Maya stared at her phone, the message burned into her brain like a match to gasoline.
"I know the truth. I know the final piece of the puzzle. Meet me. Come alone."
Unknown number. No name. Just vibes. Bad ones. Goosebumps crawled up her arms. She didn't even blink—she just picked up her phone and called the two people she could trust with her life.
"Luna. Sally. I need you. Now."
"What's going on?" Luna's voice cracked through the line.
"I think I just got invited to a damn horror movie. Someone texted me saying they know the truth. About everything. Final piece-of-the-puzzle kind of truth."
"Holy shit," Sally muttered. "You going?"
"Hell yeah, I'm going. I've got too much blood in this story to back out now. But I'm not doing it alone."
Fifteen minutes later, the three girls met behind the bleachers at the old field. The streetlights buzzed overhead like dying bees.
"I fucked Eddie up," Maya said, pacing like a lioness in heat and rage. "I told him everything. Told him to choke on his own lies. That man? Obsessed. Deranged. Possessive. And now this?"
Luna looked at her, deadpan. "Are we finally admitting he's a walking red flag with abs?"
"I've BEEN admitting it. Y'all were the ones buying tickets to his pity party."
Maya explained everything in lightning-speed chaos: the text, the meet-up, the weird vibe, and the fact that this whole thing reeked of something bigger.
"I want both of you nearby, but hidden. If this person tries anything, you jump in. Pepper spray, fists, teeth—I don't care. We end it tonight."
They arrived at the abandoned greenhouse on the edge of town. Of course it was creepy. Of course there were flickering lights and overgrown ivy. Because why wouldn't this twisted little rom-com turn horror have the perfect finale setting?
Maya walked in first. Luna and Sally ducked behind the rusted metal siding.
The air inside smelled like rot and secrets.
He was already there.
Tall. Hood pulled low. Voice like smoke and ash.
"Don't come any closer," he warned. "I don't want you to see my face."
"Too late. I already know you're a coward."
He laughed. Dry. Cold.
"You think you were the player in this game, Maya. But you were the pawn."
"Cut the dramatic villain speech. Who the hell are you?"
"You thought you started it. Your cute little 'Ten Steps to Tame the Nerd' plan. Your fake confidence. Your sassy hair flips. But Eddie… he knew you before you even noticed him. Since the crash."
Maya froze.
"What?"
"He was watching. Waiting. Planning. You thought he fell into your trap? Girl. You walked right into his. He transferred for you. He studied you like a textbook. Every flaw, every wound. And then he used them all."
Her stomach turned.
"He knew about Sammy," the man continued. "He knew you had her heart. But it wasn't about love. It was about revenge."
"No," Maya whispered. "No, no, no."
"He blamed you. Said you killed her. Said you had to suffer. That every bit of pain you felt was deserved. Vic cheating? Your dad spiraling? All planned."
"What… what do you mean?"
"He took advantage of the fact that your dad was friends with his. He knew your parents' marriage was falling apart, so he made it worse. He sent fake pictures to both of them—your mom got ones that made it look like your dad was cheating, and your dad got some showing your mom with another man. That's what led to the separation.
He also knew that your father hated the fact that you looked like your mom. That's why he was so sure that after she left he could make your life a living hell . Eddie knew your mom had depression, and he was counting on her leaving you without looking back. And she did. Just like he wanted."
Maya's lips trembled. "The photos… he…"
"Your leaked nudes remember ? Eddie handed them to Jackie. Said she'd do anything for attention. Your humiliation was his masterpiece. And Vic? He threatened him. Played his dad like a fiddle. Business deals in exchange for your destruction. Told him to fake sleeping with your mother. To ruin you."
"Stop." Her voice cracked. "Stop talking."
But he didn't. He had more venom to pour.
"Even Jackie and her psycho mother. He controlled them like puppets, it was easy they both liked money and were ready to do anything to get to the rich entourage.
He offered them something more powerful than money—your father.
.Ever wonder why Jackie and Vic still circle Eddie like flies to roadkill? Because he owns them. Their dirt. Their secrets."
"What about the shooting?" she croaked.
"The one thing he didn't plan. The only time the chaos wasn't his."
She couldn't breathe. Her chest collapsed on itself.
Maya made a signal behind her back. A quick twitch of her fingers.
Go.
Sally and Luna lunged.
Pepper spray. Screaming. Panic. The man fell back, coughing and cursing.
"YOU'RE DONE, YOU FUCKING FREAK!" Sally shrieked.
He ripped off his hoodie, blinking through the tears.
Damon.
Maya's mouth dropped.
"You."
He stood there, stunned. Hurt. Guilty.
"You're also in this?" she whispered, voice low and cracking.
"I didn't want it to go this far," Damon muttered. "I knew who you were. From the beginning. But I didn't want the game to continue."
"Bullshit!"
Maya stepped forward, shaking, broken but blazing.
"You knew. You fucking watched. You let him play me like a toy while you stood there. And now you say you're done? Now you say you don't want this to continue?"
Her voice rose, wild and unhinged.
"Fuck the Thompson boys! You tell that little bitch-ass brother of yours if he comes near me again, I will bury him myself. You hear me? I'll fucking end him!"
Sally grabbed her. Luna held her hand, whispering her name, begging her to calm down.
But Maya was beyond logic.
"He broke me!" she screamed. "He tore me apart, piece by piece, and you helped him! All of you!"
Tears fell. Hot. Vicious. Nonstop.
Damon looked like he'd been gutted. He tried to step forward.
"I'm sorry—"
"Don't you DARE come near me!" she shrieked. "You think sorry fixes this? You think a damn apology brings back everything he stole from me? My peace? My heart? My f-fucking sense of reality?!"
Damon stood still, breathing hard, like he was ready to crumble under her pain.
"I just… I didn't want to lose my brother," he said softly. "But I lost myself too."
Maya fell to her knees, sobbing.
Luna and Sally dropped beside her, arms wrapped around her body like a shield.
Damon watched them, torn, then turned and walked away, slowly, into the dark.
No one stopped him.
The greenhouse was silent now, except for Maya's cries and the sound of three broken girls holding each other like they were the last solid thing in a crumbling world.
And somewhere, not far, a psycho nerd with a vendetta was waiting for the final piece to fall.