God's way

Part 18

The day started off like any other, or at least I tried to make it feel that way. Sahmir was driving me to school, and I sat quietly in the passenger seat, staring out the window, trying to shake the heaviness that had settled over me. My thoughts kept drifting back to Sayjan—his words, the threats, the way he had looked at me when he told me I'd be the one responsible if he went through with it. I couldn't stop replaying the scenes in my head, but I couldn't share any of it with Sahmir. He'd only ask too many questions, and I wasn't ready to answer them.

"Hey, you good?" Sahmir asked, his voice pulling me out of my thoughts. He glanced over at me briefly, his eyes sharp with concern. "You're acting weird today. You sure you're okay?"

I smiled, though it didn't reach my eyes. 

"I'm just tired," I said, hoping it would be enough. "Late night studying. You know how it is."

He didn't seem fully convinced, but he didn't press further. He just nodded and focused back on the road, leaving the silence to stretch between us. I could feel his eyes flicking to me now and then, but I kept my gaze forward, pretending that everything was fine.

When we reached the school, I stepped out of the car with a quick "thanks" and hurried inside. I needed to get through the day. I needed to just forget about everything for a few hours, focus on something else.

I met Nadiira at our usual spot by the lockers. She greeted me with a smile, but her eyes immediately dropped to my face, reading the exhaustion there.

"You okay?" she asked softly, her voice full of concern. 

"I'm fine, really. Just tired."

"If you say so," she said, falling into step beside me as we made our way to class. 

We walked together for a few more minutes, talking about random things—stuff that didn't matter, but it helped me keep my mind off everything else.

But then we had to split for our different classes. I waved goodbye to Nadiira and headed down the hallway, trying to shake the anxiety from my shoulders.

I was almost at the door to my classroom when I saw him.

My breath caught in my throat, and my heart seemed to stop in my chest. There, sitting in the front row, was Sayjan.

He was staring at me, his eyes wide, filled with something dark, something vicious. The look on his face sent a chill down my spine. I froze, my hand hovering over the door handle. My pulse thudded in my ears, my breath coming in shallow gasps. I could feel the walls closing in around me, the overwhelming sense of dread washing over me.

Why was he here? How could he be here, in my class?

My fingers shook as I slowly pushed open the door, my legs feeling like they were made of stone as I stepped inside. But as I got closer, I realized something. The closer I got, the clearer it became. The face in front of me wasn't Sayjan's.

It was someone else entirely—just a guy, a student I'd never seen before, sitting in the front row, looking up at me with no particular expression on his face. I blinked, rubbing my eyes as my chest tightened, my mind scrambling to make sense of what had just happened.

Had I imagined it? No, I couldn't have. The face, the intensity of his stare, the way I had felt every inch of that dark, suffocating gaze—it had been so real, so vivid.

I quickly averted my gaze, fighting the flush of embarrassment that spread across my face. I slid into my seat, trying to ignore the pounding in my head. I had been so sure, so certain it was him. The panic, the fear—it had felt like a real threat, like I was about to face the nightmare of my life again. But it wasn't him.