Samantha’s POV

It has been weeks since the Caveman’s accident and just like I expected, he was nowhere to be found. The press didn’t give out much details about his accident, they decided to keep it hidden.

Just like everything about the Caveman.

Chloe and I had stopped going to the underground arena. No one piqued our interest just as much as the Caveman did.

And now he was gone.

He could even be dead and no one would know.

Sad.

And I never got the chance to apologize.

“Ben! Can you get table three’s order now? They’ve been waiting five minutes!” Chloe’s scream dragged me out of my thoughts, and I raised my head just in time to see her ponytail swishing as she leaned over the counter.

“Coming!” Ben yelled in reply, nearly tripping over a chair as he grabbed the tray.

“Sam! Table five wants their lattes now! And make it two vanilla shots, not one!” Chloe called over her shoulder, before nodding towards table five with a knowing look.

“Got it!” I said, adjusting the apron that felt way too tight on me, before hurrying over with the steaming drinks. I then set them on the table before muttering under my breath, “God, why does this feel like a battlefield?”

The smell of freshly brewed coffee and baked cookies drifted through the air and as I turned to see a man at another table waving frantically. “Excuse me! My sandwich—no, my panini!—I didn’t get the extra cheese!”

“Right away, sir!” I yelled back, racing toward the kitchen, my stomach churning from the mix of nerves and caffeine fumes.

Monday mornings were always the busiest here in the The Roasted Owl and even though I’d been working here for more than a week now, I was still trying to get used to the chaos.

Now I see why Chloe was always tired.

I quickly got a replacement for the panini and apologized to the man for the mishap.

“I still don’t understand why out of all the places in Chicago you chose to work here.” Chloe said with an amused expression as she stood behind the counter, scribbling on the order pad before handing it out to Hailey.

She had been working here for a long time. So she was like the second in command.

“Are we seriously having this conversation again?” I raised my brows at her as I moved beside her, my hands busy with another customer’s order. “I told you, I know my step father could have gotten me a position anywhere I wanted, but I don’t want to sit in an office all day.”

“I also don’t want to stay at home and stare at my screen all day. So I chose to survive this chaos… with you.” I added, nudging her with my shoulder.

Chloe leaned closer, a teasing look on her face. “Are you sure you can handle it though?”

“Oh trust me…” an image of an abusive man chasing a terrified girl out of his house flickered in my mind. “I’ve handled a lot worse than this.” I put on a bright smile when the reading look on Chloe’s face shifted to skepticism.

“I’ve got to go drop off this order at table seven. They’ll probably go mad if I don’t show up in the next five seconds.” I said, heading out with the tray in my hand.

I never really thought about my father. Sure the memories haunted me once in a while but I never really, really, thought about him.

It’s not like I wanted to.

He was a deranged psychopath who thought it was normal to use his daughter as a punching bag just because she wasn’t male.

He didn’t deserve to occupy my thoughts.

Besides, I had other things to focus on. Like the fact that I had a better life now, I had my mom and my caring step father. I had Chloe and this job now.

However…

I couldn’t say the same for Rayden.

It had been two years now and I still hadn’t gotten over him.

Even after I found him fucking another woman in the shower.

Even after I had heard him say those horrible things about me.

Yes, I went out with other guys but I’d never really been with anyone.

Whenever I thought about how everything ended with Rayden, I just… backed out.

“Sam!” I yanked myself back to reality only to find Chloe waving her hand in my face. “Wha… don’t tell me you’re still—” she paused abruptly, her eyes flicking around before she leaned closer, her voice dropping to a whisper.

“Don’t tell me you’re still thinking about… him?” She raised her brows emphasizing on the last words.

“W…what?” I blinked rapidly, trying to recall if I had ever mentioned Rayden to Chloe.

I didn’t.

Matter of fact, I had never mentioned anything about my past life to Chloe. I mean I told her just a little but I didn’t give her the full details. So how the hell did she know?

“What are you talking about?” I asked, trying my best not to sound suspicious as I stacked up the empty dishes that the customers just left behind.

“You know exactly who I’m talking about.” She said, nodding towards the TV across the room and that was when I even noticed that the news channel flickering in the corner.

The anchor’s voice was crisp, echoing over the soft hum of the cafe:

“…after weeks of intense matches, the tournament has finally crowned a new champion. Fans are calling him unstoppable, with a fighting style that has left even the most seasoned fighters speechless. Details are still coming in, but sources confirm his identity has been kept under wraps for now, keeping the audience guessing…”

My stomach dropped.

I froze mid-stack, the plates wobbling slightly in my hands.

What? That’s not Caveman.

Who on earth…

“You’re thinking about him aren’t you…” Chloe whispered from beside me, and that was when it clicked.

She thought I was thinking about Caveman because of the news.

