"Elara, listen to me," he said. "What he said, about you being watched, it's not something you can ignore."
My throat tightened. "You're not making this better."
"You need to take this seriously."
"Why? Why does some random guy knowing my name mean anything? Why does..." I stopped. "Why does it feel like you know more than you're saying?"
Raven turned to him instantly. "Yeah. That part. Care to explain why you reacted like he wasn't human?"
Kade's jaw clenched. His eyes flicked to me, then back to Raven.
"That wasn't the first time he's shown up," he said.
Raven blinked. "What?"
My blood turned to ice.
"What do you mean?" I whispered.
Kade looked at me.
Straight through me.
"I've seen him before, Elara."
I swallowed hard. "Where?"
He hesitated, just for a second.
"Outside your apartment."
Raven gasped. "Excuse me?! When?!"
Kade didn't look away from me.
"The night before your shift."
The night I didn't sleep well.
The night I thought I heard voices.
The night I thought someone was standing outside my door.
My knees nearly buckled.
Raven grabbed my shoulders. "Elara, breathe. Breathe."
Kade stepped forward, voice lower now, almost gentle, but still tense. "I need you to tell me the truth."
I couldn't speak.
Could barely form a thought.
His voice dropped even softer.
"Elara… has anything strange been happening to you lately?"
My lips parted.
Raven's grip tightened.
And for the first time, I didn't lie.
"I think," I whispered, "I'm losing my mind."
The room felt too small.
Too bright.
Too quiet.
Too wrong.
Raven kept pacing like her brain was burning through a dozen theories at once, while Kade watched me with this unnerving, unreadable intensity, like he was cataloging every micro-expression on my face.
"Elara," Kade said again, slower this time, "what do you mean you're losing your mind?"
"I…" My voice cracked. "I don't know how else to describe it."
Raven immediately moved to my side, her hand resting between my shoulder blades.
"Start from the beginning," she urged. "What's been happening?"
I took a shaky breath. It tasted like dread.
"Three nights ago," I began, "I woke up because I heard someone whispering my name."
Raven stiffened. "In your apartment?"
I nodded.
"At first I thought it was a dream. But then… something banged against the wall. Hard enough that a frame fell." I swallowed. "But there was no one there."
Kade's jaw tightened.
"And that wasn't the only thing," I went on. "I keep getting this feeling like someone's watching me. All the time. Not like paranoia, more like… certainty. Like eyes pressing against the back of my neck."
The words felt ridiculous leaving my mouth.
Raven blinked. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I thought maybe I was just stressed or overtired." I shook my head. "And then yesterday, at the bus stop..."
Kade's eyes sharpened. "The same man?"
"Yes." My voice thinned. "But he wasn't exactly… solid."
Raven stopped pacing.
"What does that mean, not solid?"
I ran a trembling hand through my hair. "He flickered. Like heat waves on asphalt. Like he wasn't fully… there."
Kade swore under his breath.
I looked at him sharply. "What does that mean to you? Because it clearly means something."
He didn't answer. Not right away.
Which only made my panic spike harder.
Raven narrowed her eyes at him. "Okay, Kade Quinn, you're acting like this is more than just some creep with a disappearing trick. What are you not saying?"
He turned away, running a hand through his hair in frustration.
"It's complicated."
"Make it uncomplicated," Raven snapped.
"Elara could be in danger."
The words slammed into the room like a physical force.
My mouth went dry. "From who?"
Kade met my gaze,and for the first time since I'd known him, something flickered in his eyes.
Fear.
"I don't know," he said, voice low. "Not yet. But that man… whoever he is… isn't normal."
Raven scoffed. "No shit. People don't vanish unless it's CGI."
But Kade wasn't joking. His expression was too grim.
"Elara," he said. "When he spoke to you at the bus stop, did he touch you?"
"No."
"Did he say anything else? Anything specific?"
"Yes," I whispered. "He said: 'You're out of time.'"
Kade froze.
Actually froze.
It felt like the air disappeared.
Raven's eyes widened. "Okay… that sounds like a threat."
But Kade didn't look shocked.
He looked like someone had ripped open a box he hoped would never see daylight again.
"Kade," I said slowly, "what does that mean?"
He shook his head. "Not here."
"Why not here?" Raven demanded.
"Because walls have ears." His voice was deadly serious. "And because if I'm right… the less people know, the better."
I frowned. "Right about what?"
He hesitated.
A full five seconds.
Then:
"That man isn't human."
Raven burst out laughing, full disbelief. "Oh come on. Don't do that. Don't turn this into a delusional conspiracy..."
"I'm not joking," Kade said sharply.
The room went silent.
My heartbeat thundered in my ears.
"Explain," I whispered.
Kade exhaled slowly, as if choosing each word with surgical precision.
"There are… groups. Organizations. People who follow things normal civilians never hear about. Sightings. Events. Creatures." He looked at me. "There have been reports around the city for weeks. Shadows moving on rooftops. People disappearing without video footage. Unexplainable… anomalies."
My stomach plummeted.
"Kade," I said, voice barely a breath, "you're scaring me."
"I know." His eyes softened. "But lying to you would be worse."
Raven sat slowly, as if the floor moved underneath her. "So… he's what? A ghost? A hologram? An alien?"
"No," Kade said, "he's something else."
"Something supernatural?" I asked.
He didn't answer.
And that silence told me everything.
Raven stood abruptly. "Okay, enough. We're done. Elara, get your things. You're staying with me tonight."
"No," Kade cut in instantly.
Raven rounded on him. "Excuse me—"
"It's not safe," he said simply.
I felt a chill crawl up my arms.
"What do you mean not safe?" I asked.
Kade turned toward me, voice lowering.
"Elara… whatever he wants with you… he's not going to stop."
My breath hitched.
Raven swallowed hard. "So what do we do?"
Kade stepped closer to me. "We start by getting Elara home."
"Home?" I repeated, incredulous. "Alone?"
"You won't be alone," he said.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"It means," he said quietly, "I'm going with you."
Raven blinked. "You're what?"
Kade didn't look away from me.
"Elara," he said, tone final, "you are not going anywhere without me."
A shiver ran down my spine, not from fear, but from the intensity in his voice.
"Why?" I whispered.
His answer was immediate.
"Because he's not the only one watching you."
My heart slammed against my ribs.
"Kade…"
"And because," he added, eyes darkening, "whatever is happening to you started long before today."
The room spun.
Long before today.
Long before the stranger.
Long before the bus stop.
Something deep, deep inside me twisted, as if something buried was straining against the surface.
"Elara?"
Raven's voice sounded far away.
Kade reached out, steadying me with a hand on my arm. "Easy."
I stared at him, pulse racing.
"What," I whispered, "do you think I am?"
Kade's expression didn't change.
But his silence did.
His silence said everything.