A Danger That Lurks In The Darkness | A TPQ AU |

XXVII | "Wanna Go Out With Me?"

Sirens rung in the air, the noise filling the silence of the nondescript street.

Whispers floated in the air, people's eyes fixed on the yellow-and-black police tape warding off the citizens.

"Is that blood?"

"Her head is cracked open!"

"Did she jump?"

"Oh, if only she would have asked for help..."

"Her family must be heartbroken,"

Her mother was sitting at home, waiting for her daughter to come back, not knowing what had happened to her.

————

MINI

She leaned back, feeling the beginnings of a headache throb at her temples, as she stared at her phone, her eyes tracking across his name, her thumbs hovering above the keyboard.

What could she say? Could she apologise?

An apology sprung to the tips of her fingers, but left her the minute she tried to type it out. Every word felt wrong. She swallowed back the rancid taste in her mouth.

She'd swallowed back the words she'd meant to say to him. I care about you SO much! In a way that I can't explain!

Why had she not said them?

What he'd said to her, back in the parking lot, lurked in her thoughts all the time. I care about you!

And she did care about him, too— in a way that would be very, very awkward if it came to light.

I like him.

She should apologise for what she said— but when she thought of the previous day, all she could remember was the words she had said: To return the favour.

His shocked face after he heard what she said was forever burned into her memory.

Why did I say that? I'm so fucking stupid.

He'd just looked... hurt.

She swallowed back the bile rising in her throat, and leaned back against the couch, confusion warring inside her.

How would she bring up an apology? She stared at her phone once more, the cursor blinking before her eyes, as if it was mocking her.

The phone slid from her hand, as she shut her eyes, trying to ward off an oncoming headache.

Had she ruined it all? That incessant voice whispered at the back of her head, the one she tried to shut out.

That relationship she'd cherished, a relationship much different than what she'd had with her other friends. With her sisters.

It was different from what she'd experienced with others. Like a different facet of her personality that came to light, a facet that she'd only just discovered just now.

She wondered if he would say it back. She wondered what she would do then. Every time he did something— coming to her house to check on her, right down to the small observations he made— made the feelings harder to bury, as they resurfaced more frequently, making her heart beat in a frenzy.

Sometimes, she still felt the ghost of his touch, his fingers interlocked in hers, the warmth of his presence, the way his laugh sounded to her ears.

She wanted to tell him all this. So much. But then how would he react?

She steepled her fingers, her gaze trailing across the skin, feeling the distant throb of her shoulder wound.

Is it fair to him that I feel this way?