"Don't look at me like that," Eli growled, his voice a low rumble that sent shivers down my spine.
I lifted my chin, a defiant glint in my eyes. "Like what?"
He leaned in, his lips hovering just above my skin, each word a heated whisper. "Like you w...
I used to think fear was a fleeting thing--- a passing jolt that fades once the moment is over. Like a shadow that disappears when you turn on the light. But fear has a way of settling into your bones, making a home out of your skin until you forget what it feels like to be at peace.
That's what happened to me after he showed up.
I didn't see it coming. One day I was just Scarlet, the writer with a quiet life and a big break. The next day, I was her--- the woman whose every move was tracked, whose breath echoed in someone else's head. Shadows in the Mist was supposed to be my debut into the literary world. Instead, it invited a monster into my life.
The stalker. My own personal nightmare.
He knew things he shouldn't have. Things no one should've known. I still remember the notes--- the way he described the smell of my shampoo, the way my fingers moved over the keys when I typed. The first time I found one on my doorstep, I froze. The second time, I ran.
By the third, I wasn't even sleeping in my own bed.
And the city... it became suffocating, buzzing with the sound of my name on everyone's lips. The police said they'd do their best, but how can they protect you from someone who never leaves a trace? So I did what I had to do.
I left.
Havenwood wasn't a place I knew. Hell, I'm still not sure how I found it--- some random online post buried in the comments section of a forum. "A place to disappear," someone had called it. And I needed that.
Desperately.
The drive felt like I was shedding a layer of myself with every mile I put between me and the city. The trees got thicker, the air cooler, until the sun barely cut through the canopy. By the time I crossed the old bridge into town, the world had shrunk to nothing but the road and the forest pressing in on either side. I caught my breath when Havenwood finally came into view.
It was quiet. Not the peaceful kind of quiet, but the kind that feels like it's waiting for something to happen. A town wrapped in old-world charm-cobblestone streets, ivy crawling up the sides of buildings, and houses that looked like they had stories they weren't ready to share. The kind of place where time might slip away if you weren't careful.
It should've felt like the fresh start I was looking for, but... something was off.
Maybe it was the way the locals smiled just a little too wide, or how their eyes would flicker toward me before quickly looking away. Or maybe it was the clock tower in the center of town, its hands frozen at midnight, like it had given up trying to keep time at all.
But I didn't care. I wasn't here for them. I was here to forget--- to find peace again, to write again, to be me again.
That's what I kept telling myself, anyway.
But then, people started to disappear. The barista who had memorized my coffee order was suddenly "moving out of town." The woman who ran the bookstore hadn't been seen in days. And no one was talking about it. No questions. No farewells. Just... gone.
I told myself I was being paranoid. The city had made me jumpy, turned my brain into a breeding ground for worst-case scenarios. But the more I watched, the more I realized that Havenwood was hiding something. And it wasn't just the town--- it was the people.
What if they weren't leaving? What if they were being taken?
And now, I was starting to wonder if I'd come here to escape a stalker, only to find something much worse.
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