Hope in the Shadows

Starting over seems to be an understatement after her ex leaves no hope. Can she survive?

The city didn’t welcome her.
It swallowed her.

Rylex Hope Carter stepped off the Greyhound bus just after midnight, clutching a duffel bag that wasn’t even half-full. The air smelled like rain and gasoline — sharp, unfamiliar, nothing like the stale quiet of the house she’d escaped. Streetlights buzzed overhead, flickering like they were unsure she deserved the light.

Maybe she didn’t.

Maybe she did.

She tightened her grip on the strap and pulled her hoodie closer around her face. She kept imagining Jaxon’s voice behind her — that low, dangerous calm he used right before he snapped.

“You won’t make it out there, Rylex. You ain’t built for the world without me.”

That had been three hours ago.
She left anyway.

The city hummed around her, people drifting past with tired eyes and fast steps, everyone focused on their own survival. No one looked at her long enough to judge her. No one recognized her. No one whispered about her mistakes, her failures, her bruises.

For the first time in months — maybe years — she could breathe.

She found the address scribbled on her hand:
Apartment 3B — Monroe Street — call when you get here.

It wasn’t home.
Not yet.
But it was far enough away that Jaxon wouldn’t find her right away.

At least, she hoped.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She froze. She didn’t have to look to know who it was. Jaxon had always been quick. Quick to apologize. Quick to accuse. Quick to twist her ribs with guilt until the breath left her.

The vibration stopped.
Started again.

Three messages.

She swallowed hard, her heartbeat thudding in her ears.

Finally, she forced herself to look.

JAXON: Still think you can run?
JAXON: You really wanna do this to us?
JAXON: Pick up the phone, Hope. We need to talk.

Her middle name.
The one he only used when he wanted control.

Rylex locked the screen and shoved the phone deep into her pocket. Her hands shook, but her feet moved. Forward. Toward Monroe Street. Toward something that might one day look like freedom.

She didn’t see the dark SUV parked across the street.
She didn’t notice the figure inside it watching her.

But it noticed her.
It watched every step she took.

Chapter 2

The hallway smelled like old carpet and someone’s burnt dinner.
Rylex stepped inside the building, the door groaning behind her like it hadn’t been oiled since the 90s. Fluorescent lights hummed above her head, washing the beige walls in a sickly glow. It felt nothing like a fresh start — but anything was better than Jaxon’s house.

She climbed the stairs slowly, each step echoing louder than the last. She kept glancing over her shoulder even though she knew he wasn’t there. Not yet.

She reached Apartment 3B and hesitated.

The door was cracked open.

Not much — barely an inch — but enough to send a bolt of panic down her spine.
Her breath stuttered in her chest. The hallway suddenly felt too narrow, too quiet, too wrong.

Did Dani forget to close it?
Or did someone—

Before her mind could spiral further, a voice called out:

“Rylex? That you?”

Relief washed through her so fast her knees almost buckled.

Dani appeared in the doorway — hoodie, messy hair, tired eyes. She looked exactly the same as she did the night Rylex had shown up on her porch four years ago, heartbroken, sobbing, barely able to talk. Dani had always been the safe place she didn’t think she deserved.

“You scared me,” Rylex said, stepping inside.

“You scared yourself,” Dani replied, pulling the door shut. “City’s loud, girl. Not dangerous. Well… not more dangerous than the men you used to date, anyway.”

Rylex tried to smile, but it came out weak. Dani noticed. Dani always noticed.

“You didn’t tell me you were coming tonight,” Dani said, crossing her arms. “Your text just said ‘on my way.’ I figured you meant tomorrow.”

“I had to go,” Rylex whispered. “If I didn’t leave tonight… I wasn’t gonna leave at all.”

Dani nodded slowly, her expression softening.

“Did he show up again?”

Rylex swallowed. Her throat felt like it was closing.

“He… didn’t do anything,” she said. “He didn’t have to.”

That was the truth.
That was always the truth with men like Jaxon Pierce.

He didn’t need fists when he had words sharper than knives. He didn’t need chains when guilt worked better. Control was his favorite drug — and she had spent years being his fix.

Dani stepped forward and pulled Rylex into a hug. The sudden warmth made the tears well instantly. She blinked them back.

“You’re safe here,” Dani said against her hair. “I mean it. You’re safe.”

Safe.
The word felt foreign. Heavy. Fragile.

Rylex nodded and pulled away, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

“Where’s the kiddo?” Dani asked.

“Staying with my sister for the weekend. I didn’t…” Rylex paused, feeling her chest tighten. “I didn’t want to drag him into this mess until I had somewhere stable.”

“That’s fair,” Dani said. “He’ll be fine. You need a night to breathe.”

Rylex dropped her bag onto the couch. The apartment was small — one bedroom, peeling paint, mismatched furniture — but it was warm and real. It didn’t smell like Jaxon’s cologne or taste like his rules.

Her phone buzzed again.

Once.
Twice.
Three times.

Dani frowned. “Is that him?”

Rylex didn’t answer. She didn’t have to. Dani’s expression darkened.

“Block him,” Dani said.

“I can’t.”

“Yes, you can.”

“No,” Rylex whispered, her voice cracking. “If I block him… he’ll show up.”

There it was — the fear Rylex hated admitting, the fear she lived with like a second shadow.

Dani sat on the arm of the couch, watching her carefully.

“He’s not here,” she said gently. “He doesn’t even know where you’re—”

A car horn blared outside.
Both women flinched.

Rylex’s heart slammed against her ribs. Dani moved to the window instantly, pushing the curtain aside just enough to peek through.

“What color was his truck again?” Dani asked.

“Black,” Rylex whispered. “Tinted windows. Headlight cracked on the left.”

Dani inhaled sharply.

“What?” Rylex asked, barely getting the word out.

Dani didn’t turn around.

“Rylex… there’s a black SUV parked across the street.”

The room tilted.
The air vanished.
Her pulse roared like thunder.

He couldn’t be here. Not this fast. Not tonight.

Dani let the curtain fall.

“You’re staying inside,” she said firmly. “Doors locked. Curtains closed. If it’s him, he’s not getting near you.”

Rylex nodded, even though every muscle in her body told her to run. She sank onto the couch and pulled her knees to her chest.

For the first time since she stepped off the bus, one truth hit her harder than all the others:

She may have left Jaxon—
but he hadn’t left her.

Not even close.