Secrets

Chapter 14 - Rejection

The tension in the room was palpable as Mia watched Alex and Matt rise from their seats, their movements heavy with unspoken thoughts. Eliza lingered near the door, her steps unusually tentative, as if even she was weighed down by the gravity of the conversation.

"Solutions," Matt said finally, breaking the suffocating silence. His voice was low, steady, but tinged with frustration. "We need a plan—something concrete to counter this before it spirals further."

Alex leaned against the back of the couch, his arms crossed as he nodded.

"Agreed, but where do we start? Every lead we've had so far has been... underwhelming." His tone carried a thread of sarcasm, though the bitterness in his voice betrayed his concern.

Eliza, still standing near the doorway, interjected.

"We could—" She stopped, shaking her head. "No, never mind. That won't work either." Her usual confident demeanor was subdued, her voice quieter than normal.

The conversation ebbed and flowed, the minutes bleeding into hours as ideas were raised and discarded, frustration mounting with each dead end. Mia, however, found herself increasingly detached from the words bouncing around the room.

Her gaze kept drifting, her stomach twisting each time it settled on the flickering shadows in her peripheral vision. They were everywhere now, slithering along the edges of the room like sentient smoke. And then there was the skeletal one—the figure that loomed near Matt like a silent specter, its bony fingers grazing his shoulder as if waiting for the right moment to strike.

Mia clenched her fists in her lap, her nails biting into her palms as she struggled to keep her composure. She wanted to shout, to warn Matt of the apparition at his side, but fear kept her rooted in place. If they saw her panic, if they realized how unfocused she'd become, they'd start asking questions. Questions she wasn't ready to answer.

"Eat," Eliza said suddenly, placing a plate of food in front of Mia. Her tone was gentle, but her eyes were sharp, watching Mia closely.

The sight of the sandwich made Mia's stomach churn violently, but she forced a weak smile, picking it up to avoid further scrutiny. She nibbled at the edge, the taste like ash in her mouth. Each bite was mechanical, her mind consumed by the shadows curling at the corners of her vision.

"You're not listening," Alex said, his voice cutting through her fog. His piercing gaze locked onto hers, concern flickering in his expression. "Mia?"

She blinked, startled, and quickly nodded.

"I'm listening," she lied, her voice thin.

Eliza frowned, clearly unconvinced, but before she could press further, Matt leaned forward, his voice dragging their attention back to the discussion.

The skeletal figure shifted beside him, its hollow gaze boring into Mia. Her pulse quickened, the room closing in around her. As the others continued to speak, their voices blurred into white noise, drowned out by the silent, unrelenting presence of the shadowy figure.

Time slipped through Mia's fingers like sand, the hours blending together until the golden light of day faded into the muted hues of dusk. The conversation ebbed and flowed around her, the voices of Matt, Alex, and Eliza carrying weighty discussions she barely registered.

Ideas were raised and discarded, solutions debated and dismissed, but it all felt distant, like a half-remembered dream.

Mia sat motionless, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. The sandwich Eliza had offered earlier sat untouched on the table, the thought of eating turning her stomach. Her chest felt heavy, her head pounding with an ache that wouldn't subside. The shadows at the edges of her vision seemed darker now, closer, their insidious movements taunting her with every flicker.