Shadows of the Heart

Chapter One: The Edge of a Dream (and Slightly Unwanted Visitors)

Lena had never stayed anywhere long enough to call it home.

And honestly, she wasn't sure if she'd ever want to. Home? Home was just a word people used when they wanted to make you feel like you were supposed to belong somewhere. She'd been through enough foster homes to know that "home" was just a place with questionable décor and even more questionable people who would eventually kick you out for being "too much of a handful" or "unpredictable." (She liked to think of it as "keeping things interesting.")

So, instead, she learned how to live in limbo, packing her things into a backpack that always seemed to be falling apart and never really unpacking her heart. It wasn't perfect, but it worked. Mostly.

Tonight, she was lying on the bed in her latest temporary home—a basement apartment with a window that barely let in enough light to see her hand in front of her face. She liked it that way. The dimness was comforting. It was less about the ambiance and more about the fact that if no one could see her, they couldn't judge her for her terrible life choices (like eating cereal for dinner...again).

The rain outside was a constant, like the world was sighing along with her. It wasn't quite a storm, but it was loud enough to drown out any unnecessary thoughts. Or, well, so she thought. Her mind still had a habit of going to weird places. Like wondering if people ever just stopped existing in foster care. Like, did the previous foster families just wipe her from their memories like some kind of weird episode of a sitcom? That was depressing. Time to think about something else.

Her fingers picked at a loose thread in the blanket, contemplating the meaning of life, or more accurately, why her life was so full of awkward silences.

The sound of a knock at the door was like a slap in the face.

Lena sat up with a jolt, heart thumping in her chest like she'd just been hit with an electric jolt. Was she dreaming? No one ever knocked on her door. Diane, her current foster mom, had told her she'd be out tonight—something about "meeting someone" and "having a life outside of Lena," which she appreciated on some level because it meant no one was bothering her. So who on earth would knock at her door at this hour?

Another knock. This one was a bit more insistent.

Okay, this was officially weird. The last time someone knocked on her door in the middle of the night, it had been a guy trying to sell her a vacuum cleaner that also doubled as a hair dryer (Lena declined).

She padded barefoot across the room, her mind racing with a thousand possibilities. Who on earth could it be? Maybe a neighbor asking for sugar? A serial killer? The pizza guy who got the address wrong? The options were limitless.

She peeked through the peephole, her breath catching when she saw a man standing on the other side. Tall, dark, and way too handsome for a random Tuesday night. His eyes were intense, like he had a secret—or maybe he was just very good at staring. But it wasn't just the stare that caught her attention; it was the sheer vibe of him. The kind of vibe that screamed "I own this street" without him saying a word.

Not exactly the type of guy you casually let into your basement apartment at midnight.

Lena took a step back. "Okay, Lena, you've been in awkward situations before, but this might be your weirdest one yet," she muttered to herself. But she couldn't stop staring at the guy—he had that magnetic quality about him. Not that she had time for magnetism.

Another knock.

"Are you going to open the door, or should I just stand here like a creepy stalker?" His voice was low, with just a hint of amusement. It was enough to make Lena's stomach do a flip.

She blinked. "Who are you?" she asked, her voice coming out with less authority than she intended. Not that it mattered. This guy wasn't some random stranger off the street. His gaze was too intense. Too... professional. Like he was used to getting exactly what he wanted.

"Someone you should get to know," he said smoothly, like he was reading from a script. "I've been looking for you."

Her pulse picked up. "Looking for me? Seriously? What, did I win a contest for 'Most Likely to Be Totally Confused' or something?"

He didn't smile, but there was a slight flicker in his eyes. It wasn't humor, exactly, but more like someone who was accustomed to people being entirely unprepared for his presence. Which, yeah, fair. If Lena were him, she would probably enjoy watching people squirm a little. But, then again, he was acting like the lead in some weird crime movie. And she was an unsuspecting extra.

"Open the door, Lena. It's not going to open itself."

Okay. Fine.

Lena took a deep breath and grabbed the handle. What was the worst that could happen? It wasn't like her life could get any weirder, right?

She swung the door open, and there he was. Luca—tall, dark, and seriously radiating a "don't mess with me" energy. His leather jacket gleamed in the dim light. His hair was dark and tousled, but in that "I woke up like this" kind of way that only the most ridiculously attractive people could pull off. And his eyes—deep, almost unnaturally so, like they held way too many secrets for comfort.

Lena couldn't help herself. "You look like you're about to tell me I'm being inducted into the mafia. Should I be worried?"

Luca blinked, and for the first time, she saw a flicker of something that might've been amusement in his eyes. "I think you already know what I'm here for."

Lena raised an eyebrow. "Okay, buddy, sure. I'll just go ahead and cancel my plans for the evening, which involve sleeping and eating cereal, and let you in."

She stepped aside, mostly because she wasn't sure if she could fight the guy off if he tried to push past her. He was definitely the type who could probably break down a door if he wanted to.

Luca moved past her with a fluid grace that made her wonder if he was part panther. "Thank you, Lena," he said, his voice smooth like someone who was used to being obeyed.

"Yeah, no problem. Can I get you some coffee or...a sharp object to defend myself with?"

He didn't laugh. Of course, he didn't.

"I think you're about to find out just how dangerous things are for both of us."

Lena closed the door behind him, still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that some guy just showed up and basically invited himself into her life like he was part of some shadowy criminal empire.

And she wasn't even sure why, but she was definitely intrigued.