creaked.

Ava stiffened. "That's not good."

Rowan's smirk vanished.

"Storm's getting worse," Oliver muttered. "This place won't hold forever."

No one argued.

Because we all felt it.

Something was coming.

And it wasn't just the storm.

---

I tried to focus on something else.

Anything else.

But Rowan?

He was too damn close.

His shoulder brushed mine as he leaned back, exhaling.

"You look like you're thinking too much," he muttered.

I raised a brow. "And you look like you never think at all."

He chuckled. "That's because I don't waste time overthinking things I can't control."

I scoffed. "That's rich coming from you."

His gaze flickered to me, unreadable.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

I hesitated.

Because if I actually said it—if I pointed out that he was obsessive, controlling, reckless—

I'd have to admit that I wasn't afraid of it.

I was afraid of how much I liked it.

---

Before I could answer, Caleb shifted beside me.

"Hey," he murmured, "does your leg still hurt?"

I blinked. "What?"

Caleb gestured toward my bandaged leg. "You're tensing up again. I can get you more—"

"I'm fine," I cut in quickly.

Rowan?

Did not like that.

At all.

His expression darkened, his entire body tensing beside me.

Caleb didn't notice.

Or maybe he did—because his hand barely grazed my knee.

And that's when Rowan moved.

Fast.

Blocking the space between us.

Like it was his.

Like I was his.

My breath caught.

Caleb sighed. "Rowan, I swear to—"

"Didn't realize you were a doctor now," Rowan muttered.

Caleb rolled his eyes. "Didn't realize you cared."

Rowan's smirk was sharp. "I don't."

Liar.

Because his hand was suddenly on my wrist, gripping it just tight enough to remind me that he wasn't happy.

Not about Caleb.

Not about any of this.

---

Before I could snap at Rowan, the wind outside shifted.

Hard.

Louder.

The windows rattled.

Mia shot up from the floor. "That's not normal."

Oliver cursed. "We need to check outside."

I swallowed hard, ignoring the way Rowan's grip tightened for a second before he let go.

Because this?

This wasn't just a storm anymore.

It was something worse.

And we had nowhere left to run.

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