Page 61 of Trade It All

A goodnight.

A… I wish I was there.

I exhale slowly and let the phone fall back against my chest.

Because if I say it—I won’t take it back.

And I’m not sure I’m ready for what thatmeans yet.

I don’t ease into waking up this time.

I’m ripped out of it.

A scream tears from my throat before I even know I’m awake, my body jerking upright, heart slamming so hard it feels like it’s trying to break through my chest. My hands are shaking, breath coming too fast, too shallow, like the air in the room isn’t enough.

It takes a second for the walls to come into focus.

A second for the dark to feel like this room and not—not that.

The door bursts open. Luka is there in an instant. Gun raised. Eyes sharp. Scanning.

Every inch of the room like he’s expecting someone to be standing in the corner, like he’s already prepared to pull the trigger if he finds them.

And for a second—I forget where I am.

The sight of him like that, all tension and instinct and violence wrapped tight under his skin, sends another spike of panic through me.

“Luka—”

My voice breaks.

He freezes immediately, his attention snapping to me instead of the room, the gun lowering just slightly as recognition replaces whatever he thought he was walking into.

“Maddie,” he says, his voice firm now, controlled, but there’s something under it—something worried. “What the hell—what happened?”

I can’t catch my breath.

I try.

But it keeps coming in broken pieces, my chest rising too fast, my hands still shaking like they haven’t realized I’m not there anymore.

He steps closer, quicker now, reaching for me without hesitation, his free hand coming to my shoulder, grounding me in place.

“You’re okay,” he says, lower this time. “You’re okay. Look at me.”

I do. Barely. Everything still feels too loud, too close, too real.

“What was it?” he asks, eyes searching mine, not letting me look away. “What did you see?”

Tyler. That’s what I should say. That’s the easy answer. The expected one.

“Tyler,” I manage, my voice still unsteady, my fingers gripping the blanket like it’s the only thing keeping me here.

Luka’s jaw tightens slightly at that, something dark flickering through his expression before he reins it back in.

“Yeah?” he presses. “Then why were you yelling for me?”

The question hits harder than it should.