Ethereal Dusk

Chapter 14

Roslyn

Present

When I was little I believed that we could get in the car and follow the moon as it left us. As if I could wander after it and plead for it to stay, because it never did. I would look up at mother moon and wish upon her like a star. And I would wonder why it was that she seemed to disappear every night when I loved her so deeply. I was the one who loved her most of all. And yet, she still vanished.

My whole life had been dedicated to chasing after things. Like a race I could never win, I was tired. Continuously searching for a way to somehow fill the hole that was in my heart. Trying to understand the reason I could never make anyone stay.

Until now.

This man, this... demon, had been searching for me. I could tell by the way his eyes burned into mine, like he had found the missing puzzle piece. Or better yet, a long lost treasure. I can tell because he looks at me the way I looked at the moon.

And then it clicks. He was my..

"Shadow," I whisper as I look up at him, still frozen.

He lets go of my chin and takes a step back, cocking his head.

"What?" he asks in a confused tone.

His demeanor switch up is almost enough to give me whip lash. Within the first few seconds of meeting him I had already assumed a million and one things that I wasn't sure were true. I knew that he was a predator. I knew that I was up next to be the headliner of the Chelan newspaper. I knew that he was here to kill me.

But honesty I know nothing at all.

I let out a breath and relax my shoulders as he seemingly becomes more human before my very eyes. Like I was talking to a person rather than the monster under my bed.

"I've seen more of you than in my dreams. It's you I've been seeing out of the corner of my eye all this time. Right?" I say, making note to tread lightly.

He smiles, pearly whites on display as he chuckles. His canines are slightly longer than the rest of his teeth. Most definitely a predator.

My stomach twists with heat. He's quite literally the most gorgeous thing I have ever seen. My heart begins to pound in my chest again. But not exactly from fear this time.

"Well... what do you want?" I ask earnestly with my brows drawn together.

Regardless of how beautiful he was, he was an intruder. A stalker. A monster that had haunted me. Tormented me. I couldn't trust him as far as I could throw him, if I could even throw him at all. God, all the times over the last few weeks I had believed I was alone. Talking to myself, dancing, crying, and doing... that. The time in the shower. My cheeks flare with fire as I think of all the times he had seen things I had never intended even the light of day to see.

He slowly walks over to my desk, peeking at me again before scanning the contents atop of it.

"It's not that simple," he says in a deep yet soft tone as he picks up my journal.

And things that I never intended for anyone to read!

"That's not for you!" I half squeal as I fly off the bed and try and grab the book from his hand.