STALKER...
1044 Words
IRENE
She didn't understand it.
Liam had kissed her like she was air-like if he stopped breathing her in, he'd die. And yet, he pulled away. He had left her room like she was a crime he regretted committing.
So she did what any confused, mildly humiliated girl would do-she called Jenny.
Except Jenny didn't bring comfort or clarity. Jenny brought solutions.
"You need a distraction," Jenny said, her voice all sunshine and mascara. "His name's Josh. He's cute, charming, bonus points-and he's going to be at the party tonight."
Irene almost said no. But she was tired of overthinking someone who vanished like fog after sunrise.
So she said yes.
---
The party was loud, warm, and soaked in perfume and bass. Josh was easy on the eyes, a little too polished, like he belonged in a toothpaste commercial. But he was nice. Gentle. The kind of guy who offered you his jacket without being asked, who actually listened when she spoke.
Irene laughed-really laughed-for the first time in days. Her mind, her body, felt light again. Josh made her forget... until she caught the eyes across the room.
Cold. Controlled. Carved out of stone.
Liam.
He stood in the shadows like he belonged there, arms folded, face unreadable. Watching her like she was misbehaving. Like she was his.
But he didn't move. Not yet.
---
Later, Josh asked if she wanted to take a walk. He said it soft, like it was innocent.
She nodded.
The woods were a breath of cold, quiet air after the pulse of the party. Trees loomed tall, bare branches clawing at the moon. Josh stopped near a thicket, hands gentle on her waist as he leaned in.
She pulled back. "Hey-no. Not here."
But he kissed her cheek. Tried again.
"I said no."
Another attempt.
"Josh. Stop."
He didn't get the chance to try again.
Because Liam was there.
No sound. No warning. Just presence. Heavy and dangerous.
Josh flinched, stepping back like a man who just realized he'd been dancing on a landmine.
"I didn't mean-" Josh started.
"She said no," Liam said, voice low and terrifyingly calm. "That should've been the end of it."
Irene thought he might snap Josh's neck. He had that look. But he didn't. Liam turned his head slightly and said, "Leave."
Josh didn't argue. He vanished into the trees.
---
"You shouldn't be out here," Liam said, finally looking at her. "Not with people like him."
"And whose fault is that?" Irene snapped. "You kiss me like you need me, then disappear like I'm poison."
He didn't respond. Not right away.
"I asked you to leave that night," she went on, voice rising. "I asked you to stay and you left. Why? Because I wanted more than a kiss? Because I'm not some fragile little doll you can push away when it suits you?"
Silence. The woods held its breath with her.
Then, slowly, he stepped forward. His hand brushed her cheek.
And he kissed her.
Not hungrily. Not desperately. Just... softly.
A promise. A warning. A line.
When he pulled away, his voice was barely above a whisper. "Let me take you home."
---
The kiss still lingered on her lips like a haunting. It hadn't answered any of her questions-but it had quieted them, for now.
She followed Liam in silence, her boots crunching over dead leaves. The air between them was tense, but not cold. More like the kind of tension that makes your skin sensitive to every shift in the wind.
His car was parked at the edge of the woods, black and sleek and somehow colder than the night. He opened the passenger door without a word.
She slid in.
---
The engine purred to life, but the silence inside the car roared louder.
He didn't drive fast. He drove like he was thinking. Like he was holding something dangerous just beneath the surface and trying not to let it spill.
She stole glances at him through the corner of her eye.
Jaw clenched.
Eyes ahead.
Hands on the wheel like they were the only things grounding him.
"I wasn't going to sleep with him," she said, voice softer now.
"I know."
He didn't even look at her.
She turned toward the window, blinking at the dark blur of trees. "But you thought I would. That's why you came."
"I came," he said, finally glancing at her, "because I knew he wasn't who he pretended to be."
Her heart gave a little thud.
"You're watching me now?" she asked, trying to sound amused, failing miserably.
"I keep you safe."
"That's not an answer."
He didn't give one.
---
Minutes passed. They felt like hours.
The streetlights thinned as they turned into her neighborhood. The glow from the dashboard lit his face, shadowing the sharp angles of his cheekbones, the line of his mouth.
He looked older tonight. Or maybe just tired.
"Why did you leave?" she whispered, finally asking it. "That night. In my room. You kissed me like I meant something... and then you left like I didn't."
His fingers tightened on the steering wheel.
"Irene..."
She turned to him fully now, eyes searching. "Say it. Whatever it is. Say something that makes it make sense."
But he didn't say anything.
Instead, he pulled up in front of her house, parked, and turned toward her.
"I can't be what you want," he said quietly. "But I'm trying not to be the thing I was."
"What were you?"
A beat. His eyes darkened.
But he didn't say anything, just glared at her.
---
She didn't flinch. Didn't speak.
Her hand reached for the door handle, but before she could open it, his hand caught hers.
Not rough. Just there.
"I shouldn't care like this," he said, almost like he hated himself for it. "But I do."
And then, for the second time that night, he kissed her.
Still soft. Still restrained.
But beneath it, there was something shaking. Something that wanted to come undone.
When he pulled back, he was already looking away. "Go inside, Irene."
She stepped out of the car with her heart thudding like a war drum in her chest.
She didn't look back.
But she felt him watching.
Like always.
- Writer
