Locked In

Hours later "I'll see you in an hour." N stared at the text for a second before locking her phone.

Mullet girl see the text and smiles

At the gym, Mullet Girl was already there, gloves slung over her shoulder.

"Heeey," she grinned. "You ready?"

N nodded. "Yeah."

They started sparring.

Punch.

Block.

Pivot.

"You know anything besides boxing?" N asked between breaths.

Mullet Girl smirked. "A little."

"Teach me everything."

Something in N's voice made her pause.

It wasn't playful. It was serious.

Days went by.

N stopped going to school,She trained every day Harder Longer Like she was preparing for something.

Fear sat in her chest like a stone.

One afternoon, she bought something for protection and hid it in her room. She told herself it was just in case.

Just in case.

Later that week, Mullet Girl texted:

Wanna grab dinner tonight?

N's stomach flipped. Sure.

While Mullet Girl got ready, she paced her apartment.

This is a date. Okay not a date.But it is for me.

When N arrived, Mullet Girl waved her over.

"You cut your hair," N noticed immediately. "It's shorter. I like it."

Mullet Girl blushed. "You noticed?"

They smiled too long.

Dinner felt easy. Warm. Almost normal.

For the first time in weeks, N laughed without forcing it.

Halfway through, she silenced her phone.

She didn't want anything ruining this.

When dinner ended, N hesitated.

"Can I stay over?"

Mullet Girl nearly choked.

"Yeah. I mean-yeah. Of course."

Later that night, in the bathroom, N turned her phone back on.

Her stomach dropped.

Unknown Number:

You look happy.

Who is she to you?

Come see me tomorrow.

Or I send everything to J.

There were pictures attached.

Her chest tightened.She stared at her reflection.

"I have no choice."

She texted back.

Okay.

The next morning, she left before Mullet Girl woke up.

Before leaving, she sent one message:

If I don't text you by tonight, check this location.

Then she deleted the chat.

The warehouse was cold.

And then she saw him.

H the dude from High school.

The boy she rejected.

"You were kind to me," he said calmly. "Then you humiliated me."

"I rejected you because I like girls," she said, shaking. "I'm a lesbian."

His smile twisted.

"I'll fix that."