“Don’t play dumb, Sam. I told you it wasn’t your fault. Yes it’s gonna hurt now that other fighters are trying to take over his place… I mean it’s hurting me too. But there’s nothing we can do about it.”

“Chloe—”

“Just promise me that you’ll stop thinking about him.” She cut in, staring up at me with a pleading look in her eyes.

I opened my mouth to tell her that I was fine and I wasn’t actually thinking about the Caveman. But when I realized I was going to do more explaining, I just went with, “Sure. I promise.”

After that, my day went by in a blur. The news didn’t stop buzzing with updates though. They kept talking about this new champion and how he had chosen to stay anonymous just like Caveman.

Hmm. It’s funny that they actually thought they could replace Caveman. You all should just wait till he returns.

‘If he returns.’ My inner voice whispered cruelly, cutting through my hope like a blade.

Relax, Sam. It’s not your fault that he got a brain injury and disappeared. Everything is gonna be fine.

I tried to convince myself.

“Sam. Aren’t you coming?” I turned to find Chloe already heading towards the car. “We’re not the ones cleaning up today, so we don’t have to stay behind, remember?”

I blinked, realizing I was still standing at the cafe’s entrance.

Right.

“Uh sure, I’m coming. Let me just grab my bag.”

God I’ve gotta stop spacing out, unless Chloe is going to notice and call me out again.

I rushed into the cafe, grabbed my bag and hurried to my car—not before saying goodbye to Hailey and the others of course.

I listened to Chloe ramble in the car about the new song her favourite k-pop boy band had just released, and before I knew it, she had it blasting through the car radio.

And just when I had thought she was done making my ears bleed, she forced me to listen and vibe along with her.

These were the disadvantages of having a k-pop fan as your best friend. But hey, at least it prevented her from questioning me about Caveman as I drove her home—so I wasn’t complaining.

Soon, we got to her place and I ended up staying just a bit before I began heading home. I didn’t want mom to be worried, that's why I didn’t bother staying long. Besides, if I wanted to spend the night at Chloe’s I should’ve given her a heads up.

It’s funny how her and Chloe always—

My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a loud clunk from the front of my car, followed by a sputtering noise that made my stomach drop.

“What the actual fuck—” I muttered, gripping the wheel tighter as the car lurched forward before giving up completely. The engine died, the headlights flickered, and then a thin curl of smoke began to rise from under the hood.

“No. No, no, no, no, no,” I shook my head in denial as I climbed out of the car, slamming the door behind me. “This cannot be happening.”

I stood there for a few seconds, staring at the smoke like maybe it would disappear if I ignored it.

It didn’t.

My stepfather had personally lent me this car for work. He made it very clear that it was “in perfect condition.” What the hell was I supposed to tell him now?

I moved closer, crouching near the hood like I had any clue what I was doing. I popped it open and immediately regretted it as more smoke hissed out in my face.

“Great. Amazing. This is totally fine. I know exactly how to fix this,” I said sarcastically, swatting at the smoke like it was a fly. I fiddled uselessly with a few things before giving up. I didn’t know shit about cars.

When I finally stood back, brushing my hands against my jeans, I realized just how dark it had gotten. The road was empty, quiet, almost eerie. I had followed a lonely road to drop Chloe off as it was the fastest route to her house, but now I was stuck here and I had no shots of getting help from anyone around.

“Dang it,” I hissed under my breath, pulling out my phone. Maybe I could call the mechanic.

He did come around whenever my stepdad needed him and I’m sure he paid him tons of money so he won’t have a problem with coming to my rescue—and maybe not telling my stepdad about it.

Well that plan was a bust.

He didn’t pick up—even after I had called him three fucking times.

Perfect.

My mom and stepdad were probably still at work, and the last thing I wanted was to stress them out right now.

I leaned against the side of the car, scrolling through my contacts, but froze when headlights appeared in the distance. Finally. A car. I quickly waved my arms, trying to flag them down. But they just drove past like I was invisible.

“Yeah, thanks a lot!” I shouted after them, though they were already gone.

Half an hour later, I was already losing my mind. A few more cars had passed, but none of them bothered to stop.

I guess their reactions were kind of understandable—there had been rumors going around Chicago about kidnappers faking car troubles, only to snatch anyone who stopped to help.

Well, just my luck.

I was this close to giving up when I spotted another set of headlights approaching. This time, I just raised my hand lazily. I wasn’t even going to be surprised if they drove past just like the others.

But to my shock, the car slowed, pulling over just ahead of me.

I let out a shaky sigh of relief and pushed off my car. “Finally.”

The driver’s door opened, and I squinted, trying to make out who it was. My steps slowed, my chest tightening as the figure stepped out into the glow of the headlights.

No. There was no way.

My lips parted in disbelief, my breath catching as I took in the dark hair and grey eyes and his tattooed arms which were now covered by his dark suit.

“It’s… you,” I whispered.

It was… the Caveman.