Forbidden Ties

Chapter 9: No Turning Back.

Jax's P.O.V.

There was no turning back. I followed Sam down the stairs, every step heavier than the last. I could feel the weight of it all pressing down on us as we walked into the living room, where both of our parents were waiting. The air between us was thick with tension.

"Sit," my dad commanded, his gaze locked on me.

His expression was tight, controlled, but I could see the edge in his eyes.

We both took our seats, and Sam’s mom stood by the window, arms crossed.

It was obvious they were both struggling to hold it together. I felt my heart hammering in my chest. They knew about the picture now. Hell, everyone did. How could they not?

"So," my dad said, his voice cold, his words deliberate. "We need to talk about the picture."

I didn’t have a defense. Nothing I said would make it better.

"I didn’t leak it," I said, my voice rough, even though I knew that wasn’t the point.

Dad's jaw tightened. "You think that’s the issue here? That’s part of it, yes. But the bigger question is why it exists in the first place. What were you two thinking?"

I swallowed hard, glancing at Sam. She wouldn’t look at me. I didn’t know if she was angry or hurt, maybe both, but I could feel the walls going up between us. The same walls I had hoped we were tearing down.

Sam’s mom spoke up, her voice softer but still firm.

"This is bigger than just a picture, Jax. It’s about trust. Both of you have been keeping secrets, letting things happen behind closed doors. I trusted you, Jax." She looked at me, disappointment etched on her face. "And Sam… I thought I taught you better than this!"

Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. I couldn’t meet her eyes, couldn’t even look at Sam. I had no excuse, no way to make it right.

"I—" I started, but I had no idea what to say. How could I explain that the moment in that picture wasn’t what I wanted, that it was a mistake? That I wasn’t thinking straight when we let the attraction between us get the better of us?

"Someone took that picture during a truth or dare game, Mom," Sam began, her voice confident but shaky.

"On the afternoon we moved in here. It was supposed to be harmless fun. Not something sinister like it's being made to seem on the internet."

"Well, the kids seeing that viral picture of you two locking lips know nothing about the truth behind it, now do they?" Her mother snapped.

Sam finally looked at me, her expression unreadable, and my chest tightened.

My dad shot a glance at Sam’s mom, then turned back to us.

"You need to understand what’s at stake. You’ve put not just yourselves in a bad situation, but this family too. If you two want to keep moving forward, you have to prove you can handle the consequences of your actions."

I didn’t know what to say to that. I had no idea how to fix this, how to undo what had been done. But damn it, I’d try.

"I’ll do whatever it takes," I said, my voice shaking with frustration. "Whatever it takes to make this right."

Dad shook his head, a look of almost disappointed resignation in his eyes. "The truth is, Jax, I don’t know if you can fix it. Not with a picture like that out there. But I’m willing to give you one chance. Both of you."

I looked at Sam, and this time she didn’t look away. There was something in her eyes that made my heart drop—regret, maybe even a little fear—but there was still something there. A flicker of hope.

I would do whatever it took to earn that back.

I stood there in the heavy silence, the weight of my dad’s words hanging over me. His disappointment was palpable, and it made me feel small in a way that nothing had before.

I couldn’t look at Sam. Every time I tried, she pulled away, like she was shielding herself from something. Maybe me. Maybe this whole damn mess. I couldn’t tell if she was angry or just… broken.

Her mom’s harsh words still echoed in my mind. I trusted you, Jax. I wanted to scream that I hadn’t meant for any of this to happen. I never intended for things to go this far, for a moment of weakness to turn into a public spectacle. But the truth was, I hadn’t thought it through. Not at all. And now we are stuck with the consequences.

The door creaked behind me, and I turned to see Sam’s mom walk out of the room, her face tight with anger. My dad followed her, shaking his head as if he was still struggling with processing any part of this mess.

That left me alone with Sam.

I looked at her. Her arms were crossed tightly, her body turned slightly away from me, as if the mere proximity to me made her uncomfortable. It was a look I had never seen on her before. But it was all I could see now.

"Sam, I—" I began, but my voice faltered. What the hell could I say?

She shook her head, finally meeting my eyes. The hurt in her gaze hit me like a punch in the gut. "Don’t," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "Don’t apologize. It’s not going to fix anything."

I couldn’t breathe. The walls between us were higher than I had ever imagined, and I wasn’t sure how to tear them down this time. Maybe I never could.

"I never meant for this to happen," I said, my voice raw with frustration. "You know that, right? I swear."

Sam didn’t respond right away, and I could see the wheels turning in her head. I could feel the weight of everything she was trying to process. The shame. The disappointment. The regret.

"I know," she finally said, though it didn’t sound like a reassurance. It sounded like a reluctant acknowledgment.

I took a step closer, but she backed away, eyes flickering to the floor. The space between us felt infinite now, and I could feel every inch of that distance.

"I didn’t want anyone to see that," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "I didn’t want it to be like this. But you—" She paused, shaking her head in disbelief. "You’re the one who kissed me. You’re the one who let it happen. And now… now look at what we’ve done."

The accusation hit me harder than I expected. I had thought, for a moment, we were both responsible for that kiss, that moment of weakness. But hearing her say it like that—like I had forced her into it—made me want to scream.

"I didn’t force you," I said, my tone sharper than I intended. "You didn’t pull away either, Sam. We both knew what we were doing."

The look in her eyes shifted, and for a brief moment, it wasn’t just anger I saw. It was fear. Fear of what we had done, of where we had let this go. Fear of the consequences.

"People are talking, Jax," she said, her voice trembling now. "They’re saying things about us. About me. And I don’t know how to fix it."

My stomach churned. I couldn’t imagine what she was feeling. Hell, I didn’t even know how to fix this for myself.

"I’ll fix it," I said, trying to sound confident, but I knew the words were hollow. I had no idea how to fix this. Not when the whole school, and probably half the city, had already seen that damn picture. But if there was one thing I could do, it was try. I had to.

Just then, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I ignored it, but Sam noticed.

"Who is it?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.

I hesitated. "I don’t know. Probably someone who thinks they know what’s best for us," I muttered. "I don’t care."

She scoffed, clearly frustrated. "Well, it’s not just you and me anymore. It’s everyone else, too."

I didn’t have an answer for that. The reality of what we were facing was sinking in—this wasn’t just between us anymore. It had gone viral. It was out there for everyone to see. And as much as I wanted to pretend it wasn’t, as much as I wanted to fix it, I couldn’t undo what had already happened.

"What do we do now?" Sam asked, her voice soft and resigned.

I didn’t know. But one thing was clear—I wasn’t walking away from this. No matter what, I was in it. For better or worse.

I glanced at her again. She wasn’t meeting my eyes anymore. She was staring at the floor, probably trying to make sense of it all. But there was one thing I knew for sure: we weren’t done yet.

I wasn’t going to let that damn picture, or anyone else, dictate what came next.

I left Sam standing there, her silence louder than any words could be, and headed up to my room. With the door slammed shut behind me, I pulled out my phone, hands still shaking as I unlocked it.

I tapped on the group chat, feeling the weight of every unread message.

Without thinking, I clicked 'Go Live.' The moment my face appeared, the notifications exploded. The comments flooded in faster than I could process, each one pulling me deeper into the storm I’d created. It was too late to undo it, but maybe I could control it. Or...make things worse for myself. It was time to find out which.