Chapter 3 - Off Limits

The words keep it that way stayed with me longer than they should have.

I tried to bury myself in my routine over the next few days—classes, notes, quiet lunches alone—but no matter how hard I focused, my thoughts kept circling back to Caden. Or more accurately, to the distance he kept so deliberately between us.

It wasn’t rude.

It was intentional.

He was always there, somehow. Leaning against walls during group hangouts. Sitting across the room when my brother invited friends over. Silent, watchful, and never too close.

And yet… never too far either.

One afternoon, I found myself in the campus café, tucked into a corner with my laptop and headphones on, hoping the noise would drown out my thoughts. I was halfway through typing an essay when a shadow fell across my table.

I looked up.

Caden.

My heart skipped, then stumbled.

“Is this seat taken?” he asked, gesturing to the empty chair across from me.

I shook my head quickly. “No.”

He hesitated—just a second too long—before sitting down. The air between us tightened, thick with things neither of us seemed willing to say.

We sat in silence for a while. It wasn’t awkward, exactly. More like… careful.

“You settling in okay?” he asked eventually, eyes fixed on his coffee.

“Yes,” I said. “It’s a little overwhelming, but I like it.”

He nodded once, as if filing the information away.

“My brother says you’ve been helping him with some classes,” I added softly.

A faint smirk tugged at his lips. “Someone has to keep him from failing.”

I smiled before I could stop myself.

The moment stretched—and then snapped.

“You shouldn’t talk to me like this,” he said suddenly.

I blinked. “Like what?”

“Like we’re… friends.” His jaw tightened. “I’m not someone you should get close to, Addeline.”

Hearing my name from his mouth sent a quiet shiver through me.

“Why?” I asked, my voice calm despite the pounding of my heart.

He finally looked at me then, blue eyes dark and conflicted. For a moment, it seemed like he might tell me the truth.

Instead, he leaned back, his expression hardening into something sharp and guarded.

“Because you’re my best friend’s sister,” he said flatly. “And because I’m not a good person.”

I swallowed. “That doesn’t make sense.”

“It does to me.”

He stood abruptly, chair scraping against the floor. “Stay where you are. I’ll tell your brother I found you.”

Before I could respond, he walked away.

I stared after him, my chest aching with confusion.

That night, I finally asked my brother the question I’d been avoiding.

“Why does everyone say Caden is… bad news?”

He glanced at me, surprised. “Why? Did he do something?”

“No,” I said quickly. “It’s just—people talk.”

My brother sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Caden’s had it rough. Family stuff. He doesn’t really let anyone in. Easier to act like he doesn’t care.”

“So he’s not dangerous?” I asked quietly.

My brother snorted. “Only to himself.”

That didn’t comfort me the way it should have.

Later, as I headed down the hallway toward my room, I nearly collided with Caden.

“Sorry,” I breathed.

He stepped back immediately, like proximity itself was a mistake.

“You shouldn’t be asking questions about me,” he said, his voice low.

“I wasn’t prying,” I replied. “I was just trying to understand.”

“That’s the problem,” he snapped. Then, softer, almost pained, “You don’t need to understand me.”

“Maybe I want to.”

The words slipped out before I could stop them.

His breath caught. For a second, the mask cracked—and I saw something raw beneath it. Fear. Vulnerability.