𝐑𝐄𝐁𝐎𝐑𝐍 ➻ 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧

𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘆

ANASTASIA BARELY FELT THE RAIN AS SHE WALKED THROUGH THE STREETS, despite the quite obvious fact that her coat soaked through, her mind was too consumed with the whirlwind inside her head. Her footsteps echoed against the empty sidewalks, the only sound competing with the constant pounding of the rain. Every part of her wanted to run, to escape the pull of this vampire's presence, but the streets of Seattle were far too familiar to her despite her short time living there—and yet, she felt like a stranger to them again, a puny newcomer like she had been before, her chest aching with a feeling she could never get rid of, not even now.

But the man's words haunted her. You're already involved.

It didn't make sense. How could she be involved with him, with this? She hadn't asked for this. She hadn't asked to be a part of their world again. She had been burned from this fire once. The last time, it had almost destroyed her. She wasn't going to let herself fall back into the same trap.

Yet, somehow, it felt like she didn't have a choice.

Her phone buzzed again, and she didn't even need to look at it to know who it was. Only one person texted her nowadays, though it was not much of a difference to how it was before. The dread settled deeper in her stomach. He was watching her—he always was.

With a heavy sigh, she pulled the phone from her pocket, her thumb hesitating above the screen. She couldn't keep running from it, though. She couldn't ignore it anymore. She needed answers, and the only way to get them was to confront him.

"What do you want from me?"

She typed it quickly, her fingers shaking from more than just the cold that choked the city. She pressed send before she could second-guess her actions.

For a moment, the silence pressed in on her, and the weight of the world felt like it was closing in. But then, the phone buzzed again.

"I'm not going to make this easy for you."

Anastasia's stomach churned. The message left an uneasy, foreboding feeling in the pit of her chest. He wasn't giving her anything. Not a name. Not an explanation. Just more of the same cryptic nonsense that he usually did.

She glanced up, and her heart skipped when she saw the familiar silhouette in the distance.

This time, he wasn't standing far off, hidden in the shadows of the streetlight. He was closer, moving in her direction at a steady pace. He was wearing the same dark clothes, a stark contrast to the drenched surroundings. His face was unreadable, his expression set like stone upon his seemingly angelic face.

Anastasia didn't stop walking. She couldn't stop now. Every instinct screamed at her to keep moving, but her feet were rooted to the ground as if they knew something she didn't.

His pace quickened, matching hers.

"You never do what you're told, do you?" His voice cut through the rain, low and soft, but unmistakable. It sent a shiver down her spine.

"I don't take orders from strangers," she shot back, her voice sharp, but it trembled despite her best efforts.

He was so close now. Too close. His presence was overwhelming, suffocating, like he was everywhere at once. The air felt thick with tension.

"I'm not a stranger, Anastasia," he said, the words coming out almost as a whisper, as if they carried some weight—some truth she wasn't yet ready to understand.

She turned to face him, the city lights reflecting off the wet pavement around them. Her heart hammered in her chest, her thoughts a jumbled mess. "What do you want from me?" She tried to keep the fear out of her voice, but it crept in anyway. "I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. But I know enough to stay away from you and whatever your kind is going to drag me into again. Okay? I'm sick of all of this."

The man's gaze flicked to the ground, his jaw tightening for just a moment. The moment passed, and his eyes met hers, and she saw something different. A flicker of something that wasn't cold calculation, but something else. Something almost... human?

"Stay away from me?" he repeated, his voice barely above a whisper. "You think that's an option now?"

Anastasia stood still, every muscle in her body poised, ready to move. The rain was coming down harder now, drenching her completely, but she didn't care. She couldn't take her eyes off him.

"I'm not a part of your world," she said, her voice breaking, but she pushed through. "I left that behind when he... when he left."

At the mention of another man, Riley's eyes darkened for a moment, just enough for her to notice, but he didn't say anything. He stood silently, the rain dripping off the tips of his dark hair.

For a second, it was as though time stopped. Anastasia felt like she was falling into a pit, and no matter how much she fought to climb out, she kept sinking deeper into it.

"His name still haunts you, doesn't it?" Riley asked, not necessarily making it known as to whether or not he knew of who she was referencing, but his voice was almost sounding like an accusation.

She flinched. She didn't want to talk about the doctor. Not with him. Not with a strange vampire, who—despite his strange pull on her—wasn't part of her past time in Forks as far as she knew. He didn't get to bring it up.

She took a step back, determined to regain some control over this conversation. She couldn't let him have the upper hand.

"Why are you doing this?" she demanded, trying to meet his gaze, trying to make him human again, or at least give her something she could understand. "You've been following me. Sending me these messages. But you still haven't told me your name. You want me to believe you're not a stranger—so tell me who you are."

The vampire was quiet for a long time, his eyes boring into hers. He didn't blink, didn't even seem to breathe.

Then, almost reluctantly, he finally spoke.

"Riley."

His voice was quiet, almost a growl.

Anastasia's heart momentarily faltered as she realised something. Riley. Of course. The boy that had constantly followed her and Bella around for two summers in a row before she left.

"Now you know my name, and who I was." Riley took a step toward her, closing the distance, and she instinctively took a step back, her mind screaming at her to get away, even though now all she could see was the innocent looking Riley she recalled from her summer days.

"You think that changes anything?" she asked, the words coming out bitterly. "You think that makes you human again?"

Riley paused, his gaze unreadable. "No. It doesn't make me human."

She swallowed, a knot tightening in her chest. This was it. This was the moment where everything was about to change.

"Then why?" she whispered, her voice small against the roar of the rain. "Why are you here, following me around, did you not think I'd keep your secret when I caught you?"

He didn't answer immediately. Instead, his eyes locked with hers, and for a fleeting moment, something softened in them. But then it was gone, replaced by something darker, something dangerous.

"Because you saw too much, and I didn't think I'd be able to trust you with something again," he said, his voice steady but filled with an undertone of finality.