The front door clicked shut behind Amy—softer than she meant it to.
She paused on the step anyway, backpack half on, half off, like she was waiting for someone to call her back or to say im not sure if im staying somewhere where it is safe.
No one did.
Mrs Carter was at work.
Jamie was in his room.
Chloe was already outside, sitting on the low brick wall, phone in hand, legs swinging.
"You coming," Chloe called, "or are you planning to fuse with the door?"
Amy adjusted her bag and stepped down.
"Sorry," she said. "I was just... thinking."
Chloe snorted. "You've been thinking for two days straight. At this point, you should charge people for every time you think."
They started walking.
The street was quiet in that tired, late-afternoon way—parked cars, leafless trees, the same houses Amy had passed a thousand times without noticing.
Five minutes, Sarah had said.
It sounded harmless.
Now every step felt counted.
Amy shoved her hands into her sleeves. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and her heart jumped before she even reached for it.
She didn't check.
Not yet.
Chloe noticed. "You're doing that thing again."
"What thing?"
"Acting like your phone might explode at the slight buzz."
Amy managed a smile. "Feels like it could."
They crossed the road.
Someone was walking ahead of them.
Hood up.
Backpack slung low.
Moving fast.
Too fast for someone with nowhere to be.
Amy's eyes caught and didn't let go.
"Do you know them?" Chloe asked.
Amy blinked. "What?"
"You've been staring."
"Oh. No. I don't think so."
But her stomach tightened anyway.
There was something familiar in the way the person walked—slightly hunched, shoulders pulled in, like they were trying to shrink.
Like they didn't want to be seen.
But Amy couldn't think of where she saw this person from. Was it Rowan?
No matter how Amy and Chloe adjusted their pace, the distance didn't change.
Five steps.
Ten.
Then the person turned the corner near the community centre and vanished.
Amy slowed without meaning to.
"Why'd you stop?" Chloe asked.
"I didn't—"
They reached the corner.
The pavement was empty.
No hood.
No backpack.
No sound of footsteps.
Just the low hum of traffic somewhere further away.
Chloe frowned. "Okay. That's not normal."
"Maybe they went inside," Amy said.
Chloe glanced around. "Inside what?"
Amy didn't answer.
They kept walking.
The community centre came into view: squat brick walls, wide windows, faded posters curling at the edges. Someone had once written Write Your Story across the glass in bright marker.
The letters were peeling now.
Amy's chest tightened.
A few people from the club stood outside, talking quietly. Their voices dipped when Amy and Chloe approached.
Not suddenly.
Not enough to call out.
Just enough to notice.
Rowan stood near the door, arms crossed, leaning back against the wall. When he saw Amy, he straightened.
Then hesitated.
Then smiled—careful, like he wasn't sure it was welcome.
"Hey," he said.
"Hey," Amy replied.
Her voice sounded smaller than she wanted.
Chloe nudged her. "I'm getting a drink. Don't disappear."
"I won't," Amy said, though the word felt thin.
Chloe went inside.
Rowan kicked at the pavement but also hesitated "You... um. You okay?"
"Yeah," Amy said.
Then, quieter, "No. But I'm trying."
He nodded, like that answer made sense.
"My sister says—" he began.
Then stopped when he realised he was about to say too much.
Amy's stomach dropped. "Says what?"
He rubbed the back of his neck. "Nothing. Just... stuff."
"What stuff?"
He hesitated too long trying to think of what to say next.
"About stories," he said finally. "About how people take them. Change them."
Amy swallowed.
"Oh."
From inside, Sarah's voice floated out—bright, steady, pretending everything was normal.
"Are you coming in?" Rowan asked.
"In a minute," Amy said.
He nodded and went inside.
Amy stayed where she was.
She pulled out her phone.
Three unread messages.
She didn't open them.
Instead, she looked back down the street.
For a second, she thought she saw someone standing at the far end.
Watching.
Then a bus roared past, and the street was empty again.
Amy slid her phone back into her pocket.
Took a breath.
And stepped inside.