Deadly Secrets

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Night fell, draping the neighborhood in a heavy, still silence. Marcus sat on the edge of his bed, his phone in his hand, staring at the message Laura had sent earlier. He hadn't responded again, and hours had passed, but her words lingered in his mind like an itch he couldn't scratch.

"I won't be a bother."

Yet she already was.

He tossed the phone onto the bed, trying to shake off the tension that had settled in his chest. There was no reason for him to be this rattled. Maybe it was just the unfamiliarity of everything—the new house, the new town. He was on edge, and Laura's odd behavior wasn't helping. He had moved here to start over, to escape the chaos of his old life, but it was starting to feel like he'd traded one mess for another.

He stood up and went to the window, parting the curtains just enough to peer out into the street. Laura's house was dark now, her porch light casting long shadows across the lawn. For a moment, it was peaceful—just another quiet night in a quiet suburb.

But as he scanned the street, something caught his eye.

There, across the street, near the edge of the yard—someone was standing in the shadows, barely visible under the streetlight's dull glow. His heart skipped a beat as he squinted, trying to make out who it was. The figure was tall, broad-shouldered, and completely still, as if they were watching. Waiting.

A cold chill ran down Marcus's spine.

"Daniel," he muttered under his breath. It had to be him. Laura had said he was away on business, but something about the way she talked about him made Marcus doubt everything she said. She was hiding something. She had to be.

His pulse quickened as he stepped back from the window. He didn't want to draw attention to himself, didn't want whoever it was to know he had seen them. The last thing he needed was more trouble on his doorstep. But as he backed away, his phone buzzed again from the bed.

His stomach twisted. He didn't want to look at it, but he couldn't help himself. He picked up the phone and swiped the screen, half expecting another message from Laura.

It wasn't her.

Unknown Number: I'm watching you.

Marcus's heart slammed against his ribs, the words on the screen blurring for a moment. He looked back at the window, his breath catching in his throat.

The figure across the street was gone.

He stared out into the empty street, his mind racing. Who was that? Daniel? Or was it Laura, playing some twisted game? He felt the walls closing in on him, the weight of the secrets in this town pressing down harder. It had only been a day, and already everything felt wrong—like he was caught in something he didn't understand.

He paced the room, his mind scrambling for an explanation. Maybe it was just a prank. Someone messing with the new guy. Or maybe Laura had told Daniel about their conversation, about the wine, about the way she looked at him. He couldn't shake the feeling that she had dragged him into something dark—something he didn't want any part of.

Another buzz.

This time, the message was from Laura.

Laura: Everything okay over there?

Marcus's fingers hovered over the keyboard, his mind spinning. Did she know? Had she seen someone lurking outside his house, too? Or was she just keeping tabs on him, playing both sides of the game?

He didn't reply. Instead, he walked back to the window, pulling the curtains shut. Whatever was happening, he needed to stay clear of it. He had come here for peace, for a fresh start, not to be drawn into someone else's nightmare.

But even as he tried to convince himself of that, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was already in too deep.

The quiet of the house seemed louder now, the creaks in the floorboards sharper, the ticking of the clock more ominous. Marcus sat back down on the bed, his mind refusing to settle. He tried to tell himself it was nothing, just the paranoia of being in a new place. But deep down, he knew that wasn't true. There was something wrong here—something lurking just beneath the surface.

And whatever it was, he had a feeling it wasn't going to let him leave so easily.

His phone buzzed again, the screen lighting up in the dim room.

Unknown Number: You can't hide from me.

Marcus's breath hitched as he stared at the message, a cold sense of dread curling around his chest.

He wasn't paranoid.