Aiden stared at the phone in his hand, Jessica's flirty message still glowing on the screen. His thumb hovered for a second. Then he opened a new message.
"Just… be careful if you go out. There's been talk of animal attacks around here."
A moment passed.
"You mean the hikers thing? I heard that it's just a bear or something. Why? You planning to rescue me in the woods or something?" 🐻😉
He hesitated.
He started typing again.
Aiden:
"I'm serious, Jess. You trust me, right?"
She responded faster than he expected.
Jessica:
"Uh… yeah? Why are you being all mysterious and ominous?"
Aiden swallowed hard. He couldn't exactly say hey, vampires are real and some nomads are probably on their way to snack on someone. But he couldn't just let her walk into danger either.
Aiden:
"Call it a gut feeling. Just… don't go to the bonfire. Not this time."
A long pause.
The dots showed up again. Blinked. Vanished. Showed up again. "Wow. Okay. That's serious?"
"Yeah."
"…Alright. I'll stay home. You better not be playing some weird reverse psychology thing on me."
"Not this time."
Another pause.
"Guess you owe me now."
He set his phone down, tension still in his jaw, but something in his chest relaxed.
One less variable. One less person to worry about getting caught in the crossfire.
Steve finally glanced over from the game again. "Problem solved?"
"For now," Aiden muttered.
But even as he said it, he knew this was only the beginning.
Steve, glancing over again, raised an eyebrow. "Everything good?"
"Yeah," Aiden said quietly. "Just… making sure someone keeps their head on."
"Friend?"
Aiden nodded, eyes still on the screen.
"She listened?"
"Probably not," he muttered. "But I had to say something."
Steve didn't push further. He just leaned back, turned the volume up a notch, and let the game fill the silence again.
Aiden, meanwhile, couldn't shake the unease crawling up his spine.
Because deep down, he knew it wasn't just animals out there. And someone like Jessica? She wouldn't stand a chance.