Games to Lose

PIPER'S POV

I could hardly breathe.

My chest felt tight. A thick, invisible rope bound my ribs together, refusing to let go. I sat rigid in the passenger seat, staring blindly out the window. The neon city lights bled into bright streaks across the glass. My fractured mind kept rewinding the brutal scene at Nolan’s apartment. The betrayal slammed into me over and over, knocking the wind from my lungs. I trusted him. I gave him everything, and he threw it all away like it meant nothing.

Beside me, Kellan drove in heavy silence. We had already dropped my luggage off at his immaculate penthouse. I grabbed my phone from the charging cable he had set up, the glass screen warm against my palm. Neither of us spoke. My reflection in the dark window looked miserable. Tear-stained cheeks. Messy curls. My hearing aid hooked behind my ear. I looked like heartbreak in human form.

The sleek car rolled to a slow stop.

Shock twisted my stomach into hard knots. Through the windshield, towering neon lights cut through the night sky. The mechanical roar of the theme park on the outskirts of town echoed through the open vents.

I had only mentioned this place once. A fleeting wish spoken to Nolan months ago. Never to Kellan.

My racing mind hit a brick wall. How did he know? Did Nolan tell him? Did he somehow overhear a conversation? The impossibility of it made my head spin.

I grip the edge of the leather seat. "What are we doing here?"

He kills the engine and refuses to meet my eyes. "Living."

Living. The word sounds foreign. I feel hollowed out, scraped raw by the events of the evening.

He steps out into the cool air, rounds the hood, and pulls my door open. "Come on, princess. We have games to lose."

I stay planted in the seat. "I am not in the mood to—"

He wraps his warm fingers around my wrist and gently pulls me out. "Too late. The theme park demands fun. We obey."

His teasing tone offers a distraction. He knows the suffocating silence in the car will eat me alive. He drags me straight toward the blindingly bright chaos of the arcade. Bright colors flash across the walls. Buzzing machines and popping electronic sirens overwhelm my hearing aid. Kids scream in delight and vendors yell out cheap prizes. The smell of spun sugar fills the air.

He challenges me to every game we pass. Skee-ball. Whack-a-mole. Racing simulators. Basketball toss. He dominates every machine with effortless skill. He flashes a stupid, infuriating smirk as thick streams of paper tickets pour from his winning stations. He gathers the endless ribbons of tickets like a proud king collecting taxes.

I glare at his growing pile of winnings. "This is not fair."

He puffs out his broad chest. "It is terribly fair. You are just weak."

I narrow my eyes at him. "Say that again."

He stops dead in his tracks, staring at the next game. "You are just—what the hell?"

The shooting gallery.

I snatch up the heavy plastic neon rifle before he can process the situation. I pull the trigger, hitting every moving target on the glowing screen. The digital ducks explode in pixels. The machine flashes a new high score in bright red letters. I drop a fresh token into the slot and beat it again. My hands move with practiced precision.

The slack-jawed shock on his handsome face snaps something loose in my chest. A genuine, breathless laugh rips from my throat. I laugh until my stomach aches. I lean against the plastic console, wiping a small tear from the corner of my eye.

He stares at the screen like it personally offended him. "No way. Rematch. Now."

I shake my head, giggling uncontrollably. "Not happening. You lost twice. No refunds."

He groans, throwing his head back, and rubs his forehead dramatically. "Mercy. Please."

I point toward the glowing claw machine against the back wall. "You want mercy? Win me that."

He feeds bill after bill into the rigged claw machine. The mechanical prongs drop and slip off the toys a dozen times. The vendor guy eventually starts cheering for him out of pure pity. I stand off to the side, ripping off fluffy pieces of pink cotton candy, watching his downfall with joy. The metal claw finally grips a tiny plush bear and drops it down the prize chute.

He retrieves the toy and hands it to me with the weary resignation of a defeated knight offering up his sword.

He sighs. "One grumpy bear."

I hug the plushie to my chest. "It shares your exact grumpy facial expression."

He shakes his head dryly. "Wow. I regret this trip."

I flash him a small smile. "No you do not."

He does not argue.

He places a warm hand on my back and steers me outside toward the rides. We stop at the base of the towering Ferris wheel. I hesitate, looking up at the massive metal structure spinning into the dark sky. The sheer height of it makes my stomach do a small flip.

I bite my bottom lip. "Why this one?"

His voice drops soft and steady. "Because you need to feel small in the world today. That way your massive problems do not look quite so big."

I step into the swinging cart. The ride carries us up, suspending us in the quiet darkness. The city lights glow calmly below us like scattered diamonds across black velvet. Kellan does not speak. He leans back against the vinyl seat, resting his arm behind me. He stares at me with profound intensity. My heart kicks hard against my ribs in the safe, suspended silence. I hold the small grumpy bear in my lap, feeling a strange sense of comfort wash over me.

We spend the next hour acting like idiots. We ride the bumping cars, laughing as we crash into each other. We scream our lungs out on the high-speed drop towers. Kellan throws his hands up on the twisting rollercoaster like he is offering himself to the wind. The rushing adrenaline tears down the heavy defensive walls I have meticulously held up for months. The wind whips through my hair, carrying away the lingering shadows of Nolan's apartment.

Exhausted, I step off the final ride. The dam breaks.

The heavy tears I have been holding back all night spill over my lashes. I press my cold hands over my face, trying to force them back down. They keep falling, hot and fast. My shoulders shake with the force of the sudden, overwhelming emotion. Kellan does not offer a patronizing word. He does not give me a look of pity. He gently takes my trembling hand.

He guides me away. "Come on. I know somewhere quiet."

He leads me away from the bright chaos, down a dark dirt path toward a secluded lake. We find a wooden bench tucked under the thick trees. We sit side-by-side, facing the dark, rippling water. The loud sensory overload of the park fades into the distance. Only the soft rustle of leaves and the gentle lapping of the water remain. The cool breeze brushes against my damp skin.

He lets me cry. He sits in the quiet dark, offering his steady presence until my ragged breathing slows. The calm helps me breathe properly again. I wipe my damp cheeks, feeling strangely lighter. The heavy weight on my chest has lifted, replaced by a quiet exhaustion.

Kellan stares out at the water. "This is where I come when I need to think."

I nod, grateful for his secret sanctuary.

Later, we sit in his car as he drives us back to the penthouse. The tiny grumpy bear rests on my lap. The prize serves as a quiet, unspoken apology I did not realize I desperately needed. The dark roads roll past us, wrapping us in a comfortable silence.

The fragile peace shatters.

My phone buzzes against the center console, vibrating with an urgent, aggressive hum. I pick it up and tap the glowing screen.

An unknown number stares back at me.

*He doesn’t deserve you. But neither does Kellan. Be careful who you trust, Piper.*

My blood turns to ice. What the hell is happening? Who could possibly know anything about us? Nolan did not deserve me, fine. But who was watching Kellan? I look over at him in the driver's seat. My fingers grip the phone in cold terror. My breath sticks tight at the top of my lungs. The passing estate lights outside the car window feel significantly less bright.