THE WATCHER OUTSIDE
1150 Words
CHAPTER THREE: The Watcher Outside.
Lana stood frozen beside the
window.
Rain slid down the glass in thin
stream, blurring the street below.
Ethan’s words echoed in her ear.
The person who has been waiting for
you since your mother died.”
For several seconds,she couldn’t
speak .
Claire looked just as shocked.
“What does that even mean?”
Claire demanded.
On the phone Ethan sighed.
“I can’t explain everything over
a call.”
“Then explain something,” Lana.
said.” because right now non of
This makes sense.
There was a pause.
When Ethan spoke,his voice was low
and serious.
“Your mother was involved in
something dangerous years ago.”
Lana’s heart tightened.
“What kind of dangerous?”
“I’ll tell you everything,”Ethan said .
but not over the phone.”
Claire crossed her arms.
“Convenient.”
“I understand why you don’t trust
me,” Ethan replied calmly.
“Good,” Claire muttered.
Lana walked away from the window and
“Sat down on the couch.
“How did you get my number?” She
asked.
Another pause.
“Your mother gave it to me.”
Lana almost laughed.
“My mother has been dead for three
Years.”
“I know.”
“ Then how?
“ Before she died.”
The room felt silent.
Lana’s grip tightened on the
phone.
“ You’re saying my mother knew
You?”
“Yes.”
“And she gave you my phone
number years ago?”
“She gave me a way to find you
if I ever needed to.”
Claire shook her head.
“This sounds insane.”
“It sounds insane because you
don’t know the whole story.”
Lana closed her eyes.
She was tired.
Tired of secrets.
Tired of feeling like everyone knew
Something she didn’t.
“What do you want from me?”she
asked.
“ I want to keep you safe.”
The answer came instantly.
Almost too quickly
Lana wasn’t sure why,but she
believed that part.
And that scared her.
Because trusting Ethan felt
dangerous.
Yet ignoring him felt even
Worse.
A movement outside the window caught
her attention.
She stood up immediately.
“What is it?” Claire asked.
Lana stepped closer to the glass.
Across the street,beneath a bus
stop
Shelter,stood a man .
Dark coat.
Black umbrella.
Watching the building.
Watching her apartment.
The moment Lana looked directly at
he smiled.
A slow smile.
Cold.
Unfriendly.
Then he turned and walked away.
A chill raced through her body.
“Ethan.”
His voice sharpened immediately.
“ What happened?”
“There’s a man outside.”
“Describe him.”
Lana did.
The silence that followed was enough
to make her nervous.
“Ethan ?”
“ Stayed inside.”
Her heart beat quickened.
“You know who he is?”
“ I think so.”
“ You think so?”
“Lana, lock every door and window.”
Claire looked alarmed.
“Ethan who is he?” Lana demanded.
But Ethan ignored the question.
I’m coming over,”
The call ended.
Lana stared at her phone.
“He hung up,” she said
Clair frowned.
“That is not annoying at all.”
Neither of them laughed.
Forty minutes later later, Ethan
arrived.
The rain had finally stopped.
Lana opened the door carefully.
Seeing him in daylight felt
Strange.
He looked different.
More real.
More dangerous.
And somehow more attractive.
She hated noticing that.
Ethan stopped inside.
His eyes immediately scanned.
the apartment.
Every room.
Every corner.
Like he was searching for
Something.
Or someone.
“Do you always do dat Claire
asked.
“Do what?”
“ Act like you’re in a spy
movie
Ethan almost smiled.
Almost.
Then his attention shifted to the box
Sitting on the table.
The box that had belonged to
Lana’s mother.
His expression changed.
“ You opened it all?”
“Most of it.”
“What did you find?”
Lana hesitated.
Then showed him the
Letters.
Photographs.
The sliver key.
The note.
Ethan picked up the key.
For the first time since
arriving,he looked genuinely
surprised.
“ You actually found it.
Lana frowned.
“ You know what it open?”
Ethan looked at the symbol carved
into the metal.
“ Not exactly.”
“ That is not a real answer.”
“No he admitted,” it’s not.”
Claire rolled her eyes.
“ Does every answer from you come
With a mystery attached?”
A faint smile appeared on Ethan’s
Face.
“ it seems that way.”
Lana watched him carefully.
There was something
exhausting about him.
Every answer created three
new questions.
Yet she couldn’t deny one thing
He seemed worried.
Really worried.
Not pretending.
Not acting.
Genuinely concerned.
“ Tell me about my mother,”
Lana said quietly.
The smile disappeared instantly.
Ethan looked at her.
For a moment, something painful
Flashed across his face.
“ Your mother was one of the
bravest people I’ve ever known.”
Lana throat tightened.
No one had spoken about her
mother like that before.
Not with certainty.
Not with admiration.
“ You knew her well?”
“Yes.”
“ How well?”
Ethan looked away.
Too quickly .
And Lana noticed.
So did Claire.
“ Ethan “.
He signed.
“ Better than I should have.”
The answer hung in the room.
Heavy.
Complicated.
Lana didn’t know why, but it made
her uncomfortable.
Before she could ask another question, a
Loud knock echoed through the
apartment.
Everyone froze.
Three hard knocks.
Then silence.
Claire jumped.
Lana’s heart nearly stopped.
Ethan was already moving.
He stepped between the woman and
the door.
Protective.
Instinctive.
As if he had done it before.
Another knock came.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Ethan looked through the peephole.
His expression darkened
Immediately.
“What is it?” Lana whispered.
He didn’t answer.
Instead,he turned to her.
“Go into the bedroom.”
“What?.”
“Now.”
Fear spread through her chest.
“Ethan, who’s out there?”
His voice dropped.
“ The man from across the street.”
Lana felt the blood drain from her
face.
Another knock echoed through
the apartment.
This time accompanied by a voice.
A man’s voice.
Calm.
Friendly.
far too friendly.
“Lana Carter?”
Nobody answered.
The voice continued.
“ I know you’re in there.”
Ethan’s jaw tightened.
Claire grabbed Lana’s hand
“What do we do?”
The man laughed softly from the
hallway.
Then he said something that made
the room go completely silent.
“Tell Lana I knew her mother.”
Lana stared at the door.
And for the first time since meeting him ,
she sew something she had never seen
before.
Fear.
Real fear.
The man outside knocked one final time.
Then said:
“After all these years,it’s finally time for
the truth.”
- Writer
