STEP CLOSER

Chapter 3

The room was quiet, save for the soft hum of the ceiling fan and the occasional creak of the old wooden floor beneath my chair. Afternoon light spilled in through the window, warm and golden, brushing over the open laptop in front of me. My fingers hovered over the trackpad, my heart racing in my chest like it already knew what was waiting.

I stared at the admissions portal, the login screen blinking back at me. My stomach twisted. I’d checked it four times in the last week, always hoping, always bracing for disappointment. But today… something felt different.

I typed in my credentials slowly, like dragging out the moment would make it easier to handle. One last breath. Then I clicked.

Congratulations, Ariana Blake. You’ve been admitted to Woodhurst University.

For a second, I didn’t move. Didn’t breathe. Just stared at the words on the screen as if they might vanish if I blinked.

Then I let out a shaky laugh and pushed my chair back, palms pressed to my face as a thousand emotions hit me at once. Relief. Shock. Excitement. Fear. All of it tangled inside me like a knot too tight to pull apart.

I’d done it. I was in.

I spun the laptop around and re-read it, just to be sure I hadn’t imagined it. Woodhurst University one of the most prestigious private schools in the northeast. My top choice. The place I’d secretly wanted since my junior year of high school. And now… it was happening.

But of course, fate had a twisted sense of humor.

Because Roman went there too.

I didn’t find out until a few weeks ago when I passed by his room and caught a glimpse of a campus hoodie slung carelessly over his desk chair. Woodhurst. The same sleek, black logo now stamped at the top of my acceptance letter.

I closed the laptop slowly, my fingers brushing the edge like it might burn me.

There were hundreds of schools in the country. Thousands. And yet we’d both ended up in the same one.

Maybe the universe really did hate me.

Still, it didn’t stop the thrill bubbling up in my chest. No matter how complicated things were with Roman… this was my moment. I’d earned this. And I wasn’t going to let anyone especially him take it away from me.

Just then, I heard footsteps in the hallway.

“Ari?” my mom's voice called from the other side of the door. “Everything okay?”

I blinked and sat up straighter. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

The door creaked open slightly, her head peeking in with a cautious smile. “You’ve been in here for hours. I thought you were either asleep or plotting a murder.”

I smiled despite myself. “Neither. Well maybe plotting… but a good kind.”

She stepped in and leaned against the doorframe. “So?”

I hesitated for just a second, letting the moment hang.

“I got in,” I said softly.

Her eyes widened. “What?”

“I got into Woodhurst,” I repeated, louder this time.

She rushed forward and pulled me into a tight hug before I could even stand. “Oh my God, Ariana! I’m so proud of you.”

I let her hold me for a moment, the scent of her perfume familiar and comforting. She pulled back with her hands on my shoulders, beaming like I’d just won the lottery.

“You deserve this. All of it. I know it hasn’t been easy, adjusting here and… everything else,” she said, her voice softening. “But this is a fresh start, sweetheart.”

A fresh start.

I clung to those words like a lifeline.

Because I needed one. Desperately.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

She gave my shoulder a squeeze. “We should celebrate tonight. Your favorite takeout, some wine just the two of us. What do you say?”

I nodded. “Sounds perfect.”

She smiled again and backed toward the door. “I’ll let you have a moment. But hurry downstairs soon or I’m starting without you.”

I laughed, and when the door shut behind her, I sat back down slowly.

My laptop still sat open beside me, the email glowing.

I’d be starting school in two months. Moving into a dorm. Joining a campus full of strangers who didn’t know me, who didn’t see me as just someone’s daughter or stepsister.

Roman would be there, yes. But this wasn’t about him.

This was about me stepping into something new. Something mine.

Still… the thought of running into him on campus sent a chill down my spine. Woodhurst was big, sure but not that big. And if he was already in his third semester, he’d know the halls, the professors, the parties.

He’d blend in, belong.

I’d be the one stumbling around in a daze, trying to figure out where I fit.

But I’d figure it out.

I always did.

The late afternoon sun filtered softly through the sheer curtains in the living room, casting golden patches across the polished wooden floor. I sat cross-legged on the plush rug, my laptop balanced on my knees, scrolling through old playlists, trying to distract myself. The house was too quiet. Too still. Like it was holding its breath, waiting for something to break the silence.

Roman’s door, just six feet away, remained shut tight. Not even a creak from behind it. Like he was trying to disappear inside that room—his fortress, his prison, or maybe both.

I closed my laptop with a soft click, setting it aside. The excitement bubbling inside me refused to be smothered by the thick tension in the air. I had news—big news—and no matter how cold he acted, I wanted him to know. Maybe it would crack his icy wall, even just a little.

Gathering my courage, I stood and headed toward the door. My fingers hovered over the handle. The wall was thin; I could hear the faint buzz of music low, distant, like something playing on Roman’s speakers but no voices. No footsteps.

I knocked softly, almost hesitantly.

“Roman?”

No answer.

I tried again, a little louder.

“Roman, it’s me. Can you come out for a minute?”

Still nothing.

My heart sank a little. He’d been like this since I got here—distant, cold, like I was a ghost wandering his space. But I refused to let it stop me. I was nothing if not fearless. If I could survive moving into a stranger’s house with a stepbrother I barely knew, I could survive this.

I tried once more, then leaned my ear against the door.

That’s when I heard it.

His voice. Low. Sharp.

“Stay away from me, Ariana.”

The words hit me harder than I expected.

I bit my lip, forcing the lump in my throat down. He didn’t want me here. He didn’t want me anywhere near him.

But I wasn’t ready to give up yet.

“I’m not trying to bother you,” I called quietly. “I just… I have something to tell you.”

“Go tell your mom,” he said, his voice rough, shutting me down without even opening the door.

I stared at the door a long moment, the ache settling in my chest. Roman was so cold, and i kept wondering why he hated me so much that my presence alone irritated th sight of him.

But I refused to be pushed away.

I took a deep breath and spoke, my voice soft but steady.

“Roman, I got accepted. To the university. The same one you go to.”

I waited, h

oping. Maybe he’d say something. Maybe just one word.

But nothing.

The silence stretched on, thick and heavy.

“Roman?”

Still no answer.