LIAM
FLASHBACK
I couldn't stop smiling as I walked Maura home. She was holding my hand, and everything felt so right. For the first time in a while, I actually felt at peace. I asked her. I made her my girlfriend. It was a step forward, and despite everything, I was happy. The moment we shared was something I hadn’t expected, but deep down, I knew it was genuine.
Yet, as much as I wanted to believe that, I couldn't shake off the underlying tension that had been there from the start. I couldn't forget why I was doing this—the anonymous messages, the pressure to keep up the act, to keep playing the game.
When I got home, I threw my keys onto the kitchen counter and pulled my phone out of my pocket. I unlocked it, expecting a moment of quiet, but instead, my stomach sank as I saw the notification. It was from the anonymous person.
You did well tonight. But don't forget—this is just the beginning.
My heart raced, my fingers shaking as I read the message again, trying to make sense of it. I should have known. This was all part of the game they had set in motion for me. The plan hadn’t changed.
I sat down on the couch, my mind swirling. The words were simple, but they carried so much weight. This was still a game to me, to them. I had to make Maura fall for me, to manipulate her, to take her trust. But what if I was starting to feel too much for her? What if the lines between what I was supposed to do and what I wanted to do were blurring too much?
I ran a hand through my hair, frustrated.
I couldn’t let myself fall for her. It wasn’t part of the plan. I had to keep playing my part. This had always been the goal. But as I thought about how she smiled when I asked her to be my girlfriend, how her eyes softened when she looked at me, I couldn’t help but feel conflicted.
I had been playing this game for too long, but it was becoming harder to distinguish between what was real and what was forced. I had started this for the wrong reasons, and yet, I found myself wishing that I could go back and change it all. But that was impossible. I was too deep in.
The message on my phone buzzed again, pulling me out of my thoughts. I looked down, and it was another one from the anonymous person.
Remember, it's just a game. You know what will happen if you fail.
I clenched my jaw, the words digging into my chest. Failure wasn't an option, not now. Not when I was so close to the end. But was I really close? Or was I just pretending to be?
I tried to push the doubts away, reminding myself that Maura was just a part of the plan. I had to stick to the script, no matter how much I cared about her or how much she made me question everything. This wasn’t about love. It wasn’t about us. It was about survival.
The guilt was starting to eat at me, but I knew that I had no choice but to keep going. I had to see this through, no matter what. I couldn't back out now.
But it felt wrong.
I stood up, pacing around my room as I tried to clear my head. How could I continue this? How could I keep pretending when all I wanted was to be honest with her?
I had to remind myself of why I was doing this. I needed to focus on the end goal. But as I thought about the mess I had created, the lies I had told, I knew deep down that it was too late to stop. The plan had already taken hold, and I had already dragged her into this web.
I glanced back at my phone, and the notification from the anonymous person stared back at me. I couldn't shake the feeling that they were watching me, waiting for me to slip up. It was as if they knew every move I made, and every choice I had to make.
I hated this. I hated feeling like I was under control. But at the same time, I couldn’t deny that there was a small part of me that was still holding on to the idea of winning, of finishing what I started.
But what if I didn’t want to finish? What if I didn’t want to be a part of this game anymore?
I didn’t know the answer. I didn’t know what to think or feel anymore. All I knew was that Maura deserved better. She deserved someone who wasn’t hiding behind lies and deceit.
But here I was, stuck in the middle of a mess I created.
I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves. The message on my phone was still there, lingering like a threat. I had to ignore it. I had to keep moving forward, even if it meant hurting her.
But every time I thought about her, every time I remembered the way she laughed, the way her eyes sparkled when she was with me, I couldn’t help but wonder if there was still a chance for something real between us.
But the plan wasn’t about that. The plan was about control, about winning. And I had to keep my focus on that. I had no choice.
I picked up my phone and typed out a response to the anonymous message, my fingers hesitating over the screen for a moment.
I’ll do it. I’m not going to fail.
I hit send, feeling a knot tighten in my stomach. The game was still on. And no matter how much I wanted to escape it, I couldn’t. I had to finish what I started.
But fuck, I was in love with her.
The realization hit me like a freight train as I sat on my bed, staring at the wall. It wasn’t a slow build; it wasn’t something I could rationalize or explain away. It was there, raw and undeniable. Every part of me wanted to deny it, shove it down, bury it under layers of excuses and the damn game I’d been forced to play. But it was useless.
I loved Maura.
And it wasn’t supposed to happen. Not like this.
I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms as I thought about the anonymous messages, the pressure, the manipulation. All of it was building to one inevitable outcome: me breaking her heart. And yet, here I was, sitting in the ruins of my own heart, realizing that I had let myself fall for the very person I was supposed to deceive.
It wasn’t just the way she looked at me, though that alone was enough to undo me. It was how she made me feel like I was more than my messed-up family, more than the lies I’d told, more than this stupid game. She looked at me like I was someone worth loving, and for the first time in my life, I believed it.
But that only made it worse.
Because I was going to destroy her.
I stood up abruptly, pacing the room as if the movement could burn off the guilt twisting in my chest. My phone buzzed again on the desk, and I didn’t even need to check to know who it was. The anonymous puppet master pulling the strings of my life, reminding me that I wasn’t in control, that this wasn’t about love—it was about winning.
I didn’t want to look at the message. I didn’t want to see their words, dripping with smugness, reminding me that I was nothing but a pawn in their sick game. But my curiosity—or maybe my self-loathing—got the better of me.
“You’re slipping, Liam. Don’t forget what’s at stake. Finish what you started.”
I wanted to smash the phone against the wall, but I didn’t. Instead, I sat back down on the bed, my head in my hands. What was at stake? My freedom? My future? It all seemed so insignificant compared to what I was about to lose.
