The message came during lunch.
I didn't notice it at first.
My phone was old.
Slow.
Most of the time, I ignored it.
But this time—
It kept vibrating.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
I frowned slightly and pulled it out.
Unknown number.
I almost ignored it.
Almost.
Then another message came.
"Stay away from her."
I froze.
For a second—
Everything around me disappeared.
The noise.
The voices.
The movement.
All gone.
Just those three words.
Stay away from her.
"…What is it?"
Her voice.
Right across from me.
I locked my phone quickly.
"…Nothing."
She didn't look convinced.
But she didn't push.
That was something I was starting to notice about her.
She asked questions—
But she didn't force answers.
Unlike most people.
I slipped the phone back into my pocket.
Trying to ignore the tight feeling in my chest.
It wasn't new.
I'd felt it before.
When bills piled up.
When my mother came home exhausted.
When something went wrong and there was no way to fix it.
That feeling of being…
Powerless.
But this—
This was different.
Because this time—
It wasn't about survival.
It was about her.
"…You're quiet today," she said.
"I'm always quiet."
"Not like this."
I didn't respond.
Because I didn't trust myself to.
Another vibration.
I ignored it.
Then—
She reached forward.
And grabbed my wrist.
Not hard.
Not aggressive.
Just enough to stop me.
"…Look at me."
My breath caught slightly.
Slowly—
I did.
Her eyes searched mine.
And just like that—
I knew.
She could tell something was wrong.
"How bad is it?" she asked softly.
I pulled my hand back gently.
"It's nothing."
"That's not true."
I exhaled.
"…It's just someone trying to scare me."
Her expression didn't change.
But something in her eyes did.
"From my family?" she asked.
I hesitated.
That was answer enough.
A small silence settled between us.
Then—
"I'm sorry," she said quietly.
That caught me off guard.
"For what?" I asked.
"For pulling you into this."
I shook my head.
"No one pulled me."
That wasn't entirely true.
But it wasn't entirely false either.
Because somewhere along the way—
I stopped walking away.
And that was on me.
"…You should listen to them," I said after a moment.
Her brows furrowed slightly.
"What?"
"You should stop talking to me."
There it was again.
The same words.
But this time—
They felt heavier.
Real.
"Why?" she asked.
"Because people like them don't just send messages," I said quietly.
"They act."
I knew that much.
Money doesn't just create comfort.
It creates control.
Power.
And people with power don't like being ignored.
"…Are you scared?" she asked.
I paused.
Then—
"…Yes."
No point lying.
Not about that.
She looked at me for a long moment.
Then—
"…I'm not."
That didn't make me feel better.
It made things worse.
"Then you should be," I said.
"Why?"
"Because this isn't a game."
Her gaze didn't move.
"…I know."
But the way she said it—
It didn't sound like fear.
It sounded like acceptance.
And that scared me more than anything else.
Another vibration.
This time—
I didn't ignore it.
I pulled out my phone.
Another message.
"This is your last warning."
My grip tightened.
Because now—
It wasn't just words.
It was a line.
And I had just stepped over it.
I looked up.
At her.
At everything this was becoming.
And for the first time—
I realized something clearly.
This wasn't just a mistake.
This wasn't just bad timing.
This wasn't just a simple high school story.
This was something bigger.
Something dangerous.
And no matter what I did next—
There was no going back.