Fangs, Fate & Other Bad Decisions Chapter 80

I stand at the front door, my hand still gripping the knob like it’s the only thing holding me upright right now. The seconds stretch out before me, each one heavy and impossibly long. The air around me feels thick, like it’s pressing in on me from all sides, suffocating me with the weight of the reality I’ve just been thrust into.

Mike passes me first. He doesn’t say anything at first, but his eyes are sharp with understanding, and there’s an almost imperceptible shift in his posture as he walks by. His presence has, in a short period of time, become a constant in my life, but tonight, there’s something different about him—something protective.

“Harley,” he says quietly when he gets to the threshold, “Take your time. You don’t have to have all the answers right now.”

I don’t respond at first, just nodding slowly. His words are steady and solid, and they land in my chest like a calming balm. And for a brief moment, I don’t feel like I’m drowning in the chaos of my own thoughts. It’s like Mike is anchoring me with those words, reminding me that I don’t have to fix this—*not yet*. I’m not sure if I can, but for now, that’s enough.

He pats my shoulder briefly as he turns to walk out. It’s a small gesture, but it means the world to me. He doesn’t need to say anything more because he just *knows*.

Next, it’s Griffin. I can already feel the familiar presence of his humor approaching me where I’m standing in my entryway. He walks past me, taking a moment to look me over with a little smirk on his lips. Even in moments like these, he somehow knows exactly how to crack through the tension.

“This whole thing’s turning into a full-on ‘vampire drama,’ huh?” he says with that characteristic sarcasm in his voice, his eyes twinkling despite the gravity of the situation. “And you, my dear, are the lead actress. Quite the role you’ve been handed.”

I blink, and before I know it, a laugh bursts out of me, unbidden. It’s small and almost sad, but it’s real. Griffin always knows how to make me laugh when I don’t think I can anymore. He’s a master at turning the heaviest moments into something I can breathe through, even if it’s just for a second.

He winks at me before his grin softens into something more serious. “You’ll figure it out,” he says quietly, as though it’s the most obvious thing in the world. And somehow, with him, it feels like it might be. “But just remember—you’re *not* alone in this.” And then he’s gone, strolling towards the SUV in my driveway.

As I watch him walk away, my throat tightens. But I instinctively know it’s true. With Mike and Griffin in my corner, I’m not alone. I never have been, and I’m still not. But this...this is something different. This pull I feel toward Thane? I can’t explain it,  I can’t make sense of it, but it’s there, pressing in on me harder than the silence in the room. I know it’s real, but the weight of it all? It’s too much.

And then there’s Thane.

I feel him before I even see him. He’s standing in the doorway between the entryway and the living room, just a few feet away. The tension around us thickens, every inch of the space between us charged with something too powerful to ignore. I can feel his gaze on me, heavy and full of questions, and even desperation. I know what he wants. I can feel it in every inch of his body as he stands there, his eyes dark with that hunger that isn’t just for blood.

He takes a step forward, and I stop him with my words before he can beg me to give him a chance. The uneasiness in his eyes mirrors what I’m feeling—this gnawing uncertainty, this need to understand *why*. But I can’t. Not yet.

“I need time, Thane,” I say again, my voice unsteady but firm. “And I’m not sure how long that will take.”

I don’t look away as I say it, even though every fiber of my being wants to. But I can’t be weak right now. He needs to understand that. He needs to respect it. But when I see the flash of frustration and disappointment in his eyes, I wonder if it’s enough.

I can hear his breath hitch, and I know he’s holding onto the last sliver of his control, just as I am. But I can’t let him pull me into his world without knowing what I’m getting myself into. He’s right there—so close—and I feel the pull. I’ve always felt it, even if I didn’t understand it. But I can’t let it consume me. Not yet.

I stand my ground as he stands there silently, looking at me like I’m the answer to a question he doesn’t know how to ask. I hope, for both of us, that he respects this. That he understands the weight of my request.

And then he steps forward, without a word, and walks out the front door past me. I can’t help but feel the distance between us grow as he leaves and walks down my walkway, as though the space between us physically is too small to matter compared to the chasm that’s formed inside of me.

I shut the door behind him softly, and I lean back against it, my hand still resting on the knob, the silence in the room deafening in its aftermath.

With a deep inhale, I push away from the door and slowly head up the stairs, the weight of the world pressing in on me with every step I take.

Upstairs, I walk into my room and just stand there for a moment, staring at the bed and at the things that were once comforting but now feel so out of reach. I want to strip away everything from tonight—the dress, the make-up, the memories—and start fresh. But I can’t. I can’t just forget the way my heart still races when I think of him, when I think of *this*, and of everything that’s changed in such a short span of time.

I eventually do shed the dress, my underwear, and everything else that ties me to the woman I was before. As each piece falls away, the feeling of suffocation starts to ease, and I’m left with nothing but my thoughts and the hum of the water in the shower as I turn it on.

I need its warmth, its steam. I need something to wash away the feelings that are drowning me from the inside out.

The water hits my skin as I step inside the stall, and I let it surround me, but I can’t stop thinking about the bite. About the power in Thane’s eyes. About the hunger in his touch.

*What do I do now?*

It’s all I can think about as the water cascades over me. I close my eyes and let it take me. And the thoughts don’t stop. They keep spinning inside my head, like the water swirling down the drain.

Thane, Griffin, Mike. They’re all gone, but I can still feel the weight of them in my house, the echoes of their presence lingering like an invisible pressure. My body is trembling, not just from the emotional strain, but from the physical toll of everything that’s happened. My head aches from the scorching water hitting me as I stand here, the weight of my thoughts sloshing around with the feeling of Thane’s fangs sinking into my skin.

I’m still shaking, not from cold, but from the chokehold I’m trying to maintain on my rampant feelings. I thought I’d be able to breathe once they left, but all I can feel is the tightness in my chest. The world feels like it’s tilting at an angle that I can’t correct, and all I can do is hold on to this thin sliver of control.

But the thing is, I’m not sure how much more I can take.