Puck Me Harder: A Stepbrother Romance [BL]

Micah’s POV

My entire body went completely numb. The small screen of my phone felt like an icy block in my trembling palm, the cold black letters of Noah’s message burning directly into my retinas.

Stop talking to those Silver twins and get home immediately.

A sharp, violent wave of nausea surged straight to my throat. My heart hammered against my ribs so hard and fast I thought it was going to shatter. My breath hitched, coming in short, ragged gasps that barely filled my lungs.

Whatever happens... I am not heading back to that house.

I couldn’t do it. I physically could not force my legs to walk back through those front doors. I didn’t care what Noah was going to do to me if I returned home, and I didn’t care how furious he got if I disobeyed him. Going back right now meant surrendering myself completely to his terrifying control. It meant stepping right into his traps, accepting whatever cruel, twisted punishment he had prepared for me after my escape this morning.

If I just stayed away for a few hours... if I vanished from his sight for a little while... maybe he would calm down. Maybe the suffocating storm of his rage would pass, or at least lessen enough for me to survive it.

I shoved my hand deep into my pocket and pulled out my old phone.

I stared down at the scratched, faded screen. It was an old, cheap model—the very phone I had used years ago before I started university. There were only two contacts saved inside its memory: Noah and Father.

A bitter, heavy lump formed in my throat as I stared at those two names. That was my entire life summed up in two contacts—two men who held complete control over every breath I took.

Thank goodness I had stored this old phone in the outdoor storage shed behind our property instead of keeping it in my bedroom. If it had been in my room when it burned down, it would have been reduced to piles of black ashes just like everything else I owned.

I tapped the screen nervously, scrolling through the empty contact list. I didn’t have Raven’s phone number saved on it. I didn’t have Sunny’s number either. I was completely, utterly isolated.

Panicking, I quickly unzipped my school bag, my hands shaking so violently I could barely pull the metal zipper across. I reached inside, my fingers blindly searching through my notebooks until they brushed against the thick edge of Phoenix’s business card—the card I had kept hidden deep in the bottom.

I froze, my heart leaping into my throat. I didn’t even dare to pull the card completely out of the bag. I kept it hidden out of sight.

Noah could be watching me right now. If he had somehow gained access to the Silver estate’s private security cameras, he could be staring at my hands this very second. If he saw me pulling out a nightclub owner’s business card, he would lose his mind completely.

I slammed my bag shut and tightly pulled the zipper closed. I forced a stiff smile onto my face and stared down at the two little boys standing in front of me.

"I’m heading out," I said, my voice sounding strained.

Levi blinked his huge, dark eyes up at me, tilting his head with innocent curiosity. "Will you come see Damon later, Micah?"

I hesitated, a sharp pang of guilt twisting deep inside my chest. I looked toward the grand staircase leading up to Damon’s dark bedroom, thinking of him lying up there in pain.

"Uh... Yeah," I replied softly, the word tasting bitter on my tongue.

I wasn’t sure if I could ever come back here. I wasn’t sure of anything anymore. Since Noah could somehow see where I was, what if he showed up right here at the Silver estate? What if he came back to finish what he started with Damon? I couldn’t risk bringing Noah’s wrath back to Damon’s doorstep while he was lying in bed, helpless and injured.

Without wasting another single second, I turned on my heel and hurried out of the mansion.

I practically ran down the long stone driveway, my heart pounding a frantic rhythm against my ribs as I pushed through the heavy iron gates. The cool evening air slapped against my pale face, but it did nothing to cool down the fiery panic burning inside my body. I kept glancing over my shoulder, terrified that a black car would suddenly pull up beside me and drag me away.

I sprinted down the sidewalk until I reached the main road, wildly waving my hand at an oncoming yellow taxi.

The cab screeched to a halt beside the curb. I practically threw myself into the backseat, slamming the heavy door shut behind me.

"Where to, kid?" the driver asked, glancing at me through the rearview mirror.

I waited until the cab pulled smoothly into the thick flow of evening traffic, constantly looking out the rear window to make sure no suspicious cars were tailing us. Once I was completely certain there were no CCTV security cameras overhead and no one watching me, I finally reached into my bag and pulled out Phoenix’s shiny card.

My fingers clutched the card so tightly the edges dug painfully into my skin.

"Head to the Phoenix club, please," I told the driver, my voice trembling with raw adrenaline.

The driver nodded, switching lanes and pressing down on the gas pedal.

At the exact same time, I lifted my old phone, carefully typing in the phone number printed on the card. I pressed the phone to my ear, my pulse hammering wildly in my throat as the dial tone echoed in my ear.

Ring...

Ring...

My heart felt like it was going to burst right out of my chest. What if he didn’t answer? What if he had already forgotten who I was? What if he laughed at my pathetic desperation and hung up on me?

Ring—

The line suddenly clicked open on the third ring.

"Hello, Phoenix speaking..." a smooth, melodious voice purred through the speaker.