The Recall Trials
Chapter 87: This Time, I’m Not Letting Go

Chapter 87: This Time, I’m Not Letting Go

Theo was already halfway down the hallway when I called out.

"Hey...Theo."

He stopped.

But he didn’t even look at me.

His hand shot up.

"Don’t."

Then he turned around slowly.

His chest rose and fell like he’d just run a marathon....except it wasn’t exhaustion on his face. It was rage.

"The fuck do you want from me?" he snapped. "You don’t get to ’hey’ me, Vincent. We were never cool. So don’t start playing pretend now like you give a damn."

My jaw clenched, but I didn’t speak..

He took a step closer. And then another. His eyes darted to Zaara behind me.

"You wanna know what really pisses me off?" he said. "It’s not just that you fucked him. It’s not even the fact that it happened after everything he’s done. It’s that I...I actually thought we had something real."

Zaara stepped forward. "Theo, wait. Please—"

"No," he snapped, holding out a hand. "Don’t. Don’t talk. You don’t get to talk to me right now."

Zaara flinched.

"You were just dancing with me last night to get his attention, weren’t you?" he barked. "All that teasing, all that smiling...it wasn’t about me. It was never about me. I was your fucking puppet."

Zaara’s mouth parted, but no sound came out.

Theo laughed bitterly. "So, what? You use me to make him jealous, then when I pass out, you didn’t even check on me, did you?"

Zaara took a shaky step forward. "Theo, please, I didn’t—"

"Don’t," he cut in. "Just answer me one thing."

His voice dropped.

"Was I ever anything to you? Or was I just your little plaything for the night? Something to make him jealous?"

Her mouth opened.

But he didn’t let her answer.

"You know what? Save it," Theo snarled, eyes glinting. "Because when I woke up and saw your side of the bed cold, and realized you were next door, moaning over the same monster who hurt you—" he laughed dryly "—I realized something."

He stepped forward, his eyes burning through Zaara.

"This is who you are. Cheap. Disloyal. Desperate for the guy who broke you."

Zaara gasped, a hand flying to her mouth.

I stepped in instantly.

"Hey," I snapped. "Hold on right there."

Theo whipped toward me, eyes flaring. "What, Vincent? You gonna hit me now? You already took my dignity. Want my teeth too?"

"I said that’s enough."

He barked a laugh. "Or what? You’ll go full wild card again? Don’t pretend you’re some reformed saint."

My fists clenched. My whole body screamed for restraint.

"You don’t get to defend her, Vincent. Not when you’re the reason she did it in the first place!"

But Zaara...

She was crying.

Tears slipping quietly down her cheeks.

She wasn’t saying a word now. Just shaking.

Theo shook his head, like he couldn’t even bear to look at us. "I tried," he whispered. "I was there when you weren’t. When you were walking around here like a ghost. I listened to her. I cared."

His voice cracked again.

"I fucking cared, and all I got was a front-row seat to being second choice."

He turned to Zaara one last time.

"I hope it was worth it."

Then he turned and walked away.

Zaara didn’t move.

She just stood there, breathing hard, her arms wrapped around herself like she was trying to keep from falling apart.

I looked up...

And saw Nomi.

She was standing just a few feet away, near the entrance. Her eyes locked onto mine for a split second.

A second too long.

That same fire. That same ice.

But it only lasted a heartbeat.

Because then she looked away.

And walked off without a word.

Zaara didn’t move. Her hands were shaking slightly. She wiped at her cheeks, but fresh tears kept slipping out anyway.

"I didn’t know," she whispered. "I didn’t know he liked me like that. I swear. I didn’t mean to hurt him."

She looked up at me then. "I just wanted to help you feel again, Vincent. I thought if I made you jealous, if I triggered something... maybe it would unlock whatever they took from you."

Her lip trembled.

"I’m a bad person, Vincent. I was selfish. And I hate myself for it. I didn’t think it through. I just....I wanted you."

I opened my mouth, but she kept going.

"I tried to hate you," she said. "For what you did to Asha. And the others. For disappearing when we needed you. For turning into a stranger."

"But I couldn’t." She whispered.

"I couldn’t make myself hate you. Even when I tried."

She shook her head. "Am I just gullible? Or stupid?"

I stepped toward her.

"No," I said quietly.

Her lips parted. She blinked.

"You’re none of those things," I said. "You’re Zaara."

I took another step. Close enough to see her whole body shaking now.

"You’re the only person who made me feel anything when I thought I was already gone. You’re the only reason I wanted to fight my way back."

She stared at me.

Tears spilled freely now, but she didn’t hide them.

"I’ve done things," I said. "Terrible things. And I thought maybe I deserved to stay that way—cold, numb, empty."

I reached out, gently cupping her cheek with my hand.

Something I’d already broken once.

"But then you looked at me like I was still human. Like there was still something left to save."

Her lip quivered.

"It’s my fault," I whispered. "I’m really sorry for everything I said. For what I became."

And I pulled her into my arms.

She didn’t resist.

She collapsed into me, her hands gripping my shirt like it was the only thing holding her up.

Like I was holding something fragile.

Her sobs were quiet.. But they wrecked me anyway.

I held her tighter.

She didn’t need to say anything else.

She just needed to feel that someone was holding her.

"I love you, Zaara," I whispered.

"I mean it. With everything I have left...I love you. And this time...I’m not going anywhere."